From writings of Robert L. Millet, his book: ‘The Holy Spirit.’
“Regarding thoughts coming into our minds, the Prophet Joseph Smith stated that “a man may profit by noticing the first intimations 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; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your mind 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 Jesus Christ”. 15
We add here that almost always a revelation from God will be rational, will make sense, will be in harmony with the commonly accepted standards and ideals set down by God and prophets and the laws of the land. “In the Church,” President Boyd K. Packer pointed out, “we are not exempt from common sense. You can know to begin with that you won’t be prompted from any righteous source to steal, to lie, to cheat, to join anyone in any kind of moral transgression.”16 Yes, God did command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and Nephi to slay Laban, but these were rare exceptions, and both Abraham and Nephi were prophets and seers; they knew the voice of the Lord implicitly and thus could be guided by the Spirit, which became a constant companion. We would be well advised to abide by the rule and leave the exceptions to God and his prophets. The Lord will not reveal to an individual member of the Church anything that is out of harmony with law and order and good judgment or in conflict with the order of the Church. Further, God will never call upon his people to perform an action that is unnatural or indecorous in the eyes of God and man.17
This is not to say that a revelation from God might not strike us unusual, perhaps even at variance with the way we feel about things. President John Taylor spoke of an occasion when he was instructed by the Prophet Joseph relative to personal revelation. “I well remember, he said, “a remark that Joseph Smith made to me upwards of forty years ago. Said he, ‘Elder Taylor, you have been baptized, you have had hands laid upon for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and you have been ordained to the holy priesthood. Now, if you will continue to follow the leadings of that spirit, it will always lead you right. Sometimes it might be contrary to your judgment; never mind that, follow its dictates; and if you are true to its whisperings it will in time become in you a principle of revelation so that you will know all things.'”18
15. Joseph Smith [manual], 132.
16.“Prayers and Answers,” November 1979, 21.
17. “Try the Spirits,”Times and Seasons 3, no. 11 (April 1, 1842): 745.
18. Joseph Smith [manual], 132-33
