Simple recipes are better

So I came home from working out today, and there was a pan on the stove. Somebody had done one of those frozen meals for two and left the remains on the stove. There was enough to make me happy - almost - so I added some chicken from a can and heated it up. Then it called me to throw some soy sauce in there. Presto - lunch it was. The corn, cauliflower and chicken and whatever else was in there made a colorful lunch.

While some of us can appreciate a simple meal, there are recipes that the Lord gives us too. They are all pretty simple - I suspect that they are engineered to be as easy to do as canned chicken added to pre-cooked skillet food. I can imagine the engineering groups in heaven designing stuff- the conversation is like this: "Can we make that recipe easier for God's children? If yes, then let's do it!"

So here's the recipe I found for getting access to knowledge and mysteries. It's described by the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 42:61 and D&C 6:7. Here's the recipe: you ask.Yep, that's the recipe. One step.

61: "If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things - that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal."

Sooo - you ask. Then revelations, knowledge, and mysteries and peaceable things happen. Then joy and life eternal happens. Pretty long list considering it all started with us just asking.

This goes me down the road of wondering what it means to ask. It's kind of like what looking means in the phrase "look to God and live". It's not a glance, it's probably not even just rotating our heads past the mark and calling that a look. I believe it's a focused fixation on the target. A dedication of your soul. After all, if someone offered you a million dollars if you would look after his home while he was gone, would you drive by once a day, or would you park there in your car and watch it until he came back?

I guess another way of describing it is that if you glance, you get the level of blessings that come with glancing. If you turn your head past it a few times a week, you get that level of assistance. But if you focus - well, you get the idea.

So back to asking. What does the Lord consider an appropriate ask? I don't think anyone knows here on earth, and it's likely managed on a case by case basis from the other side, but I expect a real ask is much like what I've discussed in previous posts: there must be real intent. Not a curiosity, or just an attempt to prove it wrong, but real intent. Moroni 10:4-5 comes to mind here.

But how comforting is it to know that if we want mysteries, or wisdom, or knowledge, or peace, that it's right there for the asking? And if our request is real, then it is promised to be provided? That's pretty darn awesome.

Again, I feel the need for a caveat. I believe that if I sincerely ask for wisdom, and if I'm (let's pull out a number here) 1/10th ready for a gift, then I'll receive 1/10th of a gift. Numbers are very awkward here though, as gifts can be infinite, and you can't take percentages of infinity. My math teacher in junior high would tell you that's still infinite. I guess it's just fair to say that I'll receive what I'm ready for - after I ask.

May we all ask for our own personal greatness from our Heavenly Father. There are gifts, mysteries, knowledge, wisdom, peace and riches that he's got there, waiting to deliver. We just gotta ask.