A Spiritual Thermometer

When someone gets sick it’s important to know whether they have a fever or not. A fever lets you know that there’s some kind of infection going on somewhere in the body and that it requires special attention. A thermometer is used to determine the degree of the fever and how far off it is from the normal 98.6° of the human body. Higher ranges above 103° are considered extremely serious.

Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature goes lower than 95° and usually occurs when it has been exposed to cold temperatures for long periods of time without proper insulation or clothing.

But in both cases whether it is too far above or below the normal range, it can result in death.

Thermometers are used to measure all sorts of things: making sure meat is cooked at the proper temperature, determining the temperature of the sun, revealing weather readings, to prevent icing on airplane wings, electrical power facilities, and a whole list of other things.

All these are used to gauge a range of effects based upon certain standards thereby predicting various outcomes.

But is there such a thing as a spiritual thermometer?

Is there some way we could gauge whether our spirit was in proper alignment with Heavenly Fathers? Is there some method that could be used to determine our eventual outcomes and make changes accordingly?

I propose that there is such a thing as a Spiritual Thermometer and it is something most would never consider: the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon was given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to his prophet Mormon as he was inspired to cherry pick a variety of stories and examples from 1000 years of history of His people. Of all the things that could’ve happened during that previous thousand years, we have relatively few that compile the Book of Mormon.

In our day of extremely advanced technological wonderment we are bombarded with hundreds or even thousands of stories per day as to what goes on in the world. Yet the Lord chose the most important ones of all that happened over 1000 years of time and recorded them in the Book of Mormon for our day and I believe that it is possible that all those with which we are bombarded with everyday, fit into the ones revealed in the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is the Perfect Spiritual Thermometer.

I have found that when my heart is right; when the desire is there to learn what Heavenly Father would have me do; when I really want to know something of importance or value; when I have a great and important decision staring me in the face; when I am more or less in line with being as righteous as I should be and not under heavy sin; when I’m doing my duty and serving in my calling in the church; then I find great inspiration from reading the Book of Mormon and direction as to what I need to do or change.

I have also found that when I have done something wrong, if I open its pages I can receive promptings of what to do to get back on track.

Just as a Spiritual Thermometer, The Book of Mormon tells me when I am on target or off. 

I have had wonderful experiences by reading this great book. Sometimes I felt as if they were angels standing nearby wanting me to get the message. Sometimes it seems like words were jumping off the page when light was emanating from the book. Sometimes it seemed as if the Lord was speaking directly to me and I could hear his voice as a whisper into my mind. Sometimes it’s almost as if I can see the future and know how to prepare for it and also receive warnings regarding dangers ahead.

Sadly, I can’t say that that happens all the time or even very often, in fact sometimes I drift off or fall asleep and feel like Mark Twain when he called the Book of Mormon, “chloroform in print” (thus a possible insight into his spirituality). Sometimes when I’m reading my mind is wandering elsewhere and thinking about something else. Sometimes it’s as if I don’t even know what I just read for the past five minutes and it seems uninteresting or even boring.

What I’ve come to realize is that my reaction to the Book of Mormon and the inspiration I receive from reading it is a perfect spiritual thermometer to gauge my spirituality. Once I understand that this book was written specifically for me and the Lord has gone to great efforts to deliver something akin to my own Liahona, then I can use it to measure my own heart. I will know whether or not I am in tune with him that day. I will know if there’s something that I need to work on or some danger is lurking within my spirit, whether I’m more concerned with the things of the world than I am with the things of God, whether the sin of pride has overtaken me or I am submitting my will to His, whether I am building a mansion in Babylon or a permanent residence in Zion. I will know what I am on the path or not and if I humble myself and bring myself into subjection to the spirit, I can be moving in the right direction again.

I believe that the Book of Mormon is the most perfect spiritual thermometer on the face of the earth, and heeding to and abiding by its teachings will help keep anyone who reads it with real intent, having faith in Christ on the straight and narrow path.