1 Nephi 14:1-2 and a few thoughts in the description

1 Nephi 14:1-2

1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—

2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

Later, in verse 10, it states "Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth."

I've been pondering these few verses since I read them with my family last night. People are often caught up in a fog of accusations, doubt, uncertainty, and confusion. This fog is so easily navigated through if only they look to the power of the Holy Spirit to guide them. I was listening to a recent convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as he discussed his story. He mentioned how he had been fighting against the Spirit, although he was a man who loved God and the scriptures, and it wasn't until he had decided to give in and do what he was being prompted to do before he finally gave another testament of Jesus Christ a true chance.

It's not clear to me how Bible loving folks may have hardened their hearts against the Lamb of God as He is their most important focus. However, it is clear to me, having been to a few protestant churches and a Catholic mass on a couple of different occasions, that the focus and the atmosphere is not necessarily inviting of the Spirit of God. The Spirit is quiet, meek, reverent, peaceful, and calm. Perhaps Galatians 5:22-23 describes it best.

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

I've personally never felt inspiration from the Spirit of God at a rock concert. Nor have I felt the Spirit of God while arguing over doctrine, although discussion of doctrine has been a completely different matter. Nor have I felt the Spirit of God while holding snakes. Nor have I felt Him while claiming moral superiority over any person. For all those examples do not invite the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God is reverent, and if we want to feel the Spirit more often then we too must make our lives reverent.