Eye of Faith

First one sees with an “eye of faith” and then by the eyes themselves. The faith to see precedes seeing.¹ This is set out in the following passage: And there were many whose faith was so exceeding strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith; and they were glad (Ether 5:3). Development of the faith to see within the veil comes after having first seen “with an eye of faith.”² Unless a person sees these things through the eyes of faith as a necessary first step, he cannot behold the real thing. The one qualifies for the other. The one is a necessary precondition for the other. God has created mortals in such a way that they must progress in these things, from grace to grace, before they can receive the fullness. If they cannot first see the “type” in faith, nothing doubting, then there is no reason for the Lord to send the real thing. That would be sending a “sign” to produce faith, rather than having the sign follow faith. When someone accepts the “type” as the real thing, and drains from it all of its symbolic meaning, then there is no reason to withhold the real thing any longer. Then come the signs that follow faith. That is the process irrevocably decreed before the foundation of the world. If a man or woman conforms to it and receives the types in faith, then he or she will grow from grace to grace.³