Hidden Treasures—Dark or Bright?

A couple of days ago, for the hundredth-plus time, I read this scripture:

 

And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God, that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth shall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land, save he be a righteous man and shall hide it up unto the Lord.

 

It stood out to me more than usual because I’d been thinking about a friend’s patriarchal blessing promise (one that she felt comfortable sharing with me) that she would uncover treasure upon treasure, volume upon volume of heretofore hidden information—family history work. I’ve been thinking about her blessing’s promise in relation to my own desire to find Anthony’s great-great-grandfather, John Reed Mitchell’s parents.

 

I want to find that treasure hidden in the earth.

 

Samuel the Lamanite continued on:

 

For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me; and cursed be they who hide not up their treasures unto me; for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous; and he that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse of the land.

 

And the day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures, because they have set their hearts upon riches; and because they have set their hearts upon their riches, and will hide up their treasures when they shall flee before their enemies; because they will not hide them up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures; and in that day shall they be smitten, saith the Lord.

 

Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you.

 

Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities.

 

So we have riches. The righteous hide their riches unto the Lord. The wicked don’t. What about a person trying to be righteous that forgets to hide up her riches unto the Lord?

Yikes.

 

Also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you.

 

This sentence really stood out to me because of the word “redeem.”

 

[H]e that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse of the land.

 

Redeem immediately calls to mind a redeemer—the Redeemer.

Hidden Treasures

 

In accordance with my culture, the most important treasure I’ve ever put in the ground or have seen put in the ground are the bodies of my loved ones. They are my treasure laid to rest with a dedicatory prayer. They are hidden up unto the Lord. And if they’ve accessed Jesus Christ’s Atonement (or choose to do so in the spirit world), He shall redeem them from the curse of the land. He’ll redeem them from the Fall.

 

Have I hidden other kinds of treasures in the earth?

 

The scriptural passage speaks of riches hidden in the earth. I’ve never hidden riches in the earth. But in this modern day and age, I have hidden up my riches in vaults via a deposit box and digital transactions. My riches are 1s and 0s and hidden under usernames and passwords. But to the Lord? I need to consider this.

 

Along with swords and treasures becoming slippery and lost, the Book of Mormon discusses two other items that were hidden: plates and swords.

 

Hidden Plates—Sealed and Revealed

 

Moroni talked about hiding up the sacred records unto the Lord and knowing the records would one day be found. In the same chapter, he spoke of hiding up the great revelations the Brother of Jared received. These treasures are hidden up physically, sealed, on the golden plates. But, they’re also hidden up by unbelief.

 

And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

Hidden Swords—Slippery and Stained or Bright

 

The wicked Nephites discovered that their swords became slippery. They even slept on their swords and couldn’t find the swords in the morning. When they hid things, they couldn’t find them again.

 

Another group of swords hidden in the earth belonged to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They knew exactly where they hid their swords. They refused to uncover them.

 

And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

 

That imagery of something buried so that it can remain bright reinforces the Lord’s command to do perform everything we do in His name. As we persist in keeping that commandment, our brightness increases.

 

And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.

 

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

 

And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you.

 

I learned to be buried and bright in the water of baptism. Then as I continue through life and bury my sins through Christ’s Atonement, with less stains, my soul becomes brighter and brighter. Then as I am one day buried in the earth, I will not be buried in darkness, but brightness. I will be a treasure that can be found. And I trust that I will be ultimately redeemed from the cursed earth, the prison of the Fall, and find that the earth, now blessed, became a glorified celestial home.