It appears that stiffneckedness is a surefire way to douse revelation.
4 And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.I think it is important to realize here that according to Jarom, there is no other criteria that will cause revelation to cease. I personally believe this to be true. Of course as Jarom mentions, faith is necessary. But I believe one can have faith and yet be obstinate enough to cause revelation to depart from his life. Humility seems to be the opposite of stiffneckedness. To me, humility is the utter, complete acknowledgment of our dependence upon God for everything. That accompanied by personal willingness to do whatever God asks of us. While we may be deeply imperfect and lacking personal worthiness, revelation can and does come when we are humble and submissive. I have spent too much time standing amongst the stiffnecked.
2 comments:
same thoughts as you...
Very simple formula. I would think the opposite of stiffnecked would be humble. So to have communion with the spirit takes humility and faith.
I'd like to equate "stiffneckedness" to pride. I don't think there is an easier way to drive the spirit away than through pride. I also think this is why President Benson gave his amazing talk on pride, because he was aware of what a spirit killing attitude it is.
As Candleman said, stiffneckedness retreats in the face of humility, which is why that attitude is so important to cultivate in our lives.
Gratitude to the Lord for everything we have, are or may be blessed with is a clear antidote to either pride or stiffneckedness, and a perfect conduit for revelation.
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