Revelation can help

"We all have questions that can be answered and challenges that can be solved with the divine inspiration that comes from revelation.  But do we have the power-packed combination President Nelson offered?"

For too many Latter-day Saints, General Conference comes every six months, provides a spiritual feast, and then is placed on a shelf until the next Conference.  That’s why I decided some time ago to include Conference addresses in the list of show topics for each year.  If nothing else, I get reminders to return to Conference and allow its benefit to penetrate deeper into my life.

Because it’s always good to know what the living Prophet said in the last Conference, my selection wasn’t difficult to make.  In “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” President Russell M. Nelson spoke of our increasing need to include personal revelation in our lives.  And he did so by sharing experiences with revelation from his own life.

Said he,

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One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will.  The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to His children.  Through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, the Lord will assist us in all our righteous pursuits.

Later he revealed (pun intended) how we can best receive that revelation in our lives.

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Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

We all have questions that can be answered and challenges that can be solved with the divine inspiration that comes from revelation.  But do we have the power-packed combination President Nelson offered?

Pure and obedient

Increased purity and exact obedience go hand in hand.  You can’t have one without the other.  We increase our purity only by aligning ourselves more closely to standards of truth, and that means obeying the commandments with more exactness.

I remember on my mission we were constantly encouraged to be “Ammon missionaries.” Ammon performed every command given him (Alma 18:10) and as a result had wonderful missionary opportunities open to him.  Years later, many of the sons of the converts Ammon taught went to battle under Helaman’s command.  Mormon ascribes their miraculous preservation in battle to their faith, which they had because “they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness” (Alma 57:21).

How exact are we in our obedience?  Are we unable to receive the revelation we need to do wonderful things because our tolerance for impurity is too low?  Are we kept from our best life solely by the essential bits of information we might have received had we been more committed?

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Seeking and feasting

Just as purity and obedience go hand in hand, so too do earnest seeking and feasting daily from the Book of Mormon.  Earnest seekers of answers to questions and solutions to challenges will look to hear God’s voice through many channels.  And an obvious channel is the scriptures.

And in no book of scripture can we hear the voice of heaven more clearly than in the Book of Mormon.  This book was prepared for us in our day.  The ancient prophet Alma the Younger instructed his son Helaman that the Lord was preparing the plates from which the Book of Mormon was later translated “that he may show forth his power unto future generations” (Alma 37:14).  I believe part of that “power” is an increased capacity to hear the voice of God provide answers to our questions and solutions to our challenges.

Of course, we don’t always get answers and solutions just for the asking.  Some times we’re left to struggle with our questions and challenges because that struggle will help us to grow in a way we other wouldn’t if we received everything on demand.  But, as President Nelson promises,

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... as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek.  Every blessing the Lord has for you — even miracles — will follow.  That is what personal revelation will do for you.

Certainly these blessings come after we do our part.  So how are we doing?  Are we earnestly seeking for answers while feasting every day in the Book of Mormon?

Committed to temple and family history work

The final part of President Nelson’s power-packed combination is like icing on a cake.  Temples are natural places of revelation, and the family history work that supports temple work naturally invites revelation.  Both provide ways for us to practice the increased receptivity to revelation gained from increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, and daily feasting in the Book of Mormon.

I confess that lately I’ve been slacking here.  There’s no reason why I can’t attend the temple weekly.  In fact, I’ve never before had so little excuse not to attend weekly as I live conveniently to two temples.  But like most things in life, if you don’t schedule the time to go and then commit to follow that schedule, life can easily crowd out family history and temple service.

That’s why I like President Nelson’s description: “regular time committed.”  We need to establish a time when we will go to the temple and when we will participate in some aspect of family history work.  And then we need to commit ourselves to follow through on our plans.

What questions do you need answered?  What challenges do you need solved?  Revelation can help.  When we follow President Nelson’s counsel, that blessing can be ours.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

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You can listen to the monologue from today's episode of Joy In The Journey Radio here.  Please also feel free to continue the conversation by leaving a comment below.  Want to hear more?  Listen to the whole show by going to the show page for this episode!