"10 ¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount." (Exodus 19:10–11, 17)
"5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:" (Exodus 19:5)
"12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 ¶ And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;" (Luke 6:12–13)
"2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away." (Enos 1:2–6)
"2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God." (Alma 17:2–3)
And here's the commentary entitled: "Sacred experiences require preparation." :
"The Lord told Moses that the children of Israel needed to be prepared before they could “meet with God” (Exodus 19:10–11, 17) and keep a covenant with Him (see Exodus 19:5). How do you prepare for spiritual experiences, including the sacrament and temple ordinances? How can you help others prepare? What do you learn about preparation from Luke 6:12–13; Enos 1:2–6; Alma 17:2–3?"
Preparing for spiritual experiences like the sacrament and temple ordinances is a regular, daily, minute-by-minute, moment-by-moment thing. I am studying the scriptures daily. I am supposed to be saying my prayers--talking to the Lord throughout the day every single day. And yet sometimes I get preoccupied with my own concerns and stuff. When I can have a conversation with the Lord throughout the day, thanking Him for the many blessings I am receiving--big and small ones, and conversing with Him about my goals and concerns, I feel I am aligned with Him more, and He is really close to me. When I feel His closeness, I am more prepared for spiritual experiences. I know He knows exactly what I'm going through. And He wants me to share with Him my concerns, and He will direct my path. And yet I have the tendency to rely on myself to figure things out on my own. Whenever I am feeling triggered, I need to turn to the Lord and ask: "What is it that thou art teaching me in this particular situation?" And if I have figured out what to do on my own, I need to ask the Lord for confirmation. My tendency to look at the big picture and focus on solutions to problems would sometimes make me critical of those who lack foresight and make decisions based only on a small part of the big picture. It's a challenge for me to be patient with people whose mindset is not the same as mine. The Lord knows this and looks like He wants me to rise above this challenge.
I can help others prepare for spiritual experiences by sharing with them my own and by showing them my example of doing my own preparation.
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