As I have heard reactions to my book, “How To Have Your Second Comforter,” a few have complained that the book teaches how to conjure up a vision; and that seeing God in such a manner is a deception. They suggest that if we truly see Him it should be with our physical eyes. Is this how we are taught in scripture?
10 And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, [Pray to know what this means for you] that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, [don’t compare yourself to others] and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, [broken heart and contrite spirit] the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.
11 For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God.
12 Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.
13 Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected. (D&C 67:10-13)
Very seldom do we rend the veil the first time we attempt to commune with God. He requires us to patiently go through the steps of making ourselves holy or sanctified. It is learning to see in the Spirit.
When I approach the Lord I go through a process of filling myself with light and holiness. I ask the Lord for that which I desire. Here is a simple checklist that I do before approaching Him:
- I ask for forgiveness.
- I ask that he pour His light and glory upon me. (I see it and bathe in it until I am clean.)
- I thank and praise Him.
- I pray and sing in tongues.
- I ask if I can come to Him.
Of course I often will come fasting, take the Sacrament, and do all the commandments to the best of my ability, but these last five items help me to prepare my eye that it is single to the glory of God.
Some would describe this as “conjuring.’ This means to use trickery or self-hypnosis to get the desired affect. Nobody wants to be tricked into thinking they have witnessed the spiritual realm. Perhaps in our time of history more than any other this is a concern. The secular world has studied psychology and the brain to determine that the spiritual world is an illusion. As they say, “A human can conjure up anything if they want it bad enough. Its best to stick to what you can measure with your own two eyes.”
How much of what you see with your natural eyes is real? What about what you hear with your ears? What about the things you touch? When you see, your brain is creating a three dimensional illusion from the photons of light transmitted from the back of the retina to parts of your brain. When you hear something it is the tiny hairs in your ears transmitting vibrations into the brain. Everything you perceive as reality is simply the human body’s assimilation of light and energy into the brain. There are far more spectrums of light that you cannot see until you have a sensitivity to see these realities with your spiritual eyes.
Like the infant learning to use their eyes when they are born; at first it can only see a few inches in front of their face and after about eight months they begin to decipher shapes and people for the first time. For many, our spiritual eyes require a similar development.
66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.
67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
68 Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will. (D&C 88:66-68)
How open is your spiritual eye? Are you like the newborn beginning to see? Will you choose to dismiss your new vision because it does not conform to what men have taught you in school and the halls of science? Open your eye my friends! Do not doubt, for remember, “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial [test or experiment] of your faith.” (Ether 12:6)
Pure Revelations 
Thank you for sharing. The problem relying solely on physical evidence is the that there is never enough of it.
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Its ok Jon, I think seers policing each-other’s seers experiences is a circular firing squad. Thanks for staying above the fray.
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This is consistent with things Denver has expounded on as well. In his book, Preserving the Restoration on page 346 he talks about D&C 76: 114-118 “and being able, while in the flesh, bear his presence in the world of glory.” Denver then says, “I have been to that world of glory. I have abided in His presence.” He (Denver) went to that world of glory. He went to Christ and abode in His presence.
I like John 1: 38-39 where two disciples are following Jesus.
38. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39. He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
Christ takes you to His world of Glory. Come and see.
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I had a few more thoughts I wanted to add here:
Vision vs. visitation: 2 Corinthians 12:2 “whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth”. I have seen an angel (my Grandmother) and I can tell you that what I saw is not physical like the realm in which we live. It is matter entirely more fine, as Joseph Smith described in D&C 131: 7-8, “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.”
There are those who have seen Christ though they were “caught up to an exceedingly high mountain”. Those who have done so can echo the words – “in the body or out, it can not be explained”.
Joseph Smith had a ‘seer stone’ in which he used to receive revelation and ‘see’ things not possible without it. He was ‘in the flesh’ yet having a visionary experience. Here is a quote from Brigham Young:
Young also declared that Joseph “showed us his stone.” Joseph then explained “that every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness, and most of those who do find one make an evil use of it.”
(For more reading on the seer stone, LDS living did an article on it found here: http://www.ldsliving.com/Joseph-Smith-Had-a-Second-Seer-Stone-What-We-Know-About-It/s/83084?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email)
All those experiences, speaking in tongues, visions, dreams, etc. are still possible. But Moroni teaches us something vital for our time today:
37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain. (Moroni 7)
Cast off your unbelief – Joseph taught this time and time again:
“I say to all those who are disposed to set up stakes for the Almighty, You will come short of the glory of God. To become a joint heir of the heirship of the Son, one must put away all his false traditions.” History of the Church, 5:554; paragraph divisions altered; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Aug. 27, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards and William Clayton.
“The great thing for us to know is to comprehend what God did institute before the foundation of the world. Who knows it? It is the constitutional disposition of mankind to set up stakes and set bounds to the works and ways of the Almighty. … That which hath been hid from before the foundation of the world is revealed to babes and sucklings in the last days [see D&C 128:18].” History of the Church, 5:529-30; paragraph divisions altered; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Aug. 13, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards.
“When men open their lips against [the truth] they do not injure me, but injure themselves. … When things that are of the greatest importance are passed over by weak-minded men without even a thought, I want to see truth in all its bearings and hug it to my bosom. I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.” History of the Church, 6:477; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on June 16, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Thomas Bullock; see also appendix, page 562, item 3.
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In addition to the above scriptures, the following seems relevant regarding seeing spiritually. From Ether 12–
19 And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.
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When blessing the sacrament, do you use the words from Moroni 4&5?
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Yes, but I personalize it like I explained in my first book.
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Thank you for the reminder. It’s been a while since I read the first book.
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Wow I agree with the things said in this post! Others and myself have confirmed that there is a calcification over the pineal gland on some level, which is considered the God gland that helps us feel & see the spiritual realm with our third eye! Whether this unhealthy handicapp is spiritual, physical, or both, I encourage each of us to ask the Lord that any blocks and or biases be removed (like Pride and false belief)! The more specific the prayer and intention then the more specific the blessing and miracle! also it does help to ask the right questions so we can therefore receive the right answers!
And it does take practice, I used to only receive Visions at night whether in dream or awake, then a few years ago I made up my mind to sacrifice & commit to receiving more during the day with my eyes open, by putting aside an hour or more each day to practice discernment with visions and Christ!
I would recommend to also ask that Christ be your guide with every vision for protection and to know his presence, and feel the fruits of the spirit that come with Him!
I hope this helps someone, much love to all who are guided to read this! Hugs!
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PR, I’m having a bit of trouble on this. Maybe it’s just a “faith thing” and I simply need more faith, but it’s frustrating nonetheless and I’m not sure where I’m going wrong. I’m working on being worthy to have a baptism of fire right now. It’s a slow process for me as I struggle with constant distractions, but in the meantime I have difficult questions I’d like to ask the Lord. I feel strongly (at least desire strongly) to have a vision that answers at least one of my questions. I’ve had visions before, but only with my eyes closed. Dreams, prayers, ministering of angels, etc.
I seem to be able to get decent results with my eyes closed, but sometimes I have a strong desire to have an “open vision.” I want to be able to see an angel with my eyes open, not necessarily a bodily appearance (although I’d have no problem with that!). I want to be able to be instructed not just while my eyes are shut.
When I search online for “open vision,” hardly anything comes up and you don’t seem to describe this too much in your books. Maybe I’m just missing the obvious, but I’m honestly confused on this point. I realize it might be highly personal and quite variable from person to person. Some of it may even depend on our physiology.
But I think the starting point is, for me at least, how can I see what you call “glimpses?” These seem to be the precursor for full-on open visions, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one yet. Maybe, just barely, very slightly. But it was all I could do to just muster that tiny bit. And it was almost imperceptible. I’ve also practiced “seeing auras,” is this somehow related? It’s hard for me to do and I have very little that I can actually “practice” in this regard.
As I understand, an open vision is one where your eyes are open. How is that even possible? I prayed about it once, and I felt that the only way is for open’s natural and spiritual eyes to be open at the same time. Typically, one set of eyes is closed or the other; they’re usually not open at the same time. That was how it was explained to me. But how can I practice receiving such a vision? I think, essentially the question is, how can I practice having my spiritual eyes open while my natural eyes are open? Do you have any advice or exercises similar to what’s in “How to Open Your Spiritual Eyes”? [Each person is different and the Lord blesses us according to our faith and the intent of our hearts. I put everything in the book How to Open Your Spiritual Eyes, including what might inhibit you from developing those sensitivities. There is no magical secret recipe. It is a process that for some takes many years, and others not as much. If your intent is based on love and service, and you trust in the Lord He help you in this process. PR]
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