And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.
Doctrine and Covenants 88:118
Too many people in the Church refuse to listen to new ideas, consider other points of view, and learn new things. Because they invest their ego into their current level of understanding, people make themselves incapable of gaining any further knowledge. They become stubborn and closed-minded and, too often, self-righteous.
Study, with the true purpose of learning and growth, requires humility. One must admit one’s ignorance and be willing to see things in a new way. One must be willing to have new information change one’s views or opinions. The stubborn, the dogmatic, the “stiff-necked” person cannot learn anything new because he has fooled himself into believing he already has the full truth.
Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.
Jarom 1:3
Jesus knew this type of people. He called out the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of his day, for their hypocrisy and money grubbing. They falsely believed they were saved by their genealogy, not by individual repentance and growth — and, with the notable exception of Nicodemus, they did not change their beliefs even when faced with the actual Messiah.
When John the Baptist cried, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord,” he was not only calling for the people to repent of their sins, he was telling them to open their hearts and minds to receive new knowledge, and new covenants, and new religious practices, and to give up their outdated beliefs.
The scriptures contain numerous stories about stubborn, self-righteous people. When Alma and his fellow missionaries went to the land of the Zoramites (Alma 31), they were unsuccessful in trying to teach the wealthy, popular, and arrogant, but found success with those who were poor, despised, and humble.
I say unto you, it is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be humble, and that ye may learn wisdom; for it is necessary that ye should learn wisdom; for it is because that ye are cast out, that ye are despised of your brethren because of your exceeding poverty, that ye are brought to a lowliness of heart; for ye are necessarily brought to be humble.
Alma 32:12-13
And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.
Nothing is to be gained by locking in one’s beliefs and stubbornly refusing to learn anything new. This what the Pharisees did. This is what the Zoramites did. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a “true and LIVING” church. Living things grow and change.
We need to look forward, not backward. Progress is always ahead of us, not behind us. Our job is to build the Kingdom, not reminisce after lost glory. Yes, Eden is gone, but Zion is still ahead of us. Let’s get busy.
Well said. Don’t let that go to your head 😉