How Do You Prepare for Sacred Experiences?

             My Come, Follow Me studies took me to Exodus 18-20 this week. In previous weeks, I have discussed how the Lord convinced the Pharaoh of Egypt to let His people go and several miracles. The Lord parted the Red Sea with a great wind that blew all night. The children of Israel then walked across the sea on dry ground, but the Egyptian soldiers were drowned in the water that closed behind the Israelites. Then the Lord made bitter water sweet, sent quail and manna for food, and brought water from a rock.

In the third month after leaving Egypt, the children of Israel came to the Mount Sinai. The introduction to this lesson follows:

The Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai was filled with miracles – undeniable manifestations of the Lord’s matchless power, love, and mercy. However, the Lord had blessings in store for them that went beyond freeing them from Egypt and satisfying their physical hunger and thirst. He wanted them to become His covenant people, His “peculiar treasure,” and a “holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). Today, the blessings of this covenant extend beyond just one nation or people. God wants all of His children to become His covenant people, to “obey [His] voice indeed, and keep [His] covenant” (Exodus 19:5), for He shows His mercy “unto thousands of them that love [Him] and keep [His] commandments” (Exodus 20:6).

            Several principles are taught in this lesson. The first principle, “I can help ‘bear the burden’ of doing the Lord’s work,” is taught in Jethro’s counsel to Moses. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, watched as Moses tried to lead the million Israelites by himself and saw the heavy burden on Moses. Jethro counseled Moses to delegate responsibility to leaders of ten, leaders of fifty, leaders of hundreds, and leaders of thousands and to keep “every great matter” for himself (Exodus 18:22).

This is the same type of organization in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. Priesthood quorums, young women classes, and auxiliaries lead small groups of people, bishops preside over wards, stake presidents preside over stake, regional presidents preside over numerous stakes, area presidencies preside over various areas, and the First Presidency presides over the entire Church.

The main principle from this lesson that I wish to discuss is “Sacred experiences require preparation.” Exodus 19 tells us that the Lord told Moses to help the children of Israel to prepare to “meet with God” (Exodus 19:10-11, 17) and to keep a covenant with Him (see Exodus 19:5). After three days of preparation to sanctify themselves, Moses led the Israelites out of the camp to the base of Mount Sinai to meet with God.

Moses sought diligently to sanctify his people to behold the face of God, and they tried to do as he told them or at least went through the motions. However, they were not prepared for the sacred experience. The following quote comes from Introduction to the Old Testament as quoted in the Old Testament Student Manual – Genesis through 2 Samuel [2003].

If they had accepted all of the privileges offered them and followed the instructions which would have qualified them to receive the fulfillment of all God’s promises, they could have been accorded the grandest of all revelations: He offered to come down in the sight of all the people and let them hear when He spoke to Moses that they might know for themselves about His will and His law, and believe in Moses’ future revelations from God, and revere the Lord evermore (cf. Deuteronomy 4:10). Note the need of cleanliness and spiritual dedication in their preparation for this great spiritual experience. [Emphasis added.]

At the prearranged signal, the sounding of the trumpet “exceeding long,” the people trembled in anticipation and awe, but apparently they were not fully ready to come up “in the sight” of the Lord on the mount where Moses was, for the Lord told him to go down and warn them not to come up. Hints as to why this was so are found in the next chapter, 20:18-19, and in Doctrine and Covenants 84:21-25. But even though their hearts were not fully prepared to endure His presence, they did hear the voice and the words of God as the Ten Commandments were given, as will be seen later when we study Moses’ review of these great events in his valedictory, in Deuteronomy 4:10, 12, 33, 36; 5:22-26. [Emphasis added.]

(The presentation of the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets is recounted a little later in the narrative, in Exodus 31:18; 32:15, 19; and a second set of tablets, prepared after the first set were broken, and are spoke of in Exodus 34:1 ff.).

            President Russell M. Nelson and the Twelve Apostles are striving to prepare members of the Church and all people for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We know that His coming is close because we are seeing lots of the prophesied signs, but we do not know how close. The real question is, will we be prepared to see Him?

            It makes sense that we can judge our personal readiness for the Second Coming by how prepared we are to receive sacred experiences. We must do more than go through the motions because our hearts must be sanctified, our bodies and spirits must be clean, and our spiritual eyes and ears must be open.

            We all know people who have sacred experiences in the temple or in sacrament meeting or some other place. When I hear of them, I wonder why I am not having such experiences. This lesson opened my eyes to the reason: I must prepare to receive them. There are several questions in the lesson that I have pondered this week:

·         What do you do to prepare for sacred experiences in your life, such as attending the temple or partaking of the sacrament?

·         What can you do to more fully prepare for these experiences?

·         Think of other spiritual activities that require preparation, and ponder how your preparation can affect the kind of experience you have?

            The lesson motivated me to prepare better for my weekly temple session on Friday. I went to bed earlier the previous night so I could be awake and alert. I took the time to have my morning devotional of a hymn and a sincere prayer. I listened to Exodus 18-20 as I ate my breakfast and listened to a conference talk about keeping the commandments as I dressed and did my hair and makeup. I turned off the radio in the car as I drove to the temple.

            I did my best to prepare my heart and mind for a sacred experience, and I received one. I did not see any great manifestation, but I did feel the Holy Ghost with me as I performed service in the temple and throughout the day. I also received answers to several of my own questions. I know I can enjoy more spiritual experiences as I am prepared to receive them. I can prepare by devoting valuable time to studying the scriptures and counsel of living prophets and apostles, kneeling in sincere and grateful prayer, and striving to keep myself clean and worthy. I know that you and I can receive wonderful spiritual experiences by sanctifying ourselves in preparation to receive them.