The Revelation on the Priesthood

THE REVELATION ON THE PRIESTHOOD

June 8, 1978 a joyous letter was sent to all the local Church leaders throughout the world stating that "the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple" (Official Declaration--2). Thus ended the 140-year era when the policies of the Church withheld the blessings of the priesthood from the Blacks.

Not many people know, however, that there was a very brief time period at the beginning of the Restoration, when the priesthood was denied to no man. Why did that policy of exclusivity arise, and why did it take so long for it to come full circle and allow Blacks the priesthood again?

THE FIRST BLACK PRIESTHOOD HOLDER--ELIJAH ABEL (1810-1884)

"A black skin may cover as white a heart as any other skin, and the black hand may be as neat and clean as the white one, and all the trouble arises from want of familiarity with the two." --Willard Richards, 1838

Elijah Abel was a free Black man who was baptized by Ezekiel Roberts in 1832, just two years after the Church was organized. He was ordained an elder on March 3, 1836, and a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy within the year. Elder Abel moved with the Saints from Kirtland to Nauvoo and was a friend to the Smith family, being one of seven elders sent to rescue the Prophet Joseph when he was arrested in Quincy, receiving a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith, Sr., and visiting Father Smith on his deathbed. He was a member of the Kirtland Safety Society; he helped build the Nauvoo Temple and the Salt Lake Temple; and he served three full-time missions, first in the 1830's, then in the 1840's, and the last in 1884, when he was 74 years old. He returned home from that last mission early because of illness, and he died on Christmas Day.

THE CULTURAL DIFFICULTIES PREVENTING EQUALITY

In 1832 when Elijah Abel joined the Church, both he and Joseph Smith may have been capable of understanding the concept that all men were created equal, that, as the Book of Mormon says, Christ "denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female" (2 Ne. 26:33). But the rest of the world was not ready. Trouble arose. It quite soon became apparent that the social climate in America did not allow for this kind of equality. Elder Abel, in his position of priesthood authority, chastised some white women in 1843 and they were appalled and affronted. This was a potentially dangerous situation 100 years before the Civil Rights Movement. In consequence, the Brethren decided to limit Brother Abel's ministry to those of his own race, and segregated the Cincinnati congregation where he lived. Elijah obeyed humbly, and continued to serve in that limited capacity. Later he moved to Salt Lake City. Although he was able to do some baptisms for the dead, Elder Abel's requests to receive his endowments in the temple were denied by several consecutive Church Presidents.

THE LAND OF THE FREE (WHITE MEN)

The gospel was restored in the place best prepared for it: The United States of America, the most religiously free country in the world. But it was a country that still practiced slavery. In the very early days of the Church, when Elijah Abel was ordained, this wasn't a big problem. Only a handful of Blacks lived in Kirtland and Ohio was a free state. But when the Saints moved to the regions in and around Missouri, Black Church membership was a very touchy situation. Slavery was legal, and Joseph Smith's Articles of Faith stated that "we believe in honoring and sustaining the law." How does a slave join the Church, obey the Prophet, and gather with the Saints without becoming a runaway, in danger of the death penalty? Sometimes Joseph Smith solved the dilemma by buying the slave's freedom, but that couldn't always work. Surprisingly, moving the Saints to Utah did not eliminate the problem, just changed it a bit. (Note: I am using the term "slaves" to represent enslaved people because it is the term that was used at the time by the people quoted. I hope it does not offend; I recognize each of these enslaved people were people first, people of equal value to any others, and "slaves" only by the evils of the world slave trade and not by nature.)

JOHN BROWN AND THE MISSISSIPPI SAINTS

In 1846, John Brown, a missionary to the Southern states, following the Prophet's orders, emigrated a group of 14 convert families west to join with the Saints. Yes, that date of 1846 is correct: due to lack of communication, John Brown's Mississippi saints actually went as far as present-day Colorado the year before Brigham Young and the vanguard group left Winter Quarters. When it was discovered that the rest of the Saints had wintered over in Nebraska, the Southern saints waited out the winter at a fort, and in 1847 they met up with Brigham Young's wagon train, and finished the rest of the journey to the Salt Lake Valley. And here was the challenge: These 14 families were slaveholders from Mississippi and brought their slaves with them. From day one, there were enslaved people in Salt Lake City.

Feb. 15, 1851, Elder Orson Hyde addressed the subject in The Millennial Star: "We feel it to be our duty to define our position in relation to the subject of slavery. There are several men in the Valley of the Salt Lake from the Southern States who have their slaves with them. There is no law in Utah to authorize slavery, neither any to prohibit it. If the slave is disposed to leave his master, no power exists there, either legal or moral, that will prevent him. But if the slave chooses to remain with his master, none are allowed to interfere between the master and the slave."

JOHN BANKHEAD

Freeing long-enslaved people had its own set of challenges.
 

John Bankhead was a slaveholding Southern plantation owner who reportedly tried to teach his slaves to be self-sufficient. He provided each family with their own little home, a garden plot and farming equipment. He got medical care for them when needed. If one of his slaves wanted to marry a slave from another plantation, he either bought the mate or sold his slave so they could be united.

John Bankhead joined the Church, moved west with his slaves, and settled in Wellsville, Utah, at the north end of the state. His slaves were provided for and looked after. Following the Civil War, he had to force some of his more loyal slaves to leave his service and accept their liberty. "Now the war is over," he said. "You must be free men." He set them up with homes and farms and offered to help them in any way they needed. They, in turn, promised that they would defend him to the death.

Many years passed, as the Lord influenced people and nations to change the culture of inequality, in order to make it possible for everyone everywhere to partake freely of the full blessings of the gospel.

CONVERTS IN BLACK AFRICA

In 1965 Anthony Obinna, a Black Nigerian schoolteacher and convert to Christianity, had a remarkable dream in which a man showed him the rooms inside a beautiful building. In 1971 he saw a picture of the Salt Lake Temple in the Reader's Digest magazine and recognized it as the building from his dream. He wrote to the Church for literature, read it prayerfully, and gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. Then he began writing letters, asking for baptism for himself and a congregation of believers he had taught, including his own family. There were hundreds of non-baptized Latter-day Saints meeting in other various groups in Ghana and Nigeria as well, brought to the knowledge of the gospel by the Spirit in various ways. Petitions from these saints came before President Spencer W. Kimball and weighed heavily upon his mind. As had been previously evident in the South African Mission, the Church's growth and direction would not be possible if local members could not provide priesthood leadership. In South Africa, President McKay had revised the policy from requiring potential priesthood holders to prove themselves free of Black ancestry, to allowing ordination unless there was proof that there was a Black ancestor. In Nigeria and Ghana, there was no doubt the unbaptized saints were completely Black.

President Kimball and the Brethren studied and considered what should be done for many months. He reported, "I prayed with much fervency. I knew that something was before us that was extremely important to many of the children of God. I knew that we could receive the revelations of the Lord only by being worthy and ready for them and ready to accept them and put them into place. Day after day I went alone and with great solemnity and seriousness in the upper rooms of the temple, and there I offered my soul and offered my efforts to go forward with the program. I wanted to do what he wanted."

Finally, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve met and all expressed their views. They felt an outpouring of the Spirit upon them. They knelt around the altar and prayed, with President Kimball as the voice. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley later recalled, "For me, it felt as if a conduit opened between the heavenly throne and the kneeling, pleading prophet of God who was joined by his Brethren...Every man in that circle, by the power of the Holy Ghost, knew the same thing...Tremendous eternal consequences for millions over the earth are flowing from that manifestation."

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (who had previously published his opinion that the Blacks would not receive the Priesthood until the Millenium) said, "On this occasion, because of the importuning and the faith, and because the hour and the time had arrived, the Lord in his providence poured out the Holy Ghost upon the First Presidency and the Twelve in a miraculous and marvelous manner, beyond anything that any then present had ever experienced." There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Lord wanted all people to now have every blessing. And opening the temple to the living Blacks also provided for every blessing to their ancestors.

JOY IN AFRICA

Immediately after this revelation was received, three missionary couples were sent to Africa. On November 21, 1978, they baptized Brother Obinna, ordained him to the priesthood, and set him apart as Africa's first Black branch president. He baptized his wife, Fidelia, and set her apart as the first Black Relief Society President. His two brothers were set apart as his counselors. 19 members joined that day, forming the first branch of the Church in which all members were Black.

Within one year these three missionary couples baptized over 1,700 Black Africans.

WHY THE WAIT?

Decades passed between the ordination of Elijah Abel (and a handful of other early Black saints), and the revelation rescinding the policy that had evolved in the Church prohibiting Blacks from the priesthood. Why did the Black members have to wait so long for equal blessings? Of course, no one knows the ways of God for sure, but for clues let's look carefully at what President Kimball said: "I knew we could receive the revelations of the Lord only by being worthy and ready for them and ready to accept them and put them into place" (emphasis added). The fact that Black people, including enslaved people, joined the Church and endured to the end during those 130-140 years of being denied blessings is a testament to their faith and their worthiness. Although the Church leadership has never given a reason for the delay, my personal opinion is that it took much longer for the social climate to evolve in the world in which they lived so that the non-Black members of the Church and of society as a whole could be "ready to accept it and put it into place."

It took many years for the "want of familiarity with the two" to be alleviated.

But, step by step, it eventually was.

In March 1954, three weeks after his return from a visit to the South African Mission, President David O. McKay stated to Sterling M. McMurrin, "There is not now, and there never has been a doctrine in this Church that the Negroes are under a divine curse...It is a practice, not a doctrine, and the practice will some day be changed." Leonard J. Arrington, Church historian, reported hearing Elder Adam S. Bennion say that President McKay "had pled with the Lord without result and finally concluded the time was not yet ripe."

President Harold B. Lee remarked during a United Press interview, November 16, 1972: "For those who don't believe in modern revelation there is no adequate explanation. Those who do understand revelation stand by and wait until the Lord speaks...It's only a matter of time before the black achieves full status in the Church. We must believe in the justice of God. The black will achieve full status, we're just waiting for that time."

The Lord is patient with his children. He works line upon line. He waits and works carefully, perfectly, and sometimes slowly to influence mindsets to change and cultures to evolve permanently in order to bring about His purposes. He touches one person at a time, and eventually moves whole nations. Then He steps outside the constraints of time to make blessings available through vicarious temple ordinances to those who missed them in life. He works everything together perfectly to accomplish His divine plan, despite the faults and ignorance of men and the persistent efforts of Satan. Sometimes it takes many centuries, as it did for the Restoration of the Gospel. And sometimes it only takes 130 years.


Sources:
Kate B. Carter, Negro Pioneer

History of the Church 4:365
Leonard J. Arrington, "Mississippi Mormons," Ensign, June 1977
Garr, et. al, Encyclopedia of L.D.S. History
Gregory A. Prince, et.al., David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, p. 79-80
Marjorie Draper Conder, "A People Prepared: Latter-day Saints in West Africa," Ensign, August 1993
Our Heritage, p. 126-127
Anthony U. Obinna, "Story of a Nigerian Member," Liahona (Tambuli), June 1981

For the Church's official statement about the history of blacks and the priesthood, read "Race and the Priesthood."

For a brief, carefully documented treatment of this subject, see FAIR (FaithfulLatterdaySaints.org, Origin of the Priesthood Ban).

For a huge and detailed treatise on President McKay's role in preparing the way for the revelation later received by President Kimball, see Gregory A. Price, et. al, "Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood," in David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, University of Utah Press.

Information on the Bankhead slaves in Wellsville, Utah, came from the Wellsville Historical Society in an article published in Cache Valley Daily News online, no longer available, but great information is available in an article in the Herald Journal regarding the placing of a monument there.

Doctrine and Covenants 10-11

Hearing the Voice of the Lord

It’s time to play “Jeopardy” again!  It will be like the American TV game show, except the questions are not trivial.  Here's how the game goes: You give an answer, and your family members or class members have to guess what the question is. If they can't figure it out, give them the reference so they can look it up. The first answer tells us our topic.

Answer: According to the Bible Dictionary, without it, all would be guesswork, darkness, and confusion.

Question: What is revelation?

“Continuous revelation from God to his saints…makes possible daily guidance along true paths and leads the faithful soul to complete and eternal salvation in the celestial kingdom… Without revelation, all would be guesswork, darkness, and confusion.”  (Bible Dictionary, p. 762)

Answer: Quoting Joseph Smith, “God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even [this person] may know all things as he is able to bear them.”  (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 149)

Question: Who is the least saint?

You and I are the least saints.  We are able to receive as much revelation as we can prepare for.  The topic of this game is one that we need to understand or we really will be in spiritual jeopardy! That topic is how to prepare to receive revelation.

Answer: In 1991, he said, “No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration.”  (Conference, Oct ’91)

Question: Who is Boyd K. Packer?

Our lesson outlines six steps to take us from confusion to revelation.

1. Study the matter in your mind

Answer: According to Joseph Smith, this man became “exceedingly anxious to have the power to translate bestowed upon him.”

Question: Who is Oliver Cowdery?

Section 8 is the Lord’s answer to Oliver’s request to translate.  He said yes.  Read aloud D&C 8:1, 10-11.  What happened with Oliver Cowdery and his desire to translate?  (He was not able to do so immediately, so he gave up and went back to being scribe.  The Lord then took away the gift from him, without his ever having learned how to exercise it.  The Lord did not criticize him, but used the incident to teach him about revelation.)

The Lord had told him that according to his faith it would be done.

Oliver had faith!  Oliver Cowdery had a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet.  He knew that God had answered the question in a glorious way.  He had the faith to inquire of God himself.

He went to Pennsylvania to meet Joseph and found himself immediately acting as a scribe for him, having only known Joseph for a matter of days.  What he did not know about was the other half of faith: all the work Joseph had exercised along with his belief. 

In Joseph Smith-History, Joseph describes the prayer that initiated the Restoration in 2 verses (JS-H 1:15-16).  In 4 verses he describes the answer he received – the First Vision (JS-H 1:17-20).  But he spends 8 verses describing the time spent studying the problem in his mind (JS-H 1:8-15). 

Point out these words: serious reflection, great uneasiness, I attended…as often as occasion would permit, in process of time, at length…he even thought ahead about what place would be the best place to offer his prayer.

When it came to translating the golden plates, Oliver came into the picture at the point where Joseph was translating so fast that Oliver hardly had time to dip his pen in the ink.  It looked so easy.  But he had not been there to see the months that Joseph had spent learning to translate, poring over the characters, looking for similar ones, doodling with them on paper, struggling to learn what they meant. (More on that below.)  It’s like going to a concert and hearing a great violinist play a masterwork.  We may say, “I’d give half my life to play like that,” when that, in fact, is what the violinist has done.  We don’t see the preparation, the work, the frustration, the years of lessons.  We just see how easy it looks now.

Write THINK-STUDY-WORK. 

Read aloud D&C 9:7-10.

The Lord kindly took away the gift from him without his having learned how to use it, and left in its place a great lesson for him and for all of us.

The scripture said,“If you had known this…”  So why didn’t the Lord tell him when he started to translate?

To answer this question, I'll tell a story. When our daughter, Camille, was six, she wanted to use a Bible flannel board kit we had bought for her part of family night.  However, she wanted to use some of the pictures that had not been cut out yet.  And she wanted to cut them out herself.  I knew that those flannel board figures were really hard to cut out.  But I also knew Camille.  I knew that it would do no good to tell her that it was too hard for her.  So I just let go ahead and try.

She cut out about two or three little pieces and discovered for herself that it was really hard.  She was no longer anxious to do it.

When Oliver saw how hard it was, like Camille with the flannel board figures, like us with a great concerto, he decided he really didn’t want to do it that badly, and he went back to being a scribe.

Our manual tells us the Lord expects us to be active, not passive, as we seek revelation from Him.  We grow as we use the gifts and resources he has provided to help us study matters out in our minds.

2. Ponder on the scriptures and words of prophets

Answer: Dallin H Oaks said, “[It] may … lead to current revelation on whatever [subject] the Lord wishes to communicate to the reader at that time.”

Question: What is scripture reading?

Elder Oaks says further, “We do not overstate that point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation.

“Because we believe that scripture reading can help us receive revelation, we are encouraged to read the scriptures again and again.  By this means, we obtain access to what our Heavenly Father would have us know and do in our personal lives today.  That is one reason Latter-day Saints believe in daily scripture study” (Dallin H. Oaks, "Scripture Reading and Revelation," Ensign, Jan. 1995, 8).

Answer: 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 unto him.

Question: What is James 1:5?

Elder Boyd K. Packer says, “No message appears in scriptures more times, in more ways than, ‘Ask, and ye shall receive.’”  (Conference, Oct. ’91)

3. Inquire of the Lord in faith

Answer: The act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other (Bible Dictionary, 752).

Question: What is prayer?

“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.  Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them.  Prayer is a form of work” (BD, 753).

4. Be obedient and serve God

Answer: Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught that this is the way to revelation.

Question: What is righteousness?

He also said, “We cannot have the companionship of the Holy Ghost – the medium of individual revelation – if we are in transgression or if we are angry or if we are in rebellion against God’s chosen authorities” (Dallin H. Oaks, "Teaching and Learning by the Spirit," Ensign, Mar. 1997, 9).

5. Be meek and humble

Answer: The state of mind in which Joseph found he could not translate “a single syllable.”

Question: What is anger (or pride)?

David Whitmer recalled that one morning when Joseph Smith was getting ready to resume translating the Book of Mormon, “something went wrong about the house and he was put out about it.  Something that Emma, his wife, had done.  Oliver and I went upstairs and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation but he could not do anything.  He could not translate a single syllable.  He went downstairs, out into the orchard, and made supplication to the Lord; was gone about an hour – came back to the house, and asked Emma’s forgiveness and then came upstairs where we were and then the translation went on all right.  He could do nothing save he was humble and faithful” (B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:131).

6. Focus on the things of God rather than the things of the world

Answer: According to Elder Boyd K. Packer, inspiration comes more easily in this type of setting.

Question: What is peaceful?

“[The] trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless …

“The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.

“Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit” (Conference, Oct. 1991).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “Divine guidance is so crucial … that we need to go out of our way to put ourselves in a situation in which such special help can be given” (Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore Ye Must Press Forward, Deseret Book, 121).

A Timeline of the Marvelous Translation of the Book of Mormon

(Follow this link for a painting of Joseph Smith Translating by Anthony Sweat)

Joseph Smith had the spiritual gift of translation of an unknown language in order to give the world the gift of the Book of Mormon.  He was given the gift of translation when he was given the plates, but he had to develop that gift.  It is a fascinating and instructive example of the work required by the Lord of one who receives a spiritual gift. Oliver Cowdery came into the process of translation near the end. He didn't observe the year and a half of time and effort that had gone into the training of Joseph Smith's gift. Hence, he was surprised when he could not translate as easily.


Draw a timeline dating from September 1827 to June 1829, with individual months marked above the timeline.  As you read about each event below, mark an X on the timeline.

• Sept. 27, 1827: Joseph Smith received the plates.  For three months he almost daily dug them up and reburied them to keep them hidden from his enemies until he found a safe situation.
• Dec. 1827:  For the next three months, he practiced translating, until he finally had some characters figured out.
• Feb. 1828:  Martin Harris took the finished characters to Professor Charles Anthon in New York City for verification of the translation.
• Apr. 12, 1828:  The translation began in earnest with Martin as the scribe.  In two months and two days, the Book of Lehi was completed.
• June 14, 1828:  Martin Harris took the Book of Lehi (116 pages) to show his wife. They were stolen.  The gift of translation was removed from Joseph Smith, as were the plates themselves and the Urim and Thummim.
• Sept. 22, 1828:  After a three month period of repentance, all was restored to Joseph Smith, but there were no fruits to the effort so far.  Joseph started back at ground zero re-developing and relearning the gift for six months (twice as long as before).
• Apr. 7, 1829:  Oliver Cowdery began as scribe and translation once again began in earnest, probably at the Book of 1 Nephi. (Alternatively, he could have picked up at the Book of Mosiah, where he left off. Mosiah is obviously missing the first couple of chapters of the original record, since it does not start with a heading or an introduction, as do all the other books. This alternative chronology is noted in parentheses.)
• May 15, 1829:  Mosiah 18:8-10 (or 3 Nephi 11) was reached, and in answer to prayer regarding the passage, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph and Oliver and they were baptized.
• June 1, 1829:  Joseph had moved to Fayette, NY and reached Ether 5 (or if he started over, 2 Nephi 27) where he read about the importance of three witnesses, whereupon he prayed for witnesses to the Book of Mormon, and his prayer was answered.
• June 11, 1829:  The Book of Mormon was finished and the copyright was obtained.  Joseph had translated the entire book in 60-65 days, a rate of 3,100 words per day!  Although Oliver Cowdery had excellent penmanship, you can see from the photograph below that he had to write sloppily because of the great speed required as Joseph dictated.

Joseph Smith asked Oliver Cowdery to make him a copy.  It took Oliver three times as long to copy it as it took for Joseph Smith to dictate it.

(Sources: Bruce Woolley, lecture, Campus Education Week, Brigham Young University, August 19, 1999, personal notes 4:31; John W. Welch, Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations 1820-1844, chapter 3; Paul Wheeler, personal study notes given to author.)

We, Too, Can Hear the Voice of the Lord

12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.

Quoting Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Of all the great and wonderful and inspiring promises I have read, the most reassuring to me are the words of the Savior: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ (Matthew 7:7) … Let us never forget to pray.  God lives.  He is near.  He is real.  He is our Father.  He is accessible to us’” (Ensign, Jan. 1994, p. 2).

President Russell M. Nelson has made the clarion call in his time as prophet to be that we learn to hear the voice of the Lord in our own lives. Here is his personal message to all of us: Hear Him!

Bonus Story: “Turn Here!”

This story from the February 2001 Ensign, pp. 35-37, illustrates how each of the steps (except scripture reading) were used by a police officer who was a member of the Church in his amazing rescue of an accidentally kidnapped infant.

Doctrine and Covenants 6-9

“A few years ago I was observing a bug as it moved across the floor.  From my vantage point I could see that approximately 15 feet ahead he was going to run into an obstacle that would cause him to lose quite a bit of travel time.  I wanted to say, ‘Little bug, if you will change your direction and go 25 degrees to the left, you will save yourself a lot of time and trouble.’  But of course he continued his path and ran head-on into the obstacle.  He butted his head against it no fewer than 20 times as he first made a series of futile attempts to the right, then finally found his way around to the left.

“I thought, Is it not so with us and the Lord?  Is His vantage point not higher and greater than our own?”  (John B. Dickson, Ensign, Feb. ’01, pp. 21-22)

The problem with the little bug was not that there was no higher source who would have liked to help him; the problem was that he was unable to receive communication from that source.  Our lesson today is to assure us that we, as human bugs, are able to understand the communication that we receive from our Father’s higher and greater view!

“Our Heavenly Father wants to communicate with us even more than we want to communicate with him.  He wants us to be able to recognize his answers.”  (Gaylen Hinton, Ensign, Oct.’93, p. 61)

The difficulty of recognizing personal revelation

When my friend was a student at BYU, she was sharing an elevator with a young man.  Now, this can be dangerous in any situation, but most especially at BYU, because the young man turned to her and said, “I have just received a revelation that you are to be my wife!”  Now, knowing how beautiful my friend was, I can imagine that it might have been quite easy for many young men to have had a “revelation” about her.  Unfortunately, this particular young man found out quickly that his revelation was false, as she told him, “I’m sorry; I’m already married.”  Apparently, his love was truly blind and he didn’t see the ring on her finger.

               

So how do we tell whether we are receiving revelation from God, or whether we are getting a message from our own desires, or even from an evil source?  Or maybe we don’t recognize that we are receiving revelation at all.  Jesus said of the converted Lamanites, “at the time of their conversion, [they] were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they know it not.”  (3 Nephi 9:20)  How many of us are in that boat?  President Boyd K. Packer said, “It is not unusual for one to have received the gift [of the Holy Ghost] and not really know it.”  (Conference, Apr.‘08; and Ensign, May ’00, p.8)

This year in class we are having the blessing of studying the marvelous occurrences relating to the coming forth of the restored church.  After the First Vision, the heavens were opened and there were many other great and glorious visions, which we will learn about.  In light of this, it is very fitting that we have this lesson today, at the beginning of the year, so that we can recognize that the heavens are also open to us.

In the Munich Germany Area Conference in 1973, President Spencer W. Kimball said: “The burning bushes, the smoking mountains, … the Cumorahs, and the Kirtlands were realities; but they were the exceptions.  The great volume of revelation came to Moses and to Joseph and come to today’s prophet in the less spectacular way—that of deep impressions, without spectacle or glamour or dramatic events.

“Always expecting the spectacular, many will miss entirely the constant flow of revealed communication.”  (Quoted by Graham W. Doxey, Ensign, Nov.’91, p. 25)

Brother Doxey continues, “Even at the highest levels of responsibility in this kingdom of God, which is being built up upon the earth, the [still, small] voice is still small.”

“Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, ‘every common bush [is] afire with God; but only he who sees, takes off his shoes.’  (Aurora Leigh, book 7, lines 822-3)

“The questions are not, ‘Does God live?  Does God love me?’ … The critical question is, ‘Are you listening to him?  Have you removed your shoes?’”  (Ibid.)

Ways in which the Spirit works

Visions and great spiritual manifestations still do occur in among the faithful today.  Voices are heard from beyond the veil.  Angels do appear.  But, as Elder Dallin H Oaks says, ”These experiences are exceptional … Most of the revelation that comes to leaders and members of the Church comes by the still, small voice or by a feeling rather than by a vision or a voice that speaks specific words we can hear. I testify to the reality of that kind of revelation, which I have come to know as a familiar, even daily, experience to guide me in the work of the Lord. “ (Ensign, Mar.’97, p.14)

D&C 9:8 – The Spirit Causes Our Bosoms to Burn

This is one of the most familiar scriptures regarding revelation.  When this feeling occurs, it is a tangible manifestation confirming truth or answering prayers.  We need to be aware, however, that this is not the only way in which the Spirit speaks.  We would miss many, many revelations and and inspirations if we expected each of them to be accompanied by a powerful burning in our chest.  One of the Apostles is quoted as having said, “As I have traveled throughout the Church.  I’ve found relatively few people who have experienced a burning of the bosom.  In fact, I’ve had many people tell me they’ve become frustrated because they have never experienced that feeling even though they have prayed or fasted for long periods of time.”  (Jay E. Jensen, Ensign, Apr.’89, pp.21-2)

There are many different ways in which the Spirit speaks to us, and we are going to go over those today.  I got a great deal of help in preparing this lesson from Ensign articles, especially one by Jay E. Jensen, who was at the time Director of Scriptures Coordination for the Church Curriculum Dept., entitled “Have I Received an Answer from the Spirit?”  in April 1989. 

If class members have experiences to share after each scripture, forego the stories I have written and use theirs instead.  Put up wordstrips or write on the board each of the headings as it comes up.

D&C 6:23 – The Spirit Speaks Peace to the Mind

The most common manifestation of the Spirit is a feeling of peace, of calmness, of tranquility – or a departure of anxiety and fear.

One night when two of my brothers, both young adults with their own cars, were out late and my mother was home alone reading, the phone rang.  It was about 11:30 at night.  When she picked up the phone, the voice on the other end was very garbled.  The only words she could understand were “accident” and “hurt.”  This was in the days before cell phones, and she had no way to contact my brothers and make sure that they were okay.  Needless to say, she became flooded with an intense worry.  She was overcome by a terrible, dark feeling.  She fell to her knees and said a prayer.  She asked the Lord to tell her if there was something she was to do if one of the boys was in trouble, and if there was nothing she could do, or if there was no trouble, that he might please take away this horrible feeling.  She closed her prayer and stood up.  Immediately, as she stood, the fear left and she was wrapped in a feeling of peace.  She returned to her reading, and less than ten minutes later, my brothers both drove in at the same time, one into each of our two driveways.  She heard them call to each other across the lawn, and then they came in the house together laughing.  There had been no problem and she never knew whether the phone call had been a prank or a wrong number.

D&C 11:13-14 – The Spirit Enlightens Our Minds

The Prophet Joseph Smith indicated that at these times you may “feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.151)

How do you know that it is the Spirit and not just your own idea?  After the words “enlighten your mind,” the Lord adds the phrase “which shall fill your soul with joy.”  The feeling of understanding in the mind given by the Spirit is always accompanied by some type of positive emotion.  Brother Jensen says, “Not only is our understanding affected, but our souls seem to expand – the whole experience is delicious to us.”

D&C 11:12 The Spirit Leads to do Good

“Have you ever learned of someone in need, perhaps a close friend, and felt strongly impressed to help?  Have you ever talked with someone and been led to say the right thing?  Have you ever suddenly felt a need to fix something in the house or to weed the garden?  This is how the Spirit can work – he leads us to do good.

“Have you ever felt that you should forgive someone?  Have you ever been prompted to pay tithing before you pay certain bills?  Have you ever seen a child learn to share his toys?  These are a few times in which the Spirit can prompt a person, even a small child, to do justly. “ (Ibid., p.24)

I saw the Spirit work upon my daughter Savannah in this way when she was six or seven.  She was on the back patio and accidentally knocked over a really cute flowerpot which I had made from a kit a friend had given me as a gift.  Like most little kids, she was afraid for having made such a mistake, but she felt moved to come right in the house and confess to me.  She was upset as she told me, but knowing that it was just an accident, I thanked her for letting me know and we cleaned it up.  A few minutes later, she came back in the house and said, “Mom, I have such a strange feeling.  It’s like I’m all warm right here,” and she rubbed her chest.  Because she followed the first prompting of the Spirit to confess, she then received a confirmation that she had done the right thing.

D&C 128:1 – The Spirit Occupies our Minds and Presses upon our Feelings

How many times does this type of revelation come to the leadership of the church?!  This is how Joseph Smith was prompted many times.  The fact that the subject of baptism for the dead pressed upon Joseph’s mind at the particular time that it did is a remarkable manifestation of the Spirit, when we  realize that at the time Joseph was being pursued by enemies and was facing numerous difficulties and distractions.  This is how President Spencer W. Kimball was prompted to seek for priesthood blessings for worthy members of every race.  Another irony is that in his conference talk on revelation, Elder Graham Doxey stated that this subject, revelation, had been on his mind since the speaking assignment came.  He obviously had received revelation that he should give a talk on revelation.

President Joseph F Smith’s great vision recorded in D&C 138 was precipitated by the thoughts of the deaths of beloved family members, his own imminent death, and deaths of millions worldwide, due to the Spanish Influenza and World War I.

D&C 8:2-3 – The Spirit Tells us in our Minds and our Hearts

Elder Richard G. Scott explained this scripture very specifically in an address at the annual Church Educational System Religious Educators Symposium at BYU, August 11^th, 1998: “I would explain that an impression to the mind is very specific.  Detailed words can be heard or felt and written as though the instruction were being dictated.”

Here is an amazing experience Elder Russell M. Nelson had with this type of revelation:

“Many of us have had experiences with the sweet power of prayer. One of mine was shared with a stake patriarch from southern Utah. I first met him in my medical office more than 40 years ago, during the early pioneering days of surgery of the heart. This saintly soul suffered much because of a failing heart. He pleaded for help, thinking that his condition resulted from a damaged but repairable valve in his heart.

“Extensive evaluation revealed that he had two faulty valves. While one could be helped surgically, the other could not. Thus, an operation was not advised. He received this news with deep disappointment.

“Subsequent visits ended with the same advice. Finally, in desperation, he spoke to me with considerable emotion: ‘Dr. Nelson, I have prayed for help and have been directed to you. The Lord will not reveal to me how to repair that second valve, but He can reveal it to you. Your mind is so prepared. If you will operate upon me, the Lord will make it known to you what to do. Please perform the operation that I need, and pray for the help that you need.’

“His great faith had a profound effect upon me. How could I turn him away again? Following a fervent prayer together, I agreed to try. In preparing for that fateful day, I prayed over and over again, but still did not know what to do for his leaking tricuspid valve. Even as the operation commenced, my assistant asked, ‘What are you going to do for that?’  I said, ‘I do not know.’

“We began the operation. After relieving the obstruction of the first valve, we exposed the second valve. We found it to be intact but so badly dilated that it could no longer function as it should. While examining this valve, a message was distinctly impressed upon my mind: Reduce the circumference of the ring. I announced that message to my assistant. ‘The valve tissue will be sufficient if we can effectively reduce the ring toward its normal size.’

“But how? We could not apply a belt as one would use to tighten the waist of oversized trousers. We could not squeeze with a strap as one would cinch a saddle on a horse. Then a picture came vividly to my mind, showing how stitches could be placed—to make a pleat here and a tuck there—to accomplish the desired objective. I still remember that mental image—complete with dotted lines where sutures should be placed. The repair was completed as diagrammed in my mind. We tested the valve and found the leak to be reduced remarkably. My assistant said, ‘It’s a miracle.’ I responded, ‘It’s an answer to prayer.’

“The patient’s recovery was rapid and his relief gratifying. Not only was he helped in a marvelous way, but surgical help for other people with similar problems had become a possibility. I take no credit. Praise goes to this faithful patriarch and to God, who answered our prayers. This faithful man lived for many more years and has since gone to his eternal glory.” (Elder Russell M. Nelson, Conference, Apr.’03; and Ensign, May ’03, pp.7-8)

To continue with Elder Scott’s words: “A communication to the heart is a more general impression.  The Lord often begins by giving impressions.  Where there is recognition of their importance and they are obeyed, one gains more capacity to receive more detailed instruction to the mind.  An impression to the heart, if followed, is fortified by a more specific instruction to the mind.”

It is important to note that Elder Scott, another time, counseled that we may miss further revelation if we do not record in our personal scriptures, our journals, those that we do receive.  Writing down promptings received helps us to recognize them even better the next time.  (See Richard G. Scott, Helping Others, p.11)

Alma 14:11 – The Spirit Constrains

When the wicked inhabitants of Ammonihah were about to burn the believers, Amulek suggested to Alma that they exercise their priesthood power to save the innocent.  But through the Spirit, the Lord held Alma back from doing something contrary to His divine plan.

Wilford Woodruff related a constraining encounter he had with the Spirit.  He was bringing some Saints from New England and Canada to the West.  They had scheduled passage on a boat, but the Spirit spoke to President Woodruff, “Don’t go aboard that steamer, nor your company.”  He obeyed the voice.  The boat departed and some fifty yards downstream caught fire and sank (A Story to Tell, p. 320).  I wonder how many times the Spirit constrains us to do something and we never get to see what might have happened had we disobeyed.

John 14:26 – The Spirit Brings Things to our Remembrance

This happened to Enos as he went hunting.  The Spirit brought the teachings of his father back into his mind.  They sunk deep into his heart, and he was moved to pray.  (See Enos 1:3-4.)  Had he not followed that prompting through remembrance by meditating and praying, he would not have received the testimony he did.

How many of us at key moments have had the Spirit bring to our remembrance the words of our parents, teachers, a conference address, or the scriptures?

As we keep putting the words of Christ and our testimonies into the memories of our children and those we teach, the Spirit will be able to call their attention to those when the time is right.  Hopefully, they will then follow the Spirit when it prompts them to remember those words they have been taught by us.

D&C 98:12 – The Spirit Gives Revelation Line upon Line

In his Conference address of October 1989, Elder Scott also taught: “When we seek inspiration to help make decisions, the Lord gives gentle promptings.  These require us to think, to exercise faith, to work, to struggle at times, and to act.  Seldom does the whole answer to a decisively important matter or complex problem come all at once.  More often, it comes a piece at a time, without the end in sight.”

This is in keeping with President Joseph F. Smith’s account of how he received his testimony.  Having had the Prophet Joseph as his uncle, and Hyrum Smith as his father, he was, no doubt, accustomed to hearing of marvelous manifestations of the Spirit.  As a young teen, he served as a missionary, and these are his words about how he gained his testimony.  I suspect many of us received ours in the same way.

“When I as a boy first started out in the ministry, I would frequently go out and ask the Lord to show me some marvelous thing, in order that I might receive a testimony.  But the Lord withheld marvels from me, and showed me the truth, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until He made me to know the truth from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and until doubt and fear had been absolutely purged from me.”  (Gospel Doctrine, 5^th edition, p.7)

D&C 43 – The Spirit Prompts According to our Stewardships

This is not just one way in which the Spirit prompts – this is a rule that governs revelation.  The prophet holds the keys of revelation for the entire church, the bishop can receive revelation for the ward, and you can receive revelation for your own family.  You cannot receive revelation for something or someone over which you have no stewardship.  (See Dallin H Oaks, “Revelation,” New Era, Sep.’82, pp.45-6)

In addition, any revelation we receive in our own capacities must be in harmony with truth received through the prophet.  The First Presidency has said, “When … inspiration conveys something out of harmony with the accepted revelations of the Church or contrary to the decisions of its constituted authorities, Latter-day Saints may know that it is not of God, no matter how plausible it may appear”  (Messages of the First Presidency, 4:285).

This is the same reason why the young man in the elevator was mistaken in his revelation about my friend.  He had no stewardship over her.

What if revelation does not come?

“Sometimes you may struggle with a problem and not get an answer.  What could be wrong?  It may be that you are not doing anything wrong.  It may be that you have not done the right things long enough.  Remember, you cannot force spiritual things.

“Put difficult questions in the back of your minds and go about your lives.  Ponder and pray quietly and persistently about them.”  (Boyd K. Packer, Oct.’79 Conference)

Remember, it took three Church presidents pondering and praying before the revelation was given that all worthy males could receive the Priesthood.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has also counseled on this subject.  “We do not always receive inspiration or revelation when we request it.  Sometimes we are delayed in the receipt of revelation, and sometimes we are left to our own judgment.  We cannot force spiritual things.  It must be so.  Our life’s purpose to obtain experience and develop faith would be frustrated if our Heavenly Father directed us in every act, even in every important act. We must make decisions and experience the consequences in order to develop self-reliance and faith."  (BYU Devotional, Sep. 29, 1981; and Ensign, Oct.’94, p.13) (See also D&C 8:10, second half)

Conclusion

It may appear that Joseph Smith died prematurely, before the work of the Restoration was complete.  But he was allowed to exercise revelation from the other side of the veil in order to give counsel to his successor, Brigham Young, many times.  It’s ironic that it was at one of these appearances when revelation was obvious and grand that he gave counsel to Brigham Young on how to encourage the Saints in receiving the less obvious revelations:

“Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right.  Be careful and not turn away the still small voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom.  Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.  [And here is where he gives the best overall guide for recognizing revelation:] They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife, and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good.”  (Juvenile Instructor, 8:114 (1873); Quoted in Apr.’89 Ensign, p.21)

Image from ChurchofJesusChrist.org Media Library

These times are no less troubled than Brigham Young’s time.  Although we are minuscule human “bugs” in a universe of obstacles, being able to receive and recognize revelation makes us open to the Lord’s help from his vantage point high above us.  This is one of the greatest blessings given to members of the Restored Church.  As Elder Boyd K. Packer said:

“We need not live in fear of the future.  We have every reason to rejoice and little reason to fear.  If we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we will be safe, whatever the future holds.  We will be shown what to do.”  (Boyd K Packer, Apr.’00 Conference; and Ensign, May ’00)