It seems to me that God looks for us first, and in the end we search for Him. Not that God does not know where we are, but He wants us to be aware of where we are in relation to where we should be.
In the Old Testament: "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Gen. 3:9). "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word" (1Kings 18:21). "...the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I" (1Sam. 3:4). "And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?" (2Kings 19:13). "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear..." (Isa. 66:4). "...I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not..." (Jer. 7:13). "...when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear..." (Isa. 65:12). "...when I called, was there none to answer?" (Isa. 50:2). "...when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount...the voice of the trumpet [was] exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled...and they stood at the nether part (foot) of the mount" (Ex. 19:13, 16, 17). "Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mal. 3:7).
In the Doctrine and Covenants, we find the questioning reversed: "O God, where art thou?" (D&C 121:1). "O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord!" (D&C 109:78).
"In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me" (D&C 101:8). Joseph Smith obviously took the Lord's counsel seriously, but for the rest of us, problems drive us to seek for the Lord.
We get an assurance that God will answer when we come looking for Him: "...ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt. 7:12). "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5). When we are fasting properly, we get this: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am" (Isa. 58:9). The Lord commands us to seek after Him and ask for what we need: "...the Lord came...unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours...the Lord chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord" (Ether 2:14). "O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires" (Ether 3:2).
Finally, after all this seeking on the part of the Lord and man, the Brother of Jared meets up with the Lord: "...the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood..." "Sawest thou more than this?" "Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me."
"And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters" (Ether 3:6, 9, 10, 13-14). The breach that separates man and God is healed.
It seems that first, like Adam, we get ourselves into such a mess that the safest and preferable option appears to be hiding from God. Then the Lord puts us in circumstances so unbearable that the option of returning to Him becomes the obvious choice (like the prodigal son, or Jonah), and we seek Him desperately. The subsequent reunion with God reminds us of the fuller meaning of Atonement—to be at one with God.
I love the reassurance in D&C 54:10: "And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls." We should start the process early rather than late. Seeking the Lord directly is good, commanded even, but there is a hint in Ether 3 about motives when seeking for God. Why did the Brother of Jared go up the mountain? Partly for himself, but also on behalf of everyone else in his community. I think that when we are looking for our lost brethren, seeking their welfare, trying to help others, then the Lord is inclined to answer our prayers more directly, quickly, and clearly. The word "revelation" generally refers to "new information" in Sunday school parlance, but we should remember that it eventually will include more than verbal commands or directions; one day, sooner or later, we will be standing face to face with our Father in heaven.
In the Old Testament: "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" (Gen. 3:9). "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word" (1Kings 18:21). "...the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I" (1Sam. 3:4). "And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?" (2Kings 19:13). "I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear..." (Isa. 66:4). "...I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not..." (Jer. 7:13). "...when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear..." (Isa. 65:12). "...when I called, was there none to answer?" (Isa. 50:2). "...when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount...the voice of the trumpet [was] exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled...and they stood at the nether part (foot) of the mount" (Ex. 19:13, 16, 17). "Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mal. 3:7).
In the Doctrine and Covenants, we find the questioning reversed: "O God, where art thou?" (D&C 121:1). "O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord!" (D&C 109:78).
"In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me" (D&C 101:8). Joseph Smith obviously took the Lord's counsel seriously, but for the rest of us, problems drive us to seek for the Lord.
We get an assurance that God will answer when we come looking for Him: "...ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt. 7:12). "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5). When we are fasting properly, we get this: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am" (Isa. 58:9). The Lord commands us to seek after Him and ask for what we need: "...the Lord came...unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours...the Lord chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord" (Ether 2:14). "O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires" (Ether 3:2).
Finally, after all this seeking on the part of the Lord and man, the Brother of Jared meets up with the Lord: "...the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood..." "Sawest thou more than this?" "Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me."
"And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters" (Ether 3:6, 9, 10, 13-14). The breach that separates man and God is healed.
It seems that first, like Adam, we get ourselves into such a mess that the safest and preferable option appears to be hiding from God. Then the Lord puts us in circumstances so unbearable that the option of returning to Him becomes the obvious choice (like the prodigal son, or Jonah), and we seek Him desperately. The subsequent reunion with God reminds us of the fuller meaning of Atonement—to be at one with God.
I love the reassurance in D&C 54:10: "And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls." We should start the process early rather than late. Seeking the Lord directly is good, commanded even, but there is a hint in Ether 3 about motives when seeking for God. Why did the Brother of Jared go up the mountain? Partly for himself, but also on behalf of everyone else in his community. I think that when we are looking for our lost brethren, seeking their welfare, trying to help others, then the Lord is inclined to answer our prayers more directly, quickly, and clearly. The word "revelation" generally refers to "new information" in Sunday school parlance, but we should remember that it eventually will include more than verbal commands or directions; one day, sooner or later, we will be standing face to face with our Father in heaven.
