The Veil of Unbelief

A lot of the things I will be writing about have been touched upon by others within the Blogosphere and online forums. Some of them, I feel, are on the same level as I in our journeys and others on higher plains helping to pull us upwards by pointing us to Christ. I appreciate those on higher spiritual plains looking to elevate their brothers and sisters. Our common objective is to be elevated by Christ Himself. To accomplish this we must remove the veil on unbelief. Our best tool to accomplish this is the Book of Mormon restored by the prophet Joseph Smith.

What is unbelief? 

Online dictionary Merriam-Webster states that unbelief is: incredulity or skepticism especially in matters of religious faith 

"Skeptic" jumps out at me. Being a skeptic is the opposite of showing meekness. Are you willing to learn? Even more humbling, are you willing to recognize you've been in error even if that has been the case your entire life? Would you consider something if told to you by a non accredited source or do you rely only upon those who have credentials? Credentials by whom? The Lord? A prestigious institution or university? A high government official? The mainstream media? Brother Hugh Nibley, during a BYU commencement ceremony, offered a prayer and said that "we have met here today clothed in the black robes of a false priesthood". What did Brother Nibley mean by that? 

*As a side note, some of those who are on the same journey as I, and some who have succeeded on their journey, ask a lot of questions. I find that the right questions asked open up an avenue of thought that doesn't exist without simple and or deep questions.

Let's get back to Brother Nibley. I think it is apparent that we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with those in the world, recognize those whom the world has said have authority. Those who are professors, scholars, lawyers and who have attended those facilities who employ those with the "black robes of a false priesthood" to teach them. Jesus Christ, the master of all, came among men with no worldly authority. His authority didn't come from this world. His authority came from Heaven.

Doctrine and Covenants 84:54 - 55

54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

President Benson, 13th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had this to say in April conference 1986:

Unless we read the Book of Mormon and give heed to its teachings, the Lord has stated in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants that the whole Church is under condemnation: “And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.” (D&C 84:56.) The Lord continues: “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.” (D&C 84:57.)

His talk is entitled "Cleansing the Inner Vessel".

If President Benson was reminding us what the Lord declared so many years ago, it is safe to say that Benson was telling us that we still remain under condemnation and we remain under condemnation because of vanity and unbelief.

In summary, we don't take the Book of Mormon seriously. We may read it but do we seek the Lord's will in how we should act after having received it. Do we follow its teachings?

What is the veil?

The veil is what blocks us from the Heavens and their ability to teach us. In order to remove this veil of unbelief we have to start somewhere. We should start by focusing on the word of God given to us through the Book of Mormon. Study this book. Humbly ask God for insight as you study its meaning. Rid yourselves of anything you have been taught about it and its content and let the Lord guide you through His Holy Spirit to find its true meaning.

This is a good start. We all have been placed on this Earth with this veil of unbelief.  Let's help each other rend ourselves of it. My future posts will focus on how those before us removed the veil and how we too can do so. We will also discuss some stumbling blocks that deter us from removing the veil of unbelief.