“I was still not at peace and then came the lesson. Elder Lee said, ’Do you know what is wrong with you-you always want to see the end from the beginning.’ I replied quietly that I wanted to see at least a few steps ahead. He answered by quoting from the sixth verse of the twelfth chapter of Ether: ’Wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.’ And then he added, ’My boy, you must learn to walk to the edge of the light and perhaps a few steps into the darkness, and you will find that the light will appear and move ahead of you.’”
“Dispute Not Because Ye See Not”
Many of Ether’s great prophecies and testimonies were rejected by the spiritually blind Jaredites. Moroni informs us that their disbelief was because “they saw them not.” This is an age-old rejection of the spiritual workings of God. The world states that “seeing is believing.” Such logic, however, defies the workings of God and denies the words of prophets. Faithless anti-Christs, like Korihor, and others always insist on visual “proof” as a preface to and a condition for faith (see Alma 30:15).
The scriptures, however, repeatedly teach that seeing is not only unessential to faith but in some respects is also irrelevant to the acquisition of faith and hope (see Hebrews 11:1; Romans 8:24-25; Alma 32:21; D&C 63:6-12). The Savior testified that those who believe without seeing are more blessed than those who require tangible evidences in order to believe (see John 20:29; 3 Nephi 12:1-2; D&C 34:4). Moroni’s urging us to “dispute not because ye see not” is not a reprimand but an invitation to acquire greater faith.
To those who have true faith there is no reason to murmur or dispute, because they realize that faith- faith that is not dependent upon mortal sight- opens the spiritual eyes to greater views of the things of God. This kind of spiritual “seeing” inevitably leads one to greater faith and hope, the filling of one’s life with charity, and a life that abounds in good “works and service to others.”