Spiritual experiences come from two sources. Lucifer or Christ. Where the deception comes in is where we are told we can have them on our own.
All the great prophets listed were shown things by God. There are only two paths to walk. Elder Featherstone gave me this example.
There was a good man that was out in a field one day when Lucifer came and talked with him. Lucifer asked him if he was sure the book of Mormon was true. He said yes it was true. Lucifer then challenged him to go back and read the book of Mormon again. The man did that night. He read the Book of Mormon all the way through and felt nothing. He felt no truth; it was empty to him. This greatly concerned the man, so he got on his knees and talked to God. God told him to read the book again but this time He would take him through it instead of Lucifer. As the man read the pages of the book of Mormon this time with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost testified of its truthfulness. He was full of joy and faith for he sought the Lord's will and not his own understandings. He was not aware it was Lucifer that was taking him through the book of Mormon the first time, but he had the faith to turn to God for the answers why. He could have just concluded it was false. The next day he was called to be a stake president over a vast area in Canada. He was almost tricked out of his faith from Lucifer. Lucifer knows that if the Holy Ghost is not there, he is. For there are only two sides that prompt us and guide us. We are not left to our own devises. Lucifer is now teaching that all truth is inside ourselves, for we are “gods”. This is his great lie and deception. As the GAs told me this would play a huge role in the separation of the wheat and tares in the church.
We are either inspired by Lucifer or God. There is no middle ground we get to walk. Once we revolt or go against anything that comes from Father we are now under Lucifer’s control. This can be even very small things in our daily lives.
We all have the right to ask Father to show us things in vision and give us revelations, but we also need to accept that if He chooses not to, that is His answer. We are not then to seek out other means of spiritual experiences outside of Him. I would be the last person to ever say that the Lord does not use visions, revelations etc to teach us for I testify He does. Yet I am the first to say Lucifer can mimic all spiritual gifts. The only way to safeguard yourself is to never focus on your own will, but only focus on doing the will of Father. Seek not your own understanding but seek the Lord's in all things. If we are to be like Him, we are to be teachable by Him, not prideful and self seeking.
There are no spiritual experiences controlled by oneself. They come from one power or the other. Lucifer wants us to believe we have the power within or the "divine within" to reach spiritual states without Father. It is one or the other that give us these experiences. We are to learn from Father what we want to know, not go to Lucifer.
Those that follow Lucifer use meditation and explain how it works. It is to gain inspiration from Lucifer and his spirit guides. Father has many other ways to show us these things. The “Divine within” and meditation bring out the self-focused parts of us, our pride. We are to be humble and submit our will to Father in all things. We are not to find paths around Father for our own means. We either rely on Father completely or we are relying on Lucifer to fill in our perceived missing gaps.
Again as I have said the church has never promoted the popular definition of meditation as a way to get close to Father or to gain insights. This is telling in itself. I know where they stand on this matter from meeting with them. But it is not necessary to have had to hear their opinions on this matter as it is not in the scriptures nor ever taught. If it was an approved path of gaining spiritual knowledge it would be taught in our Church and it is not. But it is taught in Lucifer’s spirituality as a means to reach him and his spirit guides and their promptings and information. Books on the subject are not sold in LDS bookstores but are sold in occult book stores and now in all major book chains.
In verifying the accuracy of the book of Mormon, what are we taught is to take it to the Lord with our questions and that the Holy Ghost will cause a burning in the bosom as a witness. We are not told to seek answers regarding its truth in other ways. This is how we are to seek truth in all things. We are to take all things to the Lord and seek His guidance. We are not to find answers by tapping into some great source of knowledge of the universe via meditation. We are lied to when we are told that it is a neutral universal power we tap into. It is not neutral. There are only two sides that teach us - Father and Lucifer. We cannot gain spiritual insights on our own. It is either The Holy Ghost teaches us or Lucifer and his followers do.
Elder Bednar said:
"In this regard, you and I are much like the long, thin strands of glass used to create the fiber-optic cables through which light signals are transmitted over very long distances. Just as the glass in these cables must be pure to conduct the light efficiently and effectively, so we should become and remain worthy conduits through whom the Spirit of the Lord can operate.
But brothers and sisters, we must be careful to remember in our service that we are conduits and channels; we are not the light. "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:20). It is never about me and it is never about you. In fact, anything you or I do as an instructor that knowingly and intentionally draws attention to self-in the messages we present, in the methods we use, or in our personal demeanor-is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost. "Doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God" (D&C 50:17-18)."
"SEEK LEARNING BY FAITH" Address to CES Religious Educators February 3, 2006 Jordan Institute of Religion)
We can be inspired by either side. Great miracles are performed and cunning words used to entice our itching ears. But it boils down to only two sources or power; we do not have power on our own. We just get to choose for whom we are a conduit.
