Revelation to Guide His Church
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (Articles of Faith. 1:9).
Revelation comes in an orderly way in the Church. We are entitled to personal revelation. However, unless we are set apart to some presiding office, we will not receive revelations concerning what others should do.
Revelation in the Church comes to those who have been properly called, sustained, ordained, or set apart. A bishop, for instance, will not receive any revelation concerning a neighboring ward, because that is out of his jurisdiction. Boyd K. Packer, Revelation in a Changing World.
“For him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men.” (Doctrine & Covenants 128:11).
But this we know. There are councils and counselors and quorums to counterbalance the foibles and frailties of man. The Lord organized His church to provide for mortal men to work as mortal men, and yet He assured that the spirit of revelation would guide in all that we do in His name. And in the end, what is given comes because the Lord has spoken it, “whether by [His] own voice or by the voice of [His] servants, it is the same.” (Doctrine & Covenants 1:38) We know His voice when He speaks. Boyd K. Packer, Revelation in a Changing World.
Personal Revelation
Not only should we be constantly seeking it but I strongly believe that we should expect as a right and privilege to be receiving personal revelations daily in our lives.
Alma 5:45-46; And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.
Following baptism, in the ordinance of confirmation, you received the gift of the Holy Ghost. While the Holy Ghost may inspire all mankind, the gift carries the right to have it as a “constant companion.” It is “by the power of the Holy Ghost [that you] may know the truth of all things.” Boyd K. Packer, Personal Revelation: The Gift, The Test, The Promise.
Preparation to Receive Personal Revelation
· Pray for guidance including specific guidance. -In order to find and receive, we must seek and ask.
o “Prayer is so essential a part of revelation that without it the veil may remain closed to you. Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees.”
· Be Worthy- Live in a way that we are more receptive to the spirit
· Have Faith- The flow of revelation depends on your faith. You exercise faith by causing, or by making, your mind accept or believe as truth that which you cannot, by reason alone, prove for certainty.
· Partake of the sacrament -We will always have the Spirit to be with us. (See Doctrine & Covenants 20:77, 79.)
· Study the scriptures every day
o We learn from the examples of men and women who have followed the Lord's revealed will.
o We become more receptive to the Holy Ghost in our own lives.
o As we read and ponder, we may receive revelation about how a certain scripture passage applies to us or about anything else the Lord desires to communicate to us.
· Take time to ponder.
o Doctrine & Covenants 138:1-11 We open our mind and heart to the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost (see also 1 Nephi 11:1 & Doctrine & Covenants 76:19).
o Doctrine & Covenants 9:7-8; You have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
· Patiently seek God's will
o God reveals Himself “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (see Doctrine & Covenants 88:63-68).
o “Patience is accepting a divine rhythm to life, allowing Heavenly Fathers Plan to unfold. Patience is being willing to submit to what the scriptures call the process of time.” Neal A. Maxwell
· Learn to recognize the spirit
—See True to the Faith (2004), 140-44 & Boyd K. Packer, Personal Revelation: The Gift, The Test, The Promise.
Why Revelation Comes to Us
· (Dallin H. Oaks, Eight Ways the Spirit Speaks to Us)
· To Testify
· To Give Comfort
o John 14:16-18 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
· To Uplift Us
· To Inform (or give guidance)
o “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation” (Doctrine & Covenants 8:2-3).
o It almost always comes quietly, as a “still small voice” (see 1 Kings 19:9-12; Helaman 5:30; Doctrine & Covenants 85:6).
o He prompts us through our feelings. Although we often describe communication from the Spirit as a voice, that voice is one that we feel more than we hear.
o He brings peace. The Holy Ghost is often called the Comforter (see John 14:26; Doctrine & Covenants 39:6). As He reveals the will of the Lord to us, He will “speak peace” to our minds (Doctrine & Covenants 6:23).
o A common way to seek revelation is to propose a particular course of action and then to pray for inspiration to confirm it.
· To Restrain us from doing something that is harmful or wrong.
· The Spirit may impel a person to action when they may have not been exactly thinking it.
-See Dallin H. Oaks, Eight Ways the Spirit Speaks to Us
How We Can Recognize Revelation
The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear. It is described as a “still small voice.” And while we speak of “listening” to the whisperings of the Spirit, most often one describes a spiritual prompting by saying, “I had a feeling …”
The Prophet Joseph Smith explained: “A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; … those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.” Boyd K. Packer, Personal Revelation: The Gift, The Test, The Promise.
President Marion G. Romney, quoting the prophet Enos, said, “While I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind.” Enos then related what the Lord put into his mind.
“This,” President Romney said, “is a very common means of revelation. It comes into one’s mind in words and sentences. With this medium of revelation I am personally well acquainted.”
Doctrine & Covenants 9:8; But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
“This burning in the bosom is not purely a physical sensation. It is more like a warm light shining within your being.” Boyd K. Packer, Personal Revelation: The Gift, The Test, The Promise.
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