The manual titles this week’s lessons “This Is the Spirit of Revelation.” I am using Principles of Revelation for my topic. I get confused when I use the word Spirit, because I don’t know what is being referred to, the Holy Spirit, the essence of a subject, or something else. You might say I’m just slow that way. ;)
This week is full of individual verses or small sets of verses that teach important principles of how revelation is received and achieved. As just a sidenote, isn’t it interesting that when Martin Harris wanted a revelation to help him with his belief the Lord spoke to Joseph and referred to Martin in the third person. But when Oliver Cowdery asked for confirmation of his faith the Lord spoke through Joseph directly addressing Oliver. I can’t see why the Lord chose to address them differently. I must be missing something.
Doctrine and Covenants 6
Verse 5 states a universal truth – if we want to know something then God will prepare a way for us to know it. There is never a question as to whether the Lord wants us to know something. He wants us to know all things.
5 Therefore, if you will of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.
Have you ever considered the truth that God is not in the business of hiding information or preventing us from advancing from knowledge to knowledge? He genuinely wants us to know all things, for that is what it means to be a god. This process of becoming all wise and all knowing is His whole work and glory. This is why He promises to tell us. But there are catches, for we must understand that there is a process to receiving revelation. If we don’t understand or respect the process, how can we expect to have all things revealed to us?
In verses 6-7 the Lord tells Joseph that part of the process of receiving revelation is that we must be keeping the commandments, and we must have a desire in our heart to further God’s kingdom on earth. This means we want to have an active part in its growth and establishment.
6 Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and to bring forth and establish the cause of ;
7 for but for , and behold, the of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made . Behold, he that hath is rich.
Knowledge is the currency of heaven. I’ve been saying that for years. Money, as we understand it, is something God has an infinite supply of. It doesn’t matter what material you base your monetary system on, since God created that material He can have as much as He needs to do anything that needs doing. What God is concerned about is how much wisdom we acquire in our efforts to become like Him. He can supply us with anything physical we need to do His work, but to further His kingdom and our personal progression we need to seek His wisdom. Those who become wise (like God is wise) become rich in spiritual things, for they have learned that only spiritual things matter in the eternities.
Have you ever heard that someone you know well said such and such, and you think to yourself, “No, that isn’t something they would say”? Or you might think, “Yes, I can see them saying that.” This is part of the wisdom about God I’m referring to. When you hear a doctrine or a statement that is supposedly something put forth by God or one of the prophets, does it ring true in your ears, or does it go against what you know about them? This is why we can often judge a thing in life as being correct or incorrect. We know the personality of He who was supposed to have said it, so we are able to judge more rightly if it is indeed something they would put forward, and why they might have done so. Sometimes we figure out some of the mysteries of God by coming to know that God works in certain ways, and what we have just pieced together sounds and feels right, based on what we have learned about the character of God.
This process of coming to know God through experience is the same process by which we come to know our spouse or a good friend, or even an adversary. Note that God lives His life in patterns, just as we do. Learn His patterns and you will know Him better. (As a side note I invite you to do a search on the homepage of this website. Search for the word “pattern” and see all the articles I have written about the patterns of God’s behavior. You might find it interesting.)
Verses 14-16 demonstrate the nature of most revelations we will ever have. Read all three of these verses as one large thought.
14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.
15 Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy ; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been by the ;
16 Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that thy thoughts and the of thy .
Revelation is gentle. It doesn’t throw you to the ground and scream in your face. You aren’t usually enveloped in heavenly light, like Joseph’s visit with Moroni. Normal revelation is subtle, infusing us with quiet understanding that is undeniable, and often unmistakable. These are thoughts that come to us unlike anything we normally have when we are at a sporting event, reading a book, or when we are focused on fixing something. The thoughts that come during communion with the Spirit of God connect events with gospel principles in meaningful ways. We gain insights we didn’t have before as we ponder or think about the subject we seek to understand. We feel “enlarged” from within in a way that doesn’t happen by attending a normal school class.
Revelation brings with it a sense of satisfaction, generates greater gratitude, encourages us to do more good than we have been doing, and prompts us to be more obedient. God knows the “thoughts and the intents of thy heart,” and speaks to us most times through those thoughts and intents. How many times have you intended to do one thing, but suddenly feel a pressing urge to do something a moment ago you hadn’t considered? This kind of spiritual prompting is something that we must learn to train ourself to recognize as communication from the Spirit. There is contentment, peace and sweet joy that comes from these private moments with the Spirit, making them more desirable than other more public means of entertainment. These moments with the Spirit are cherished.
One of my most prized moments in my adult life was actually during a time of struggle with my wife. I can still see where we were standing in the bedroom, facing each other in a conversation filled with conflict and frustration for both of us. I was questioning her motives and how I felt about her. I was filled with doubt. Suddenly a voice spoke to the center of my being that said, “She has a good heart.” As conflicted as I was a moment before, my heart was suddenly at peace. I knew I had been told what kind of person I had married. God revealed to me that He knew what was in the center of her being, and had told me what He’d found.
Whenever I questioned my wife’s motives I was reminded that God had told me the condition of her heart, and I learned to let things go and embrace the goodness of the woman I had married. Just that one little statement from the Spirit has opened decades of gratitude and blessings for me. It instantly changed my perspective on so many things, and paved my thinking with more generous thoughts and feelings than I knew were possible for the rest of my life. There was no light, no trumpets blaring, no heart pounding experiences, just a peace-infused statement of truth that gave me a standard by which I could base my whole relationship with my wife. I am forever grateful for that knowledge.
Here is one last principle of revelation from section 6:23-24.
23 Did I not speak to your mind concerning the matter? What greater can you have than from God?
24 And now, behold, you have received a ; for if I have you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness?
The principle here is that when we have been given a witness we need to acknowledge it as such. So often we are tempted to dismiss the gentle reminders, the soul-enlarging experiences, or the peace-filled moments of the Spirit as just feeling good, but certainly not something as dramatic as a “witness.” What do we think a witness is? It is something we know. When the Spirit speaks to us we then know that thing, so we are given witnesses, evidences of spiritual things all the time, and in more ways than we may even recognize or acknowledge has happened.
It is so important that we own the witnesses we are given. How can we expect to use them for our betterment if we don’t acknowledge where they came from? How can we build our faith in Christ and God if we allow our doubts to reign supreme in our soul despite all the witnesses the Spirit has given us? This principle of revelation is what comes after the revelation. Acknowledge the experience as being something given by God to us, personally, and chalk it up as one more time He has answered our prayers or has spoken to us out of mercy and kindness.
Doctrine and Covenants 7
Chronologically section 7 sits between 6 and 8, but this section is a completely different topic. Please forgive the interruption of the topic of principles of personal revelation. I’ll get back to it below. As it is, section 7 has some information about a pattern of godliness I have never before considered. I don’t yet have a name for it, so I will try to describe it.
This section is a manuscript translated by Joseph Smith, written by John the Beloved. It explains what happened between John the Beloved and Jesus, and Peter’s reaction to John’s request to tarry until the Savior returns so John can continue to bring souls to Christ. Evidently Peter questioned John’s request. This is Christ’s response to Peter.
5 I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater yet among men than what he has before done.
6 Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a angel; he shall minister for those who shall be of salvation who dwell on the earth.
7 And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother James; and unto you three I will this power and the of this ministry until I come.
8 Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both in that which ye have desired.
Hopefully I am the only one in the world (but I doubt it) that has layered this interaction with judgments. I never considered how many layers of judgment I had placed on this interchange until the other day when I considered it with fresh eyes.
We have a highly defined sense of good, better, and best. Good isn’t as good as better, and certainly can’t be as good as best. Therefore, if John want’s to do something more than Peter wants to do, in my valuation Peter is lacking, for John is better. I realized after reading these verses again that this valuation is just me, it isn’t the way God looks at things.
Jesus calls John’s request “a good desire.” He then states that both men “shall … have according to [their] desires.” Jesus is happy for both men, because they will both find joy in what they have desired. Jesus isn’t comparing them. I was comparing them. My bad. It appears that it is okay to want different things. There isn’t one standard that everyone must want in order for God to be pleased with our choices. He is happy if our choice makes us happy. Of course any parent will always recognize that their child could have done more, but that is a mortal judgment. Jesus is just telling Peter that in order for John to have his wish that he exercised his faith in asking for, Peter will need to serve both John and his brother James, and that’s okay.
Doctrine and Covenants 8
There are a number of great verses in this short section, but I want to cover just these two verses that stood out to me.
10 Remember that without you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not for that which you ought not.
11 Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may and receive knowledge from all those ancient records which have been hid up, that are ; and according to your faith shall it be done unto you.
The faith God is referring to here is the belief and subsequent action to demonstrate that belief that God does answer our prayers. We must believe that when we petition Him we will be answered. It may not be today, and often it is not in the way we expect, but God does not forget our prayers. We may need to grow in certain areas in order to prepare us for the answer we sought through prayer. This is all a process of growth on our part. God understands that. When I pray for something that is important to me, I have learned over time that it is also important to my Father in Heaven. I may get distracted by life, but He remembers my pleading, and eventually, when I am ready for my answer, it comes.
My mother taught me to have a “shelf” upon which I put unanswered questions, doubts, or unresolved issues. Periodically I revisit that shelf to see if it still contains the same things, and often I find that in the course of time God has answered some of my old questions. I just hadn’t recognized His diligence until I revisited my holding shelf. I recognize that some of my questions won’t be answered until the next life, but at least I have thought about them and they have been put on that shelf after taking them to my Father. They will be answered in His own due time.
What knowledge are we supposed to seek when we pray? “Ask that you may know the mysteries of God.” A thing is a mystery only until you understand it. God wants us to know the mysteries of God. He wants us to understand Him and His ways. That is the purpose of this life, to come to know the character and habits of God, so we can become like Him.
Doctrine and Covenants 9
Let’s look at Oliver’s desire to translate records for himself. He asked if he could receive the gift of translating and the Lord said he could. In Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3 Oliver is told how revelation works.
2 Yea, behold, I will you in your mind and in your , by the , which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.
What verses 2-3 don’t tell Oliver Cowdery is that though this is indeed how revelation usually works, there is more to it that goes beyond just revelation. God wants us to grow up, not just be spoon fed information. We are in mortality to learn wisdom, among many other things. Wisdom is the ability to judge when to do something, how to do it, and whether or not it even should be done, and why. It doesn’t matter if you know how to do something if you don’t know when and why to do it or not do it.
Evidently Oliver was told how (see above), but he hadn’t caught on yet that God expects us to figure out for ourselves what is right to do and when to do it. It appears that this part of receiving revelation was already understood by Joseph, but no one told Oliver. However it was that Oliver Cowdery commenced in his translating efforts, it appears that at some point he just sat back on his heels and expected the Lord to pour information into his head. When this didn’t happen he became confused, because wasn’t this how revelation was supposed to work? I wasn’t there to see it all happen, and we are not given details in the scriptures or in the history, so we don’t know for sure where it was that Oliver went astray in his efforts to translate. This is my best guess.
In all areas of our lives the Lord wants us to figure out as much on our own as possible. This is where we personally learn wisdom. Life with a body is supposed to be a learning exercise. We are preparing ourselves for future opportunities to govern and rule, and that life requires personal wisdom in all things. We may as well start learning those lessons now. By the time we reach Doctrine and Covenants 9:5-8 Oliver was trying to find out what went wrong and could he try again.
5 And, behold, it is because that you did not continue as you commenced, when you began to translate, that I have taken away this privilege from you.
6 Do not , my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner.
7 Behold, 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.
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must it out in your ; then you must me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your shall within you; therefore, you shall that it is right.
Verse 7 is a key verse. Have you ever wondered why the leadership of the Church spend so many resources to learn from the best experts and wisest people they can find before making a policy for the church based on that research? This is the pattern God has set for us. We learn all we can about something, seek to learn the how, why, and when to apply what we have learned, and then we take what we have determined is “right” to the Lord for confirmation. There is actually a lot of work required between the time our need arises and the time we take it to the Lord for confirmation. This is what is meant by the phrase “study it out in your mind.” That doesn’t mean mull it over for a few minutes then ask.
The next part of revelation, and this is a very important part, is to understand that God rarely ever gives us the final version of something on the first exposure to it. He tells us what we need to know for now, and when we are prepared for the next step He reveals more. God is not being stingy, but is teaching us and leading us down the path of wisdom one step at a time. This explains many of the changes in the organization of the Church in the latter days. The prophet is doing the best he can with what he understands, and when he sees that something just isn’t working then the Brethren go to work to figure out a better way to address the problems. Step by step the Lord is maturing the leadership of the church through all the work they have to put into solving problems in their efforts to further His work. This is the same method we have to use in our personal lives to learn what is right and what is wise in a given situation.
Click the link below to
print a PDF copy of the article.
Thank you for your comments today. It is helpful to have a second witness to personal experiences with learning.