From the book “Receiving Personal Revelation” Larry W. Tippetts shares:
“The ability to qualify for, receive and act upon personal revelation in your lives is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.” ~ Julie B. Beck
We cannot overestimate the importance of personal revelation in our lives. If it were not for the repeated affirmations from God that He lives, that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and that the restored the gospel of Jesus Christ is divinely directed, I would not likely be an active member of the Church today. Some who have left the Church have done so because they have not been able to recognize a clear response to their prayers. Let me examine the importance of personal revelation, along with some themes, categories, and channels of revelation, and how our journal can assist us.
You may have noticed that in nearly every general conference (I cannot think of an exception), one or more talks or portions thereof, are given on the subject of personal revelation. While serving as a Stake Sunday School president, I was asked by the Stake President to take the second hour of ward conferences one year to encourage the Saints to study the teachings of the prophets. My counselors surveyed every general conference talk (143 talks) and Ensign articles (107 articles) by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve from 2008 to 2011—a total of 250. Personal revelation and following the Spirit was the fourth most frequent theme, after faith in God and Jesus Christ, marriage and the family, and temple ordinances and covenants. Consider the significance of the following statements by prophets and leaders in (then) recent years about personal revelation (of the Quorum of the Twelve): You may have noticed that in nearly every general conference (I cannot think of an exception), one or more talks or portions thereof, are given on the subject of personal revelation. While serving as a Stake Sunday School president, I was asked by the Stake President to take the second hour of ward conferences one year to encourage the Saints to study the teachings of the prophets. My counselors surveyed every general conference talk (143 talks) and Ensign articles (107 articles) by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve from 2008 to 2011—a total of 250. Personal revelation and following the Spirit was the fourth most frequent theme, after faith in God and Jesus Christ, marriage and the family, and temple ordinances and covenants. Consider the significance of the following statements by prophets and leaders in (then) recent years about personal revelation:
* Boyd K Packer: “During unsettled times the most important thing we can teach to members of the Church worldwide is how to receive revealed instruction, prompting, guidance, instruction, direction, warning and learning to trust it” (Mine Errand from the Lord [Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book 2008, 125).]
* Richard G. Scott: “If you accomplish nothing else in relationship with your students than to help them recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit, you will bless their lives immeasurably and eternally” (Helping others to be Spiritually Led,” CES Symposium, 11 August 1998, 3).
* Robert D. Hales: “Personal revelation is the way we know for ourselves the most important truths of our existence” (Ensign, November 2007, 86).
(From My Journal: Counsel from a Prophet A personal note from Larry W. Tippetts:) It is imperative that you see yourself as the recipient of these promises. Far too many students believe in revelation to prophets, General Authorities, or local leaders but lack the belief that they, too, should receive it. Revelation is always available to each of us, but we often fail to seek it or recognize it when it comes. President Boyd K. Packer remind(ed) us that we have the same access to revelation for the concerns of our lives as do the Prophets (see Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, November 2007,9)
“As tired as I am I must record the events of this evening before the passage of time dilutes the insights I have gained. After one of the most difficult weeks I have had as an institute director, the Lord crowned it with a blessing tonight. Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke at our fireside for returned missionaries and friends, with nearly 4,000 in attendance. Elder Ballard’s message was exceptional. He expressed the message of pulling away from the world. ‘Rushing prevents revelation!’ I was especially pleased when Elder Ballard emphatically stated, ‘You are just as much entitled to revelation as the Quorum of the Twelve or the First Presidency.'”</em> (March 9, 2003)]
The Prophet Joseph Smith always stressed that the truths he had received through revelation were available to every Latter-day Saint who would pay the price. “God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and; even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he/she is able to bear them.” That revelation need not come from heavenly messengers. Through the power of the Holy Ghost we can know for ourselves all the truths that Joseph came to know. I did not have a Sacred Grove experience like Joseph, but I received repeated assurances that God lives, that Jesus Christ is His Son, and that they are two separate beings with bodies of flesh and bone. I was not near the Susquehanna River when John the Baptist—and later Peter, James, and John conferred priesthood authority on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, but I have been given a divine witness that the priesthood I hold came from God through those holding it. Without having Moroni appear in my bedroom and guide me personally to the gold plates, I have believed in the divinity of the Book of Mormon since my youth, receiving witness after witness, evidence after evidence, repeatedly throughout my life.
Until we are completely and sincerely convinced that the best way to live is totally following Christ’s will, we will not be open to hearing His voice, and consequently, will not hear the many personalized lessons He would teach us. This is why a witness of God and his love for us individually is so essential. We call this a testimony, and it is the foundation we can only receive directly from God. Consider the following pieces of that foundation, and as you read, put a check beside those that seem most important to you at this time in your life.
* We need personal revelation to know that God exists and what kind of God He is.
* We need personal revelation to know that Jesus Christ is God’s son who accomplished the great Atonement, which makes possible the plan of salvation for all mankind.
* We need personal revelation to know that Joseph was, in fact, God’s mouthpiece for the Restoration of the gospel and that God continues to work through living prophets, who hold the priesthood keys delegated from God to man.
* We need personal revelation to know that we can have confidence in the Holy Scriptures—the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
* We need personal revelation to know how Cod feels about the course of our lives.
* We need personal revelation to help us repent, resist temptation, and keep steadfast.
* We need personal revelation to lift us when we stumble or when we are feeling discouraged or overwhelmed by life.
* We need personal revelation to help us bear the trials and adversity of mortal life.
* We need personal revelation to assist us in making wise choices and important decisions.
* We need personal revelation to help us serve as God’s angels to bless the lives of others.
* We need personal revelation to help us put on the divine nature and become true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The scriptures describe the need for each of us to be “born again” (John 3:3; Alma 7:14) to experience a mighty change of heart (see Alma 5:14). This spiritual rebirth can can happen quickly and dramatically—as in the case of Paul, or Alma or the sons of Mosiah —or it can be a lifelong process of change, barely perceptible that will center the heart on things above rather than on things of this earth (see Colossians 3:2). Spiritual rebirth results in having no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2) The result of this mighty change is a one-on-one relationship, an interactive relationship with God and His kingdom while we are yet upon the earth.
Without this personal relationship, we may forget who we really are—spirit sons and daughters of God—and become distracted or become weary in our hearts and minds. Having a storehouse of spiritual experiences recorded in our journals will verify God’s existence and goodness in our lives and enable us to faithfully whether those times when we may not feel His Spirit or when we are asked to do difficult things or be obedient in those circumstances that may not make sense to us. ~Larry L. Tippets. Receiving Personal Revelation, Covenant Communications, Inc. 2017, p.21-24
