Elder Uceda,Mosiah 21:15 and D&C 101:7

[askandanswer]

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/the-lord-jesus-christ-teaches-us-to-pray?lang=eng]

So a moment of prayer is a very, very sacred moment. He is not one to say, “No, I will not listen to you now because you only come to me when you are in trouble.” Only men do that. He is not one to say, “Oh, you cannot imagine how busy I am now.” Only men say that.

Elder Juan A Uceda, Saturday morning session, October 2016 General Conference

 

Mosiah 21:15  And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.

 

Doctrine and Covenants 101:7  They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.

 

Does anyone else see an apparent inconsistency between, on the one hand, Elder Uceda’s teaching that God is not one to delay responding to a prayer because of some fault with the person praying, and on the other hand, the two verses above, which seem to suggest that the Lord is slow to hear a person’s prayer because of some fault with the person?

[Fether]

@askandanswer

Good question! I think what is being taught in the supposed contrasting accounts are different.

Elder Uceda is teaching that God's love for us is personal and he cares VERY much about all of his children.

In the two scriptural accounts, I believe it is teaching that he does not immediately bless those that only pray when they need something. Such passive blessings belong to those that keep the commandments associated with said blessings (D+C 130:20-21).

With the situation in Alma, he obviously did "hear" the prayers like it says, but he did not "hear" them in the sense of answering them.

God hears all our prayers but blesses us according to our obedience to the laws that exist.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Fether

[seashmore]

21 hours ago, askandanswer said:

 

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/the-lord-jesus-christ-teaches-us-to-pray?lang=eng]

So a moment of prayer is a very, very sacred moment. He is not one to say, “No, I will not listen to you now because you only come to me when you are in trouble.” Only men do that. He is not one to say, “Oh, you cannot imagine how busy I am now.” Only men say that.

Elder Juan A Uceda, Saturday morning session, October 2016 General Conference

 

Mosiah 21:15  And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.

 

Doctrine and Covenants 101:7  They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.

 

Does anyone else see an apparent inconsistency between, on the one hand, Elder Uceda’s teaching that God is not one to delay responding to a prayer because of some fault with the person praying, and on the other hand, the two verses above, which seem to suggest that the Lord is slow to hear a person’s prayer because of some fault with the person?

To answer your question, no, I don't see any inconsistencies. In the quote you provided, Elder Uceda says nothing regarding the speed of an answer. 

The scriptures you provided say we set the pace for the response rate on our prayers. (Warning: imperfect metaphor ahead.) Imagine you had an arrangement with someone where you leave notes for each other in a special place. When you first start, you're sending and receiving messages all day long. Eventually, it tapers off and days start to go by before you hear back. How often do you think you'll be checking that place to see if there's a note?

[CV75]

On 5/26/2017 at 11:58 PM, askandanswer said:

Does anyone else see an apparent inconsistency between, on the one hand, Elder Uceda’s teaching that God is not one to delay responding to a prayer because of some fault with the person praying, and on the other hand, the two verses above, which seem to suggest that the Lord is slow to hear a person’s prayer because of some fault with the person?

I think it is more about teaching than finding fault. He mentions some keys to having the Lord respond sooner than later: pray from the heart, with real intent; have an attitude that the Lord’s will be done; feel the connection with heaven; prepare (a big one in my opinion); pray continually (keep a prayer in our heart); demonstrate a willingness to receive. Sometimes it takes us a while to get all these in line in order for the Lord to hear and respond to us. Sometimes a life-or-death stimulates that process, and sometimes the Lord won't kill us for the sake of proving  a point!

Also, these keys are not examples of the iniquity mentioned  in Mosiah 21:15, or the slowness to obey in D&C 101:7. The Lord knows what we need and when to help us cultivate the faith to not backslide in these things.

Edited May 29, 2017 by CV75

[Anddenex]

I am inline with what others are suggesting, there is a difference between "listening" and "answering" the prayer. God is always listening to our prayers.