Imagination Plays a Fundamental Role in the Expression of Faith

I really liked this last 10 minutes of part 1 of the FollowHim podcast for this week. My take away: I want and need to visualize and imagine the life I want, the best person I can be. Don't hold myself back by my own unbelief in myself. Imagine the experiences I want to have in my life, and imagine all the details of it now. Visualize it, write it down for myself. Also imagine the life I will have in the hereafter,  IMAGINE IT and BELIEVE IT is possible. What is God inviting me to do? What talents has he given me? What promises are extended to me in the scriptures? Work to have faith that it is possible, imagine it and start to believe it and make it real in my imagination.

(I don't have a lot of experience trying to visualize, so here are 3 Visualization Techniques to help me learn.)

Starting at the one hour mark, (1:00:40) commenting on Exodus 19 and 20. 

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Dr. Daniel Belnap: You can actually see this best by restoration scripture. Meaning, if you turn to Doctrine and Covenants 84 beginning, yeah, 19 through 24. It's going to set this up. He's talking about the priesthood and about the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. And points out again, that in the ordinances, both the laws and in the ritual that we associate the priesthood. And without the ordinances thereof and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh. For without this, no man can see the face of God, even the Father and live. So Joseph is explaining, or at least the Lord is explaining to Joseph ways in which the priesthood is necessary for this incredible experience to see the face of God. Now, verse 23, this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God. This seems to be a direct illusion back to Exodus 19. That he did everything he could to sanctify his people to behold the face of God, but they hardened their hearts and could not endure His presence. That's exactly what Exodus 20 describes. That they hardened their hearts and could not endure. They did not enter into His presence. And therefore the Lord in His wrath for His anger was kindled against them swore that they should not enter into His rest while in the wilderness. Which rest is the fullness of His glory. I.E, they could have been in the presence of God and they did not. And therefore he swore, while you're in the wilderness, it's not going to happen. This event where Israel enters into a covenant relationship with God of which the culminating element of that should have been an experience where they enter into the presence of God and they did not. And this seems to be the ultimate provocation. 

Hank Smith: And why do you feel like this is in the origin story? Is it because later on they're going to do this so many times that it's going to be a pattern of God wants this, you agree, and then you fail to live up to your obligation? That's a pattern in my life. 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: I think ultimately it's because this is an experience that should be happening. This is, if you are Israel, this is what's going to make you separate and distinct: you have the opportunity to enter into the presence of the Lord. Hebrews chapter four and verse six, but as Christ as son over His own house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm into the end, wherefore as the Holy Ghost sayeth today, if you will hear His voice harden not your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness. That's Psalm 95, and then he says, "When your fathers tempted me, proved me and saw my works 40 years, wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said, they do always harden their heart and have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest." Now, if you go to chapter four, here's how it begins. Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest any of you should seem to come short of it. The writer here is saying is that there was an early Christian understanding within the church in early Christianity that this promise applied to them as well. There's a promise that if you do these things, you can enter into His rest, the fullness of His glory. This is a promise that defines, I think Israel, regardless of what dispensation you're in, regardless of the differences of experience, this is a promise that is given to Israel, that I expect you to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. And by virtue of that, we're going to have to meet. 

Hank Smith: Yeah. And yet, so many of us fall short of it, it's so human. It's God wants this I want this. And when it comes to the moment of choosing I fall short. 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: Part of it could have been that they look at that and went, "There's no way (disbelief) I can be ready in three days." So it's back to this concept of faith. I always wonder about that. If I were told that the Lord is coming in three days and that I needed to meet him in three days, and here's what I need to do to be ready. Do I think washing my clothes would make me ready in three days? Do I think I could do it? And yet my response to that is, if the Lord tells you that three days is enough, then it must be enough. 

Hank Smith: So they don't believe Him? 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: Yeah. At some level they don't trust in that aspect of it. Chapter four of Hebrews continues this at the end of it talks about Christ and what He's made possible. And then it describes, an experience, verse 16, "Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace." Now that requires us to understand a little bit about the temple rather than the tabernacle. But if the throne of grace is God's throne, then it's within the holy of holies. And the same idea is repeated by the way, in Hebrews 10, which describes it this way. "This is a new covenant I will put in them." This is chapter 10, verse 16. "I will put my laws into their hearts and into their minds will I write them and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Now where remission of these is there was no more offering for sin, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus. These two chapters, talk about the ability to enter into holiest of places or approach the throne of God. What strikes me about it is not only does it suggest that the atonement of Christ makes it possible for us to enter into the presence of God, literally enter the presence of God, but in both verses, it talks about being able to do so boldly. There's an understanding here that the atonement too of Christ makes it possible for us to be bold in the presence of God. And I don't think that means disrespectful, and it doesn't mean irreverent, but it does mean... Well, it means whatever you're going to define boldness with. Confidence, surety? These are the things that Israel could have had entering into the presence of God and yet did not. 

John Bytheway: Alma gives such an awesome contrast in Alma five, "When you're brought to stand before God, can you look up?" He doesn't say, are you clean? Or are you prepared? He just says, I love this, "Can you look up?" And Alma 12:14, I think that first one's Alma 5:14 or something, but Alma 12:14, you will not dare to look up. You will fame be glad to command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon you to hide you from His presence if you're not prepared. But the idea of can you look up? Reminds me too, of Enos who says, then I will see His face with pleasure. And maybe that's what that boldness means too. Because I've wondered, what does that mean boldly? It just, it means that you're confident in the Atonement? You're confident that you're prepared because of what the Savior's done for you? 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: Joseph F. Smith tells the story of a dream he had. And for those of you who studied the life of Joseph F. Smith, that mission in Hawaii was tricky. That was difficult, very difficult.

John Bytheway: He was 15 years old. Wasn't he?

Dr. Daniel Belnap: 15 years old. 

John Bytheway: Yeah. 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: You read it, he felt very isolated, very alone, very forgotten. He was sick. He has this dream in which he's going to go to the temple. And it's a very famous one, we all know it. But to me, it's a great example of this boldness. And can't find his temple clothing, finally finds it, runs to the temple. There's his what Uncle? Joseph Smith looking down on him, frowning disapprovingly. "Oh, you're late Joseph." And his response is, "Yes, but I'm clean." And just walks right by him. 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: That is that boldness. He knows he belongs there. He knows he deserves to be there and so he is. And so this boldness idea, I think John, you brought up Alma 5. One of the intriguing things about that is, that's of course the wicked, right? But Alma actually described earlier in the verses that, do you look forward with an eye of faith? Do you see your mortality putting on immortality?  Do you see your corruption putting on incorruption? Can you imagine unto yourselves, the God saying, "Enter in ye blessed." And I know that he's talking about it to the wicked going, "Or do you think that you're going to be able to lie to God?" But I think those other questions are intriguing, because I think they tie into this boldness, which is, do we think about that often? Do we think about what it's like to be in the presence of God? Do we imagine what eternal life is like? If those verses hold true Alma has just suggested that as weird as it sounds, imagination plays a fundamental role in the expression of faith. Looking forward with an eye of faith and seeing something that hasn't been yet, but will be. Do you imagine it? Do you imagine what it's like to be in the presence of God? Do you imagine it? Do we explore the contours of what it means to have eternal life? And it seems to me that that longterm, that ability to not just look up but as Peter's going to call it, see afar off. Becomes absolutely essential to survival. And in a day and age, particularly now, and this is me getting on my soapbox a bit, but in a day and age where so much information is flying around so fast, so often, that to some degree, there's an element of where we're constantly reacting to the barrage of inspiration that's coming in. It's a constant reaction. We have no choice, but to deal with what keeps flashing before our eyes all the time. And yet to see afar off means, you've got to lift yourself from that, lift your gaze from that and see a long perspective.

Dr. Daniel Belnap: In my Pearl of Great Price class, I talk about the importance of the vision of scale and recognizing that one of the things that when prophets have visions is more often not they're shown the scale and the immensity of this work. It's cosmic in scope. Moses sees the earth and all the inhabitants of the earth and every particle of the earth. And Enoch sees millions of earths like this. And Abraham has the work of God expanded before his eyes, and John and all of these individuals have this expansion of vision, not just the vision itself, but an expansion of an understanding of the cosmos and the work of God within that huge cosmic scale. And I think there's an importance to seeing afar off.

Hank Smith: They say, man is nothing, which I think I'd never suppose this idea of I'm seeing life in its proper perspective. Instead of like in it with information flying around me, I'm seeing, oh, I'm seeing it from God's point of view a little bit.

Dr. Daniel Belnap: Right. Right. And that experience that the Israelites were meant to have, I think is tied into that. Why weren't they ready in three days? I don't know, but it makes me think they were concentrating on three days more than the horizon. They didn't see afar off.

Hank Smith: What if my clothes aren't clean enough? Yeah.

Dr. Daniel Belnap: And maybe part of it is we don't actually believe that that's an event that can really happen. I don't think we think enough about entering into the presence of God and what that's like. And yet the Doctrine and Covenants is full of that. And the Book of Mormon has narrative after narrative of people who do, and the New Testament talks about it. There's a promise. There's a promise that's given that this can happen so that you can bless all mankind. You're expected to be a kingdom of priests to bless everybody. And so yeah, the story isn't ultimately negative for Israel at that time for those 40 years, but it lays out an experience that any Israelite is expected to have in any dispensation. In fact, I've quoted enough of Hebrews, but there's one more, you get to Hebrews chapter 12 and you get verse 18. And this is what it says, "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, that burned with fire nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words," that's our illusion back to Exodus 19, isn't it? Exodus 19:20. And it's saying, "You are not supposed to have that experience," verse 20, "For they could not endure that which was commanded. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, "I extremely fear and quake." He says, that is not the experience that we're meant to have. Verse 22, "But ye are coming to Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and the church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 

Dr. Daniel Belnap: See that you refuse not him that speaketh. See that you refuse not him that speaketh." This is the experience that Israel could have had and did not have. This is the experience that the writer of Hebrews is saying the Christians should have, whether or not they did is another story.

FollowHIM Podcast with Dr. Daniel Belnap Exodus 18-20 - Part 1 1:00 through 1:13