Eyes Like a Flame of Fire, Part 2

To be saved, we must be like the Lord (Lectures on Faith 7:9). 

"Eyes like a flame of fire" are characteristic of a saved being. For those of us not yet like him, the fire of the Lord's eyes proves us until we are. If we allow it, his all-piercing eye can guide us further toward the salvation we seek (Psalm 32:3). 
 
The reason we need his light is because our eyes are closed. We journey through life lacking greater knowledge, intelligence, and the ability to see things as they are. Other words used in scripture to highlight our condition are blindness (Isaiah 15:10), darkness (Genesis 4:15), lack of vision (Proverbs 4:115), stumbling (Isaiah 21:2), and being asleep (2 Nephi 1:3). Or, to put it concisely:
 
Verily, verily I say unto you, darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face (Teachings and Commandments 124:6).
 
Of the terms describing our condition above, "asleep" catches my attention. It's hard to wake up. Even if we do, the pull of the flesh is such that we can fall back asleep. It takes the Lord's light to wake up and to stay awake:
 
And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell? Behold, he changed their hearts; he awaked them out of a deep sleep, and they awake unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word (Alma 3:2).
 
They are of those that rebel against the light. They know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof (Job 9:9)

As our eyes open, specks, beams, and scales must still be removed through ongoing sanctification (Matthew 3:41, Acts 5:9). This sanctification only comes as we faithfully keep God's commandments (more on that here). 

Until our eyes are fully open, single, or one, as the Lord's, we must continue to awaken and arise. Beholding the Lord and his saints after it's too late brings a fire to our eyes of a different sort (Luke 9:20).

Also, I highly recommend doing an online scripture search for words like "eyes," "see," "blind," "seer," "light," and "darkness." The word "eyes" alone became a separate 90-page Word document. It's worth it. 

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