“…I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of thse
things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those
who diligently seek him…” (1 Nephi 10:17)
Why did Nephi receive all the wonderful visions and manifestations that he did? Two words: desire and diligence.
So much of the spiritual life which we experience is based upon those two key words. Our desire must be strong enough to feed our diligence. If both our desire and our diligence are strong enough, the Lord will, in His own due time, reveal everything to us—just as He did to Lehi and Nephi and the brother of Jared and to all His holy prophets.
Sometimes we put forth our efforts—our desire is strong, our diligence strong—and we expect a vision. And then we don’t get one. In our pride, we decide something is wrong with us and we give up. Or we decide something is wrong with God and we become bitter and rebellious.
We need to add one more key: the patience born of humility. Visions and answers come on God’s timetable, not ours.
My experience is this: when my desire is as strong as I know how to make it; when I am as diligent as I know how to be; if I am willing to be humble and patient, the Lord always sends me something. On occasion in my lifetime, I’ve had a dream or a waking vision that brought answers for my situation—but those times have been few and far between. Sometimes I have a blinding flash of understanding or insight. But most frequently I receive a soft, warm feeling of love and comfort, and a renewed feeling of strength and courage.
And that is enough for me.
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