Revelation: Drop by Drop

Luis Andres Varela watches closely as a drop of water collects at the end of a stalactite in the Caves of Taulabe in Honduras. Each drop makes the stalactite grow by adding a little more to what previous drops have left behind.

But Luis sees more than just a stalactite—he sees a lesson about himself.

“Stalactites grow drop by drop,” he says. “That’s how our testimonies grow too. The Holy Ghost teaches us little by little. Each drop helps us grow in knowledge about the gospel.” (See 2 Nephi 28:30.)

Luis remembers such an event in his life. One day while his family was reading the scriptures, he felt a calm, reassuring feeling that what he was reading was true.

“I’m only 14, but I know that I’ve received revelation because I have felt the Holy Ghost telling me the Church is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet,” he says. “Maybe I haven’t received a lot yet—I’m still like a very small stalactite—but if I do what I should so I can receive revelation, my knowledge and testimony will continue to grow.”

Luis says going to church, attending seminary, studying the scriptures, and fasting and praying all prepare us to receive “revelation upon revelation” (D&C 42:61).

“If I do these things,” he says, “my faith, like those stalactites, can stretch from here to heaven.”