God, our Neighbor

"And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel" (1 Kings 6:13)

That's a cool promise, that God will dwell with us (not just visit from time to time), but do we really believe that? I was in a gospel doctrine class one time and we were talking about Zion, specifically the city of Enoch. And a woman made a comment something like this: "Well, it was easier for them, Enoch was walking and talking with God, and I bet that some of the normal people were too. If Christ lived here now, if this was the Millennium, then we could do it too." I get what she's saying, if Christ was our constant companion, then it would be easier to choose the right. But wait, didn't He already promise that? Then why do we feel so alone?

Now, I'm not going to talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost and how God's spirit is always with us if we are worthy of it--which is true--but I'm going to talk about the literal promise stated above. But, to really understand what God is saying to Solomon, you need the previous verse: "Concerning this house [Solomon's temple] which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statues, and execute my judgements, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my words with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel" (1 Kings 6:12-13)

Translation: in the temple, if you keep all the commandments=God will dwell and not forsake His covenant people. Now, remember, the usual covenant is: we promise to be God's people, and He promises to be our God. This is why is called a 'covenant relationship'. But, the temple is special. It is God's house. A house is where someone dwells.

The Lord promised the same when He taught Moses how to build the tabernacle: "And there I will meet the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory...And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God"(Exodus 29:43, 45). In Doctrine and Covenants 124:27 it says: "and build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein."

So, yeah, in a very spiritual sense, God is with us through the administrations of the Holy Ghost. We can have visions and visitations. But, we also have God as our next door neighbor. Those close to the temple, and especially those in Utah, are so blessed that we have no excuse. When someone moves into the neighborhood, it is customary to at least go over and say hi, maybe make a treat or bring over a welcome gift. How often do we go to God's house and say hi? How often do we make something special to lay on His alter? He's right there, living next door.

And so I guess that what I wanted to say to that woman was, "We have no excuse. God is living among us." If we need extra strength, extra power, then great, we can go to the temple, that is what it is for, to endow us with power from on high. If we go to the temple not expecting to talk to the Lord, then I think we're missing something. We are the most blessed of people, we just need to be a little more neighborly.