Patterns in Scripture

"Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance.."

— Alma 26:22

Throughout the scriptures are patterns. This particular verse shows an excellent example of an if/then pattern — IF you adhere to a gospel principle, THEN you receive a blessing.

Let's look at this scripture to find the IF portion of the pattern.

"Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance.."

This pattern has four gospel principles that are essential for the pattern to work:

1. Repentance — This is a very important, yet simple gospel principle. When you do something wrong, or sin, you must realize that your actions were wrong, apologize, and make things right. Three simple yet crucial steps.

2. Exercise faith — In Ether 12:6 it says, "I would show the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for he receive not witness until after the trial of your faith." God will not bless us until we show we have faith in Him and his power. This must happen first before He can bless us.

3. Bring forth good works — If you are exercising faith, then you are bringing forth good works. Did you catch that second pattern? If you have faith in Jesus Christ, then it is the natural result that you are acting on it. For example, if you have faith that God answers prayer, then naturally you will pray for help from God when you need it. The cause (faith) will bring its own effect (good works). Good works don't save you, because they are the natural result of faith. It's the faith that saves you. If you truly have faith in Jesus Christ, you will naturally be drawn to prayer, scripture study, self sacrifice, good thoughts, etc. You won't be perfect at it, because the natural man is corrupt. To perfect yourself, you will have to work at these things, but your faith will naturally bring these effects, and the stronger your faith becomes, the greater the good works will manifest themselves in your life.

4. Pray continually without ceasing — again, this is one of the natural results of having faith in Christ. It is a habit that does need practice, but the greater your faith, the more willing you will be to turn to God in prayer at anytime and in any circumstance.

Let's review and focus on the THEN part of our scripture—

"Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance.."

There are three blessings here that are a result of the four gospel principles we have discussed:

1. It is given to know the mysteries of God

2. It is given to have things revealed that have never been revealed before

These first two I have listed together because they both require personal revelation. This scripture states that God can reveal mysteries to us, things we have never known before. How does he do that? By the power of the Holy Ghost. Moroni 10:5 states, "By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." That is the job of the Holy Ghost — to manifest truth to us, whether it is truth we have already heard or not. I have personally experienced this blessing as I have read the scriptures. The Holy Ghost will speak to my mind and help me understand what I read (mysteries). I will suddenly see different facets and aspects of the words I read that I have never seen before (things revealed), and see ways to apply the words to my life or find answers to prayer as I read.

Isn't this just a wonderful blessing? A promise to receive understanding and knowledge and wisdom from God – and all just by exercising our faith day by day, bit by bit. What a powerful promise!

3. Bring thousands of souls to repentance — This part of the pattern brings it around full circle. Do you remember what the first part of the IF statement was? That's right, repentance! And now that you have been through the entire pattern, you have the opportunity to bring others through the pattern, and let it repeat and repeat unendingly. How amazing is that! I personally have not brought thousands to repentance, but I always pray that my blog is a vehicle or instrument in the Lord's hands to bring about His will. Who knows? Maybe this message will touch one person's heart today and bring them to act on the pattern, then they will touch someone else, who will touch someone else....

Today I challenge you to work on this pattern in your own life, and look for more patterns in scripture. See how many ways you can enrich your life today.

With love,