Preparing for a talk...

Today I was preparing for a talk I will be giving tomorrow. The subject is: "How do we recognize and act on personal revelation?" I was having a hard time organizing my thoughts on the subject, so I began typing all my thoughts down. I feel like it helped a lot, and then I thought that I may as well post it all on my blog. Don't feel compelled to read it by any means. It's pretty lengthy and probably not too well written. It was mostly for my benefit, but if you'd like to venture, I hope you enjoy! (My talk will NOT be this long, I promise!)

Revelation is how God communicates with us. We communicate with Him through sincere prayer. It's quite simple actually. As simple as me talking with a friend. I have a thought I would like to share with my friend. I share it, they respond, and all of a sudden, we've revealed things to one another. At times, I may have a request of my friend, like "could you please help me find my keys?" If my friend loves me, his response will be "why certainly" and he will do all within his power to help me find my keys.

Prayer and revelation work the same way. A major difference, however, is in who God actually is, and the amount of power he actually has. When I ask God for help finding my keys, because He loves me, He will help me find my keys. He has all power and knows all, so He could tell me exactly where my keys are.

Like talking with a friend, this communication with God takes practice. You have to learn a language to communicate with your friend, this is no different with communicating with God. We must learn how God speaks to us, and how to interpret that into something understandable. The language that God and we speak with one another can be a little more tricky, as in most instances, it's something that you feel rather than hear.

Another thing to bear in mind when receiving revelation is what God's purpose is for you. He wants you to grow and be happy. This is why He doesn't simply just give you the answer all of the time. Many times, He will guide you in the right direction and allow you to make your own decisions. Like a father helping his son to learn to ride a bike without training wheels, He stays close enough to make sure you don't fall over, but wants you to learn how to ride on your own.

One of the greatest ways to develop the ability to recognize and follow personal revelation is to do it, and frequently. When Heber J. Grant was president of the Church, he had a slogan printed and distributed by the thousands. It said, “That which we persist in doing becomes easy to do; not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that the power to do has increased.” The idea of "practice makes perfect" certainly applies when we talk of revelation.

How do we recognize promptings from Heavenly Father? President Hinckley gives great light on the subject: "That's the test, when all is said and done. Does it persuade one to do good, to rise, to stand tall, to do the right thing, to be kind, to be generous? Then it is of the Spirit of God...

"If it invites to do good, it is of God. If it inviteth to do evil, it is of the devil... And if you are doing the right thing and if you are living the right way, you will know in your heart what the Spirit is saying to you.

"You recognize the promptings of the Spirit by the fruits of the Spirit -- that which enlighteneth, that which buildeth up, that which is positive and affirmative and uplifting and leads us to better thoughts and better words and better deeds is of the Spirit of God." (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 260-61).

When we teach investigators, throughout the teaching process, we're trying to help them learn how God communicates with them and then to courageously follow the promptings that they receive. How do we follow the revelation we receive? It's quite simple. We do it!

Now, sometimes, it can seem a hard task at times, especially when what we've been asked to do seems to require a great sacrifice. Let us turn to one of the greatest examples of revelation in this dispensation and try to learn something from this experience.

Young Joseph Smith said "there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion... During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness... still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit... In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it? ... I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God... My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join." (Joseph Smith History)

We all know what happened to young Joseph. After an attack from the adversary, Joseph was liberated by the grace of God and Heavenly Father, with His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to the boy, and, as promised, answered his question.

There are several elements to this story I would like to point out which I feel would be beneficial to our recognizing and following revelation. Initially, Joseph was brought to a point in his life where he needed revelation. There was excitement about religion, and he felt uneasy, he felt that it was important for him to join a religious sect, but was unsure of which to join. He realized that the teachers of the different religions understood much more than he did about the scriptures, and yet they could not seem to come to a consensus of what was true. How could he, as a young boy with a third grade education come to a proper conclusion. He could not, on his own. In fact, Jesus Christ teaches that nobody, with any amount of education, could possibly "discover" the truth on their own (Matt. 16:17). He did all that he could to find the answer on his own, going to their meetings as often as occasion would permit, and studying the scriptures. Indeed, it was the divine encounter with the first chapter of James, the fifth verse which led him to his conclusion to ask God.

Certainly Joseph had done everything that he could do to find the answer himself. This effort is what qualified him to receive the revelation. He had shown our Heavenly Father that he was ready for the answer, showing his real intent through his real actions. The fact that his purpose in going to ask Heavenly Father was so he would know which to join also was a great symbol of his real intent.

Having qualified himself in all these ways, Joseph received his answer, and, because of his courage to follow that answer, we have the church today. Of the persecutions Joseph was subjected to, he said "I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it." And he never did. This determination to follow the direction He received is what brought him the eternal joy that he had been seeking, as well as opened the door for so many millions to find that same joy.

What was it that gave Joseph such great motivation to follow the revelation he had received? Was it not the effort and dedication he had put into receiving an answer in the first place? Was it not the strong desire to do what the Lord's will for him was? Was it not the deep study and application of the scriptures? His aligning his will with the Fathers, this is what gave him the courage to stand strong, to face adversity and overcome through the power of the Atonement.

What can we do to follow this example? What motivates us to act in the first place? To perform any action of any kind requires faith. Faith that the car will start motivates us to turn the key. Faith that reading the scriptures will help us in our lives is what motivates us to study them. Faith that following revelation will bring us true happiness is what will motivate us to faithfully follow the promptings we receive.

So, the answer to the question of how we can act on revelation, develop faith. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." We can have full faith that our Father in Heaven will direct our paths through the arches of happiness because we know that "[His] work and [His] glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) We can observe " the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual." (Mosiah 2:41) As described earlier, the best way for us to develop an ability to do something is simply to do it.

Another way to develop courage to follow promptings is typified by what President Boyd K. Packer said: "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior." As we study revelation, as well as the lives of those who follow it, it will strengthen our faith to act on the promptings we receive.

In closing, I would like to sum up what I've been trying to say, to get my point across. Revelation comes to us in many forms, unique to ourselves. We recognize revelation by what it is telling us to do, or how we feel. If good, from God, if bad, from devil. It's as simple as that. To follow revelation, we summon faith built upon experience, witnesses, study, prayer, and love for God, and courageously move forward with what we have received. The more frequently we do this, the easier it will become.

I have a testimony that God knows loves His kids. We are those kids. He is well aware of our circumstances, and wants us to be happy. We can trust in Him. I know that the gospel is true. I know that Joseph Smith did see our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Through Joseph, Christ established His church here on the earth once again. I know that Joseph saw what he said he saw, and did what he said he did. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, which was prepared for the tearing down of false doctrines, and as evidence of the divinity and truthfulness of this restoration. I have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have felt it's influence in my life, seen it in the lives of others, and felt a spiritual assurance of the reality of that event, and that is how I know these things are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.