14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.15 Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;

16 Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.

17 I tell thee these things as a witness unto thee–that the words or the work which thou hast been writing are true.
22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.

23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?
24 And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness?
Oliver Cowdry like many of the early leaders of the Church begin inquiring into the “gold bible” and the Prophet Joseph Smith out of pure curiosity. At some point, he received a revelation that changed the course of his life. Yet, like many of us, Oliver began to have doubts about what he had heard. He wondered whether the sacrifice asked of him was truly required of the Lord. He likely felt overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility ahead of him.

And so, he turned to the Lord and asked him for further insight. 

I love the Lord’s response for several reasons.

First, there is no condemnation in his voice, only counsel and encouragement. God knows that we will doubt and second guess ourselves sometimes. He will not rebuke us, but instead will simply encourage us to greater faithfulness.

Second, the Lord reminds Oliver that he is in control and directs our lives. He has brought us to our current place in life for a reason. Wherever we are, we can start where we stand and act according to the light we are given.

Third, the Lord reminds Oliver to remember his past experiences and not to doubt them. We to have all had incredible spiritual experiences. We must likewise cast our mind back to our experiences and remember how we felt.

Fourth, the Lord reminds Oliver that the spirit teaches truth to our mind and also brings peace to our heart. He encourages Oliver to trust that feeling. We to can trust the feelings of the spirit that we receive.