FEARLESS

 

In my last post where I wrote about the privilege we can have to see the face of Christ, I mentioned a scripture that supported that doctrine which reads like this: “….inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me….the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am….” (D&C 67:10)

I understood jealousies and lack of humility to be the stumbling block because they allude to attributes of righteousness but I wondered why the Lord included ‘fears’ in the list of the prerequisites. After a few days of pondering I understood why. Fear is inverted faith. Fear and faith cannot co-exist. You either have one or the other. You cannot hold onto fears produced by mortality and say you have faith in God and His providence.

This led me to ask what fears the early saints had that would impede their faith. This is actually easy to understand when you consider the hardships, sacrifices and persecutions that confronted them. Nevertheless, the fears they had regarding their condition would have negated the faith they should have had in the Saviour as their support, their caregiver and deliverer from difficulties they were called upon to bear. This is not a judgmental observation but an attempt to highlight the power of faith.

And this is to highlight the power of fear. The revelation of Section 67 was concerning a special conference of the Elders in regards to the printing of 65 revelations received by Joseph up to that time. In verse 3 of this Section, the Lord tells these Elders that they believed that they should receive the blessing which was offered to them but that they didn’t receive it because of the ‘fears in their hearts’.

It is not clear what blessing these fears were responsible for but considering that William W. Phelps was one of the Elders involved in the conference and the printing of the ‘Book of Commandments’, this offers some clarity regarding the fears. Not only did he question the language of the revelations, because he was a ‘learned man’ and an educator, he also attempted to write one himself and failed miserably (Doctrine & Covenants Student Manual p 142).

William W. Phelps was Joseph’s close associate who left the Church for a time with Oliver Cowdery. He became fiercely anti and wrote an incriminating affidavit which landed Joseph and Sidney Rigdon in jail and wreaked deadly havoc on the Church community. He later repented and admitted he had been under immense pressure and persecution from the opposing forces to the Church. Phelps stands as a good example of the fears that would have plagued the early saints.

Very often we miss out on the greatest blessings because we don’t focus on what we want but instead we focus on what we don’t want to happen to us. This creates a very powerful tool that brings that unwanted thing upon us, the tool called FEAR. This tool often directs the paths we take in life and dictates how productive we are. It cripples our self-confidence, it prevents happiness by projecting outcomes that might never happen, and at times it manifests that which we don’t want. In Job’s words: “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me” (Job 3:25)

The worst of all, it destroys our faith in God who heralds: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee….” (Isaiah 41:10)

I kept my fears so close to my heart,

They hid so well not wanting to depart.

They pulled the strings

And bade me where to go;

They owned my soul

More than I wanted to know.

You took possession of the inner me

And replaced those fears with tranquility.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus Tranquil Grace by Ivan Guaderrama)