KNOWING HIM

 

When Moses ascended Mt Sinai for the second time, Jehovah descended in a cloud before him and passing by him, He proclaimed:

“ The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”  (Exodus 34:6,7)

This is so significant. This was not someone stroking his ego by listing His amazing qualities. This is a proclamation of someone who knows who He is and what His purpose is. Take notice of the attributes and qualities the Saviour listed: mercy, grace, longsuffering, goodness, truth, forgiveness….these are all qualities that benefit the human family. The proclamation was and still is: “I am your God and I am here to save you.”

But make no mistake, He is also a judge, as he indicates at the end of His statement, and He seeks accountability for the sins we commit and pass on to our children for generations to come. In other words, He is also a God of power, truth and justice. There is no fault in Him, only balance.

Moses wrote down how Jehovah described himself and no doubt He shared that description with the Hebrews he presided over because it was imperative that they knew who the source of their salvation was and what He was like.

“We live in a day of restoration when we know that God exists. However, the knowledge of his existence is only preliminary to our knowing his characteristics and attributes. When the challenges and traumas of life arise – and they are a natural part of this mortal experience – though we know there is a God, the issue will depend more critically on what He is like.

“The questions in those difficult times will center on whether I can depend on and trust in Him implicitly. Does He, for instance, have knowledge and power sufficient to save me? And for that matter, does he have the mercy and desire to do so?” (Jerry A. Wilson, “The Great Plan of Happiness – Insights From The Lectures on Faith” p 27)

Some years ago I determined that I would get to know what the Saviour is like through the Book of Mormon. I noted all His attributes and qualities I could see in the margins of my book. Mercy was the most prevalent attribute and it was just about on every page. I don’t know where I would be today if I didn’t know that He would be merciful towards my blunders, my imperfections and my humanity.

 

Aside from the scriptures, our convictions of who the Saviour is and what He is like, born from personal interactions with the spirit would have to be our greatest knowledge. Consider this tender image President Heber C. Kimball had of God:

 

“I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know and another is – the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, “I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance.” That arises from the perfection of His attributes. He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man. (“Journal of Discourses” 4:222)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus Loves Me by Chris Brazelton)