POWER

     I have heard of zealous people who play with deadly snakes and indulge in other risky behaviors on the grounds that they have "enough faith" so God will protect them. I do believe that God is aware of those who trust in Him. However, He is totally in charge. He controls when someone arrives in mortality and when someone leaves. We can take that power into our own hands by suicide or murder but that is evidence that we don't trust God. It is really important to God that we trust Him. Just as any loving parent, He loves us, takes care of us,  blesses us, and wants us to believe that whatever He decides, whether or not we understand, is what is best for us and everything we may not be fully aware of. He expresses His frustration thus: O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore their wisdom is foolishness, and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. (2Ne 9:28) He warns us ahead of time and reminds us after experiences where we might forget to pay attention to greater wisdom. And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. (Deut. 8: 17) Even great Bible heroes like King David can forget. I am amazed when I read 2 Samuel 22 how expressive David is about how much he loves and worships God, yet, ultimately he gives in to the natural man (who is the enemy of God) and forgets to obey and trust God who has given him EVERYTHING!! In the book of Acts 8 we can read about Simon, a former sorcerer, who watches the apostles give the Holy Ghost to people and admires "their power" but obviously has no clue what the power is or whose power it actually is. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou has neither part nor lot in this matter: for they heart is not right in the sight of God.
     God has given us the information we need if we want to be like His prophets or Jesus's apostles. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:15,16) There have been several people who have manages to have incredible power to persuade people, cause miracles, and feel confident and at peace. We read of such a man in Helaman chapter 10: Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou has done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to they word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. Although Nephi was unusual as a righteous man, he was not the only one. He was "cleansed every whit from his iniquity".
     So, the irony is that those who seek to have power to do miracles can only do so if they don't seek this power so others can admire them. God gives this power, not for the puffing up of men in their pride and vanity, but for the "work" to be done. Whether it's to get people to listen to the gospel or relieve the suffering of those He has determined should be relieved at the moment or any other purpose He determines in His greater wisdom and love, His power cannot be used except by those who are cleansed every whit from their iniquity. The power never belongs to individual men. The Lord can take it away any time- He can take THEM away any time. That's what we need to remember. And it's not because He is a big, mean boss who wants everything His way. It's because He loves us beyond what we can even comprehend and He is wiser beyond what we can comprehend. He wants to give us ALL that He has, but only when we're ready to deal well with it.