Is God Real?

I promised last week to start with my question of the soul.
I will also warn you, this post is decently longer than most of my posts. I wanted to start with some disclaimers.

• I did not receive an answer right away
• It was not without quite a bit of effort on my part
• This question was not casual or half hearted.

I start out with those disclaimers because as I relay my own personal story, I don't want it to sound like I received all my answers at once and it was very easy. Or that anyone can receive answers and all they have to do is read the Book of Mormon. I want it known up front that it takes work and a strong desire to know. It also takes time.

My question was kind of hard to pin point at first. I had grown up all my life in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I knew how to pray, I went to church most every Sunday, I would read my scriptures sometimes, and I even went to most of my church activities without much complaint.

Taking a step back and thinking about this time in my life, I realized that I really didn't care to know if God was real. That is a harsh statement. I don't like to write it, but it's true. I was pretty content with my life, and I really didn't have a burning desire to know God existed. Everyone had told me that He did for so long, and so I just assumed they were right. Either way, it hadn't affected my life and so far things were fine.

Like most times in our lives, we don't really appreciate something until we really need it. It is kind of like when a friend gives us advice, but at the time we disagree, or we think that we have a better solution, so we don't really pay it any heed. Later when things unravel and we desperately need that advice, then we are all ears.

This little phenomenon demonstrates a principle I learned in one of my sociology classes:

Telling isn't teaching, and people learn when they are ready, not when we are ready for them to learn.

So basically, at this point, I didn't even realize I had a question of the soul, much less, know how to go about answering it.
I continued on with my life. I made good and bad choices. I made friends with some people who were not very good influences, and other things in my life started to all come to a head. Life at home got harder, and suddenly all these things that had previously been just fine, all came crashing down. I was really, truly, and totally alone.

My first response was actually anger. I couldn't understand why everything had been just fine, and then all the sudden it was just awful. I did all of things you should not do. I stopped saying my prayers, I stopped doing scripture study, I found really good excuses not to go to church activities, and most of all inside I felt rotten and angry all the time.

In short I really didn't like myself much, and things continued to spiral out of my control.

Well there came a point where I eventually hit rock bottom, and I could only go up. I am not saying you always have to hit rock bottom, there are people who can see when they are starting to spiral downwards and can start to turn it around before it gets very bad. I am just saying for me, it took that long before I made a decision.

The decision I finally made was that I needed to know If God was really there for me. My logic and reasoning told me that if God was really there, and He really cared, none of this would have happened in the first place. However that reasoning didn't make me feel better and it for sure didn't change my situation.

It began with a simple prayer. I know that probably sounds really redundant, but most often the things that will bring us the most happiness are things we overlook as being too simple or not exciting enough. I began my prayer and I basically complained about everything that had happened to me and told Him how unfair it was. Then I asked Him to please fix it and I ended my prayer.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't feel better, and I still didn't feel like God was there or listening. So I decided that I was going to do the things that I had been taught all my life to do. I had done them, but I hadn't put my heart into it. I won't lie. The first couple times I started reading the Book of Mormon, I fell asleep, I got bored, and I was confused. I had to completely relearn how to read scriptures, and more importantly WHY we read scriptures.

It didn't happen all at once. As I started these new patterns, and I was really trying to put my heart into it to know if He was really there, I sometimes got really discouraged. I had to keep trying and getting back on the horse, but I did start to see a difference.

I didn't right away know that God exists, but I started to like my self. I didn't have that awful pit in my stomach that I had for so long. I started to find real joy in my relationships with my family members and friends. I had friends who truly cared about my welfare and loved me.

As these little things started to add up, I started to find real joy in my life. It wasn't temporary, and it didn't come all at once. It took so much work, but I realized, and recognized that God's love for me was in the journey that He had sent me on to find Him. It was not always fun or easy, but it was absolutely worth it, and something that has stayed with me ever since.

It was not the first time I had a question, and it was not the last time either, but it taught me that God does answer prayers, that He sees the whole picture, and that He knows what is best for us and knows how to help us receive the joy we are all searching for.

I know God is real, and I know He loves me.

What is your question of the soul?

Questions of the Soul

Happy New Year everyone!

Let us just pause and think about last year. Think about the goals you had, the things you learned, the people you met, and the memories that you made. Isn't that incredible? All that happened in a single year. When the new year comes, it is of course the time that everyone reevaluates what they did and of course thinks of ways they can do better.

What a good time for me to do the same thing:) Hence the change in my focus for my blog. To understand the rest of my posts for this year, let me just give you a little background as to why I chose this particular focus. Since October of 2013 I have been a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have loved it so incredibly much! My job as a missionary is to, with my human faults, proclaim the gospel to people and help them come unto Christ.

In fact, I made a little banner made up of mixed scriptures to help me remember my purpose.

"Behold, I Sister Allen am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. Nevertheless, Sister Allen labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that He would pour out his spirit upon the people who were in the city; that He would also grant that she might baptize them unto repentance." - Many different scriptures

That is why I am here. It is a bold statement, but I know my purpose and I can't shrink or shy away from it. Now what I want to focus on is the things that in the above statement we do as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. Number one we preach good tidings unto the meek. Number two is to bind up the brokenhearted. It goes on to say proclaim liberty to the captives, and open the prison to those who are bound.

I love that so much. I love that these are the kind of things that Christ wants us to do. He did all these things his whole entire life. What a blessing and a gift to try to be like him. Now all of this is why I decided to focus on questions of the soul.

Sometimes we have a question. We don't know if we would really call it a question of the soul, but we know it bothers us. It may even be way in the back of our minds, but it is there. in order to fulfill my purpose as a missionary and in order to bind up the brokenhearted, I want to know what is in your hearts? I want to know what it is that cankers your soul?

I think if I expect others to open their hearts to me, I have to open my heart to them as well. I will start with my question of the soul, and how I received an answer. This may be very bold. That is another thing I want to do this year, I want to be bold. This blog will be different from last year, but I still hope that it will help those who are searching and seeking. I am just trying to make sure that I do the best job I can of helping others come unto Christ, if they only want to know.

Any and all suggestions are as always helpful and appreciated!

Next week I will start with my question of the soul. Anyone who wants to share their question with me and would like me to do a post on it. Please share:) you can comment below or if you want it to be anonymous, you can message me on Facebook, Sister-Alexus Allen.

Thank you for all your support!

Wise men still seek Him

Well, usually my main topic comes from the Book of Mormon, because that is what my blog mainly has to do with. While I will still be sharing my message from the Book of Mormon, today it has a different spin because of the Christmas season.

As I have grown up, I have really loved traditions and have been fascinated with how they get started. There are of course the traditions of the tree, the star, candy, stockings, and Santa Clause. These are all wonderful traditions, but my all time favorite tradition was when mom would get a certain book off the book shelf and read it to me and my three siblings. The book was a story from the Book of Mormon and it is the Christmas story on the other side of the world. I'd like to share it with y'all since I have come to love it so much.

This is the story of a people who knew and had faith that the Savior of the world would be born. They were on the other side of the world, but there had been prophecies foretold of his coming. These people believed in those signs and things that the prophets said would happen when Christ was born. however they were outnumbered by many who did not believe, and moreover because they did not believe they would not repent. They did not believe in the Savior or that he would be born, and because they outnumbered the believers, they decided on a certain day that all the believers would be put to the death unless they saw the signs prophesied.

"Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet." - 3 Nephi 1:9

These families had heard the sign of Christ's birth being prophesied for years and were waiting for their beloved Savior to come, but as the time passed, those who did not believe began to persecute those who did.

"But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite. And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain." - 3 Nephi 1:5-6

So let's just step out of this story for a minute and think. For minute push past the thoughts of how busy you are, how much you have to get done, all the things want to do. Push past the thoughts of how expensive so and so's gift will be, and think about Christmas. Think about when it happened. It was not broadcast on a wide screen TV. It was not trending on Facebook. It was quiet and meek and lowly.
Now picture these families. Picture young children, who have grown up hearing the prophecies that the Christ child will come. Think about the mothers and fathers who knew that if that sign didn't come very soon, they and their families would all be put to death.

What they needed was a miracle. A Christmas miracle to save their lives and the lives of their children. Even though things did not look promising, they had the faith that their Savior was coming.

"And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass. But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain."- 3 Nephi 1:7-8

As the day approached that the Savior was supposed to come, the believers watched for the sign, and the unbelievers prepared to put them all to death. Their beloved prophet saw the terrible wickedness and sadness and took his heavy heart to the Lord in prayer and received an answer.

"And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers. And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets." - 3 Nephi 1:11-13

The Lord promised that these people did not hope in vain and that He would come into the world that very night. The people waited anxiously for the coming of the sign that they might not perish. They waited for their Christmas miracle and at last it came.

"And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came and there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand. And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given. And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets .And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word." - 3 Nephi 1: 15-21

The day came, the sign appeared. Those who had been wicked knew that everything the prophets had said was true. They could not deny the signs that had come to pass. Because of the sign appearing, the families were saved. Their Christmas miracle had come true.

We are not hoping for a sign to come, we are not an inn keeper with no room in the inn. We are each on our own search for the Savior. A quote I have seen around Christmas time states, "Wise men still seek Him." This is so true. Christmas does come just once in a year, but the spirit of Christmas, or the spirit of Christ can be around us all the time. The spirit of Christ comes when we share our love with others, when we give to those in need, when we share the saviors precious gift of the gospel with those who are perishing in unbelief. Christmas is a holiday, but it is also an attitude and a life style. It is how we as weak and imperfect human beings choose to live our lives like the Savior. I testify that we all have the opportunity to live with God again because of the Savior's birth, and this may be the greatest Christmas gift of all. These things I say, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

He is the Gift

The Power of Prayer

Hello All!

It seems that I need to rethink my plan to blog each week and settle for something more achievable like once every two weeks. I will work on doing better I promise!

To start off, I wanted to discuss something today that is very special and sacred, and yet is used all the time, all over the world, by thousands across nations. That is prayer.

Let's start at the basics: What is prayer? Since I am a missionary, I am using the only resources available to me, so if you disagree, take it up with my sources. ;)

Prayer is a two-way communication between you and your Father in Heaven. (True to the Faith)

Prayer has been around since the beginning of time. We call upon our God in prayer for many things. I love what the Bible Dictionary says about prayer.

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other." -Bible Dictionary

So lets take that and dissect it a bit.

First off it talks about our true relationship with God. That can make one of the biggest differences in the world. I think about people that I know and that I talk to quite frequently. I know these people. I have spent some time with them, and I know more about their personality. I have felt a connection with them and I enjoy talking with them and getting to know them better.

Do we know our Father in Heaven? When we speak with Him, it is familiar to us? One of the ways we can know our true relationship with Father in Heaven is when we read the scriptures. The scriptures are the Father's guide and instruction to come back to Him. They are filled with his love for us and the desire to bless us as we obey his commandments.

When we truly know and even feel how much our Father in Heaven loves us, prayer becomes the kind of communication that we look forward to, like when we talk to a beloved friend.

Okay, the next item I wanted to touch on was the phrase:

"bringing the will of the Father and the will of the child into correspondence with each other."

This phrase literally changed my life. If we really truly simplify the gospel, and we really look at what our Lord had asked of us, then we can see it clearly. God's whole purpose is help us live in a way so that he may bless us.  As we truly turn our hearts to Him in prayer, we will know what He wants for us, so that we can rise to the truly incredible potential we have as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

I know that usually I pull my blogs out of the Book of Mormon, today the message just comes from my heart and it is shorter than usual. Prayer is found all over in the Book of Mormon, and in the Bible. Our Father wants so badly to hear from us, and for us to obedient so that He may bless us. I know that as we truly seek to understand our relationship with our Father in Heaven, we will come to understand what the power of prayer truly is. I say these things, in Jesus's Christ's name, amen.

The Power of Prayer (click here!)

What Is Most Important?

Hello fellow readers of my blog!

Last time we met, we had just gotten an introduction to Alma. Later on he has a son who he also names Alma and so to avoid confusion of the Alma's, we will refer to this Alma as Alma the Elder. Alma the Elder is the one who heard the words of Abinadi and he believed them.

Have you ever come to find out something was true, and it completely changed your life?

What did you do with that knowledge?

Imagine that you are Alma the Elder. Most of your life you have lived in the King's palace and you have had every luxury you could ever want. All of your time is spent fulfilling your own wants and desires. I think that falls under the "lazy and idolatrous people" category.
Now all the sudden some old man is coming in and saying that you are wrong, you are sinning, and most importantly, you need to repent. He says he is a prophet and God told him to come and to call all you and your friends and associates to repentance.

Well, you could be angry and defensive, or you can be humble and repent.
Alma chooses the latter.

When Alma heard Abinadi preaching God's word, it touched something inside of him. So he repented, changed his ways and lived happily ever after.

Except that their were some trials before he got to the happily ever after point. After he hears this message, he just wants to share it with everyone:

"And now, it came to pass that Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah, repented of his sins and iniquities, and went about privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi, Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven."- Mosiah 18:1-2

Alma doesn't just take what he learned to benefit himself. He takes it and he tries to tell the whole world. He has to do it in secret, because King Noah, the one who put Abinadi to death is watching and he does not want people to be hearing the word of God from anyone. Alma was taking a big risk, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

He begins to gather the people and teach the things that Abinadi taught. He teaches so many people, that he begins to attract a rather large crowd, and they all want that knowledge that he has. 

"And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him. And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord."-Mosiah 1:7

These people Alma was teaching were hungry for the gospel. They were not content with the lives they were leading, they knew they needed God. They knew that they needed to become humbled and they responded with the desire of their hearts.

These are the questions that Alma asks them to find out where their hearts truly are, we should ask ourselves the same questions and see how what the desires of our hearts are, and if we need to be a little more humble. 

"....And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life. Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?"-Mosiah 1:8-10

This is how the people answered:

"And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts."-Mosiah 1:11

What a wonderful example of how we should feel. 

I don't know all that is in store when we reach the other side, but I do know that we don't qualify for heaven by how expensive our car is, or how much work we put in at a law firm. These things don't matter so much in the long run of things. What will matter will be our desire to follow God. Did we try to help others? Did we lift others burdens? Did we love God and try to follow his commandants?

Alma had the best of everything, and he gave it all up to follow God. Remember Jesus Christ's apostles gave up their livelihoods to follow the Savior.

This world is about learning and growing. We want to become like Jesus Christ. We want to live with God again. We must look at our desires and see where we are, and where we need to be. God has high expectations of us, because He loves us and knows the potential we have to become like Him. I know that as we give up our worldly cares and focus on the eternal perspective of things, our lives will change for the better and we will see things how God does. 

You never know 

Repenting of inactive blogging...

My fellow readers of my blog, I am terribly sorry! I have been off for quite a while. I have got slightly inactive on my blog....however, we believe in forgiveness and trying again right!:)

In thinking about what to blog about since it has been such a long time, I found myself thinking about those who go through trials and the attitudes they have as they go through them. Now of course this is namely all of us. Which is the point, there is really not one of us that can escape life unscathed. However to quote one of my favorite Disney movies:

   "You can either run from it, or learn from it."- The Lion King

I prefer the learn from it option:)

So as I was thinking about people in the Book of Mormon and the trials and attitudes they had, so many people came to mind. I mean there are many people in the Book of Mormon who had it pretty rough. However two people in particular really stuck out to me, and its not really because of their trials, but their attitudes towards them.

Drum roll please!

...............Abinadi and Alma the Elder!

Oh Abinadi. He is a prophet. He is sent to preach to people because they have turned away from God, and they have become as is described in the Book of Mormon, a "lazy and idolatrous people." They no longer loved one another,and there was so much wickedness in the land. Well we know when that happens, our Heavenly Father, merciful God that he is, allows us chances. He sends us prophets to teach us the gospel and help us repent. We know from previous experiences that living the gospel is what makes us happier and God knows that so he tries to help the people out. So God sends them Abinadi.

Now, do you think they are happy and appreciate Abinadi?

"And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord—Wo be unto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit them in mine anger. And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies."- Mosiah 11: 20-21

This is how the people felt...

"Now it came to pass that when Abinadi had spoken these words unto them they were wroth with him, and sought to take away his life"- Mosiah 11:26

So needless to say they weren't really thrilled at the prospect of repenting. As well as they really weren't jumping for joy every time that Abinadi came around. They sort of well, sought his life and stuff.

Now to be fair, I am not always really excited to repent either. I would say for the most part many of us are not. However we can be. Our attitude towards repentance can be different and if we ask God, he can show us how repentance truly makes us happier, even when its hard.

I remember a time in my own personal life, where I knew for 100% sure that I was not living the gospel like I was supposed to. I was doing bad things, and I really didn't care. I am sure that I had my own personal Abinadi who came and told me to straighten up. I am also sure I probably was not very kind to that person. I thought to myself, "it is my life, so why does it matter?"

That is the first attitude we can have.
The next attitude is the best one we can have.

Introducing....Alma, the Elder

Alma was actually one of these wicked people. Abinadi was brought before the king and basically ridiculed and tortured. While he was there though, he preached the gospel, and while many were angry, one was changed.

Cue Alma.

"And now it came to pass that when Abinadi had finished these sayings, that the king commanded that the priests should take him and cause that he should be put to death." -Mosiah 17:1

Because remember they had that first attitude of "its my life and I'll do what I want."

Then there is Alma:

"But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace. But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might slay him. But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days did write all the words which Abinadi had spoken." -Mosiah 17: 2-4

That is the second attitude, and the best one to have when it comes trials and repentance. Alma knew that what he and the others had done was wrong, he knew it was. He could have chosen to become upset and to be angry with Abinadi for preaching what was hard to hear. Instead he humbled himself before God and he realized what he had done wrong. Then he acted and went and did something about it.

Now granted not all of all our situations are as drastic as either Abinadi or Alma, but we all have opportunities to repent, and we have them often. I know that as we seek the Lord's will for us, even if it does not seem like the easy road or even the fun road, it will bring us eternal happiness.

Tune in next time to find out what happens to Alma next...

Jacob and Sherem

Some things go out of fashion, and some things come back in. Fashion is always changing. What the world thinks is important or the new latest trend is always changing. Personally I can't keep up, (I can't watch or listen to anything not church related.) Now with everything that goes in and out of style, interestingly, it usually comes back in some form or another. Sometimes we make the grave mistake of thinking that God changes with the times.

" For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?" -Mormon 9:9

He does not.

Jacob the prophet, the man from the previous post, came up against a man who tried to say that Christ would not come. His name was Sherem. Sherem was a man who knew how to flatter anyone, and he was sneaky and deceptive. He didn't like the idea of having Jesus Christ come, because he didn't like responsibility and accountability that entailed. So he went around spread the word that their was no Christ and belief in such a being was a vain and foolish hope.

"And it came to pass that he began to preach among the people, and to declare unto them that there should be no Christ. And he preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ." - Jacob 7:2

Now as y'all know from my last post, if you are keeping up;) Jacob, is a man with a testimony like fire! He knows we are all children of God and that Christ is his beloved and begotten son, sent to redeem mankind from sin. So needless to say, he and Sherem exchange some words...

"And it came to pass that he came unto me, and on this wise did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you; for I have heard and also know that thou goest about much, preaching that which ye call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ. 

And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way; and convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you that this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come. And after this manner did Sherem contend against me."-Jacob 7:6-7

And Jacob says:

"And I said unto him: Deniest thou the Christ who shall come?

 And he said: If there should be a Christ, I would not deny him; but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be.

 

And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? 

And he said, Yea.

And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ. And this is not all—it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost." -Jacob 7:9-12

So what we have going on here is a battle of wits. Sherem thinks he has all the right answers. He says well, I'm not denying the Christ, because there isn't one. But Jacob's reply is do you read the scriptures? Do you believe them? They truly testify of Christ. 

Well with that kind of response, Sherem is a little stuck....so he responds with:

"And it came to pass that he said unto me: Show me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye know so much."- Jacob 7:13

You Never Ask God To Show You A Sign...

To which Jacob responds...

"And I said unto him: What am I that I should tempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true? Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine. And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth. And it came to pass that he was nourished for the space of many days."-Jacob 7: 14-15

So then, Sherem receives a sign...

Now, does this mean that everyone who does something God doesn't like is going to be struck dumb? No. However I do know, that we will be held accountable for what we do with our knowledge. God does not change, and neither do his ways. The things that are wrong will always be wrong, and the things that are right are always right and will always be right.

We are God's children, and he has has made it simple. "If ye love me, keep my commandments."-John 14:15

I know that as we follow God, we will be blessed to know of his love for us. This world is not the end, and he is preparing for us, mansions in heaven that we can't even dream of. We can be like Jacob who knew, or we can be like Sherem who thought he knew. In the end, who do you want to be?

Check out this video, which shares the story of a man searching to find God, and how he found Him.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3701964025001