In 1986, when President Benson spoke at his first conference as president of the Church, he announced a revelation he had received from the Lord calling the Church and all the children of Zion out from under the Lord's "condemnation, scourge and judgment" by allowing the sacred pages of the Book of Mormon to become the center of our spiritual lives. He promised that each child of Zion who did so would "receive a blessing hitherto unknown." (Ensign, May 1986, p. 78)

     This book is the first of a four-part series which describes my own journey in deeper understanding which led to a wonderful blessing which I, personally, had never known before. I had desired and sought for that blessing much of my adult life, but, up to that time, had yet to see those desires fulfilled. The blessing I had sought was what Mormon promised when he declared, that "YE CAN ENTER INTO THE REST OF THE LORD FROM THIS TIME HENCEFORTH UNTIL YE SHALL REST WITH HIM IN HEAVEN." (Moroni 7:3)

     I was thrilled by President Benson's promise because I thought that "entering the rest of the Lord" might be the blessing he was promising the Saints. If so, he would be in harmony with those scriptures in all four of the Standard Works which bear abundant testimony to the critical nature of this heavenly blessing.
     So I followed the prophet's counsel, having faith that there might be such a special blessing for those who would, as he instructed, sup daily from the pages of the Book of Mormon and ABIDE BY ITS PRECEPTS. Wonderfully, it was not long before I began to have a series of surprising experiences. I found, as Mormon promised, that we enter His rest when we receive the gift of the pure love of Christ because that love, as John declared, casts out all fear. For the first time I understood what it must mean to walk in the light as Christ is in the light. I began enjoying a totally new relationship with both our Savior and this world He has created for us. Just as He has promised, this new-found relationship had none of the old spiritual burdens I had carried so long.
     As I continued searching the scriptures, they began to expand into deeper meanings, clearly describing what to me had been this "hitherto unknown," deeper relationship with Christ.

     Not many of us have focused our attention on entering into the rest. Perhaps the reason is that we have not believed Christ was talking about a blessing for this life when He said "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
(Matthew 11:28)
     Yet, I found that many of His prophets have testified that entering into the Lord's rest is a blessing that we are invited to let Christ bestow upon us during our earthly probation. For example, Paul testified that he and many others of his fellow Saints had already entered into this rest, even though most members in his day were still failing to do so. Paul pled with them to enter into His rest before it was too late. He wrote:

Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it...for we which have believed DO ENTER INTO REST.(Hebrews 4:1&3)
     It appears that Paul also used other labels to describe entering the rest, such as being in "the fellowship of the mystery of Christ." Paul mourned that he was not allowed to teach such a deep, spiritual level to the zealous Saints at Corinth, but he was joyfully permitted to talk plainly to the Saints at Ephesus because they had already experienced being sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. Here are his profound words to the spiritually advanced Ephesians:

     Whereby when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ[That to me,] who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given...to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery...that CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in[His pure] LOVE, may be able to comprehend with ALL SAINTS what is the breadth, and length, and depth and height; and to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST, WHICH PASSETH KNOWLEDGE, THAT YE MIGHT BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD. (Ephesians 1:13, 3:4-19) (As will be the case with all quotations throughout this book, the emphasis by capitalization, italics and brackets are added by the author unless otherwise noted.)

     As for this statement by Paul, I have found no greater description of the magnitude of Christ's gift of His pure love, which is so great that it "passeth knowledge." I believe that it is for this reason that Christ is called a MYSTERY, "to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery...that CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS by faith."

     In the Book of Mormon, we have many prophets declaring the same message. Mormon ended his message about entering the rest of the Lord by saying that it is the blessed result of receiving the gift of charity, "the pure love of Christ," which the Father hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ, that ye may become the sons of God...that we may be purified even as He is pure." (Moroni 7:48)
     The great prophet Alma was just as emphatic about the availability of receiving this gift while still in this life. He testified that "there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the REST of the Lord their God." (Alma 13:12)
     What I also began finding was that the deeper spiritual treasures of all the four Standard Works tell us much about WHAT we are to experience in "the rest of the Lord." Yet, even more significantly, the Book of Mormon does more than tell us WHAT, it also tells us HOW!
     So the central theme of this series of four books will deal with the principles of HOW we can receive a blessing which, for most of us, has been "hitherto unknown." These books are an in-depth study of the teachings of our ancient and modern prophets who have cautiously revealed, and often partially concealed, this awakening process. They have assured us that all who diligently seek, with a humble heart, may be able to partake of the delicious fruit of the tree of life, which represents this pure and holy love of God which is shed into the hearts of the children of men.

     The essential fall of mankind comes from "looking beyond" the tree of life to seek the "wise" yet "bitter" fruit from the tree of knowledge. As we are reminded each time we go to the temple, we cannot have both trees at the same time. When we choose to live by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we inevitably lose access to the tree of life. It seems to me that this critical choice of taking pride in our great knowledge of good and evil has kept us under condemnation all these years and is referred to by the Lord as walking in darkness at noonday.

     But behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many who have been ordained among you, whom I have called but few of them are chosen. They who are not chosen have sinned a very grievous sin, in that they are walking in darkness at noon-day. (D&C 95:5-6)

     So, for the cover of this first volume, Book I, Looking Beyond the Mark, I show a picture of the symbolic white tree of life on a solid black background, representing that when we look beyond the tree of life, we look to the darkness, even "the darkness at noonday." This darkness is the essential characteristic of the forbidden tree of knowledge, because the penalty of that tree is death, which is separation, rather than life, which is eternal union.
     It is my firm belief that the prize or "mark" of the gospel is none other than being bestowed this most precious of all gifts, the pure love of Christ, thus enabling us to enter into the rest of the Lord, symbolizing the partaking of the precious fruit of the tree of life. Book II, Finding the Mark also has a white tree on the cover, but the cover is a rich purple, symbolizing the love of Christ, which we receive when we find the mark.

     The first edition of this book was published in 1993. Then, four years later, in 1997, I published Book II, Finding the Mark. Readers have told me that the second book is much clearer than the first. I had to agree. So in preparing a second edition of Book I, I have made a number of changes to provide more clarity in understanding the difference between these two primary levels of the gospel, one being "milk," symbolized by the tree of knowledge, and the "meat," symbolized by the tree of life. In Book II, I deal in greater depth with these two primary levels, showing the two different levels of the "milk gospel" and the two different levels of the "meat gospel," making four in all.
     For greater clarity, this book has been divided into two sections. Section I has to do with understanding the significance of looking BEYOND that aspect of the gospel which is referred to as the "MARK." The second section will consider the implications of looking beyond the mark as it relates to the darkness which covers the whole earth.
     The purpose of this Book I, Looking Beyond the Mark, is to help readers take their first steps in understanding that there are more than one level to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that by better understanding the mark and what looking beyond it means, that the blessing hitherto unknown promised to us by President Benson will begin to be enjoyed by more and more children of Zion. If you have questions, feel free to give me a call.

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