There is almost nothing in this world as important as having wisdom in all things. Elder M. Russell Ballard once said in a talk, “Brothers and sisters, be wise with your families. Be wise in fulfilling your Church callings. Be wise with your time. Be wise in balancing all of your responsibilities. O be wise, my beloved brothers and sisters.” Wisdom is what guides us through our daily lives. It is one of the things that lead us down the path of righteousness. It is a concept that gives us a purpose to our lives. It brings us together, and gives happiness to all who can obtain it. In fact, one of the purposes we are on this earth is to gain all the wisdom we can.
When we were sent to this earth, our past knowledge and wisdom was blocked from our minds by a veil cast from God. We started anew on this earth so that we could be tested to prove our righteousness. All the wisdom we gain here on earth we will take with us into our next life. However, in the millennium, when Christ comes again, the righteous will have the veil lifted from them, giving them back all their previous knowledge and wisdom. In Isaiah chapter 25 verse 7 it says, “And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” Oh how great the day will be for the righteous when Christ comes again and they remember to the fullest their true potential.
There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Having knowledge means one knows of facts. But having wisdom means one knowing how to use those facts in life. For example, Laman and Lemuel had knowledge of the gospel and the teachings of their father, but Sam and Nephi and Jacob had wisdom in the gospel and the teachings of their father. They knew how to use that knowledge to help benefit their lives. So basically having wisdom means that you apply that knowledge to your life. You could be the smartest person in the world, but if you don’t apply that knowledge to anything, you are not a Wiseman, but a foolish man.
Wisdom is not gained easily, and that is why it is important for everyone to be faithful, and practice that faith. This way, the Holy Spirit can help bring that wisdom you are looking for. In 2 Nephi chapter 21 verse 2 it says, “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of fear of the lord.” With the help from the spirit, all things can be made known unto you. All it takes is faith, diligence, and patience. However, even by doing this the lord will not give you all wisdom at once; It comes little by little. 2 Nephi, 28:30 says, “I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those that hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom.” So for each part of the wisdom god presents to you that you take and act upon, he will give you more. As read in the LDS hymn book:
“Oh, holy words of truth and loveWe hear from day to day,Revealed to Saints from God above,To guide in heaven’s way.
[Chorus]Beautiful words of loveComing from God above,How sweet, how dear the words we hear!They’re beautiful words of love.
2. They’re from Apostles good and true,Whose names we all revere,Who daily teach us what to doIn words of love and cheer.
3. They’re from the prophets God inspires,In counsels oft withstood,Reproving all our ill desires,Commending all that’s good.
This teaches us that words of wisdom, the most important words we should be hearkening too, come from apostles, prophets, and of course Jesus Christ. This is one way too gain wisdom in the fastest manner; reading the scriptures, the ensign, liahona, and conference talks. Me must also put aside our selfish desires and become humble to gain wisdom. D&C section 136 verse 32 says, “Let him that is ignorant learn wisdom by humbling himself and calling upon the lord his god.” This is one thing that I have found works in my life. When I feel I need help, or to gain wisdom in a certain area, I pray unto our lord for his help in that area.
In conclusion, I would like to bring up a very powerful scripture. In Jacob 6:2, as he is getting ready to depart and say his last words, he says, “O be wise; what can I say more?” this is so powerful because one of the last things he thinks his people should hear is to be wise, so it must be important. To be filled with wisdom, is to have a treasure of heaven.
1. M. Russell Ballard-November 2006 Liahona-“o be wise”
2. Isaiah 25:7
3. 2 Nephi 21:2
4. 2 Nephi 28:30
5. D&C 136: 32
6. LDS hymn 271: oh, holy words of truth and love
7. Jacob 6:12
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Your discourse is very informative and insightful. The quotations support your ideas about the principle of wisdom. Good work.
Thanks for reminding us that having wisdom, especially wisdom in God, is such a treasure. You had a wonderful blog.
Garrett,
Thank you for sharing your thougts on wisdom on the blog. I think sometimes it is easy to lose focus as to why we are asked to learn and gain as much wisdom or knowlegde as we can and your post gave meaning to why we do it. I felt that your blog post was very wise and I was able to gain knowledge from it.
nice work. I liked how you defined wisdom to knowing how to act on knowledge and how you compared Nephi and Sam with Laman and Lemuel.
I really like how you defined wisdome. Often the world sees it differently, but you are right. Thank you.
This is an excellent treasure of heaven - great insight on the wisdom of heaven. Very strong quotes and great intro with quote from Elder Ballard. Wisdom is so important and often we don't understand its importance... great job.
I like how you pointed out that wisdom more often than not comes through humility. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get back all the stuff I knew in the premortal life! Good blog!
I really liked your words on how the wisdom we gained in the premortal life will be returned to us when the veil is lifted from our minds. That is comforting to me and gives me hope. Great job, Garrett!
I like how you not only expressed the importance of having wisdom but also you listed examples of how we can become more wise in our lives. Thank you!
Post a Comment