Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Sacred vs Secret

Doctrine and Covenants 10:9
9 Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.





Elder Paul B Pieper, To Hold Sacred, General Conference April 2012
Sacred means worthy of veneration and respect. By designating something as sacred, the Lord signals that it is of higher value and priority than other things. Sacred things are to be treated with more care, given greater deference, and regarded with deeper reverence. Sacred ranks high in the hierarchy of heavenly values.


Hebrews 9:5
 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.




Matthew 17:9
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the avision to no bman, until the Son of man be risen again from the cdead.


3 Nephi 26;9-11
9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the agreater things be made manifest unto them.

10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the agreater things be bwithheld from them, unto their condemnation.

11 Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord aforbade it, saying: I will btry the faith of my people.


Alma 12:9-11
9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to aknow the bmysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart conly according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

10 And therefore, he that will aharden his heart, the same receiveth the blesser portion of the word; and he that will cnot harden his heart, to him is dgiven the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser aportion of the word until they bknow nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the cchains of dhell.


Men only receive what they have prepared themselves to receive. The rest they do not understand and are not given more of what God has for them.


Perhaps ones mind immediately flashes to the things of the temple when one reads this. I would propose that it is more expansive. There are times in the scriptures where the author states that they have been constrained from writing more. I would also propose that there are some int heir personal lives that have things that have been revealed to them that they feel constrained by the spirit to share, but under certain circumstances and not share them with the public at large.


Matthew 7: 6
6 ¶ aGive not that which is bholy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your cpearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.