Christian churches indulge in such bitter fights over differences in doctrines. Which church displays the power that Jesus demonstrated and which he promised all those who believe what he taught? Not one.
3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—
4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.
5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;
6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.
7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.
10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.
11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.
12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.
13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.
14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.
15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell! (2 Nephi 28)
Though doctrinal differences between Christian sects are substantial, the inescapable truth is that they are meaninglessly small compared to the difference between what any of them teach and what Jesus himself taught—as demonstrated plainly by their absolute failure to obtain and demonstrate the miraculous power he did, to say nothing of the power to persuade people to actually stop sinning, or even the courage to merely invite people to do so.
The same miracles that happened in the New Testament happen today. I have seen the breadth of those things happen in my personal experience. God is as willing to do all of these things today as he ever was, and he does them according to the same principles he ever did.
For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith. (2 Nephi 27:23)
If you do not experience these things, it is because you do not know these principles, and whoever you are entrusting to feed you spiritually does not have them to give.[1]
It is hard for me to imagine a situation where anyone will find the path to these things while being satisfied with what is clearly far less. When your hands are full of garbage, you cannot receive a good gift, even if it is given to you.
Would to God that it was only garbage in the hands of those who wonder why they do not have these experiences. As long as your hands are full of blood, you cannot see what is good, no matter what is done to show it to you.
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. (Isaiah 59)
Maybe if people were more willing to honestly recognize that for which they are given obvious evidence, they would be quicker to let go of what they have already been shown has no worth in order to make room for what does.
Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness. (2 Nephi 9:51)
The voice of the Lord is unto all the world. The volume is increasing. As it does, the blessing for hearing early will diminish. As the evidence mounts, the blessing for heeding it diminishes, because all things come by faith, and God is just.
As rare as miracles today may seem to you, I promise you that the day is fast approaching when they will be as common and disregarded as true prophecies are today. In that day, the Lord will need to resort to more dramatic signs of the value and veracity of what he offers. And that will not be a pleasurable experience for those who have not yet listened.
[1] - The miracles are subordinate to the principles by which they operate. God who sanctifies the temple is greater than the temple! To know what God is like, and to understand enough wisdom to see the value of how he is--what can compare with that? Solomon is regarded by many as the wisest person who ever lived. He did not ask for the power to do miracles. He asked for the wisdom to know how to bless his people. And God was impressed by that. Jesus--the actual wisest person who ever lived--did many mighty miracles, but only after he spend some 30 years seeking after something other than miracles. What did he seek? He sought to know more about the Father, and to become everything he learned just as soon as he learned it. If you want to know why you don't do the miracles Jesus did, start by making the changes you know about between how you live and how he lived.