God wants us to understand

“For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.” (2 Nephi 31:3)

Someone said God is not is not a showman. I think the example given was that when Christ rose from the grave there was not a crowd gathered to witness the event.  Instead he comes to those who welcome him, those of faith. He knocks but we must open the door. I heard one speaker say that when we first lay our hand on the door knob Christ runs to us. Here Nephi explains that God speaks to us in the way we can best understand. Remember how he used parables to illustrate gospel truths… stories from a way of life they could relate to. He spoke of shepherds and  vineyards, of sinners and saints.

Nephi tells us ”wherefore I say unto you feast upon the words of Christ; for behold the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3)  He is speaking here not  only of the Scriptures but of words given to us by the Holy Ghost… answers given to us in prayer…words given to us in our minds when we ask in sincerity and sometimes when we do not ask. Remember Saul on his way to Damascus to slay the Christens? He “heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”  (Acts 9:4)

God desires us to understand. Sometimes we can’t hear him because we know it already and our minds are not open to learning, which has happened to me on more than one occasion, I’m sorry to say. Nephi says, “If ye cannot understand them (the words of Christ) it is because ye ask not, neither do ye knock, wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.” (2 Nephi 32:4)

I have heard that the word of God is so simple that even a child can understand. In fact a child most likely has far greater understand in their innocence than we have in all our learning. King Benjamin tells his people, “becometh as a child, submissive meek, humble, patient, full of love willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19)