“Revelation for Our Lives,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson (2023)

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man praying

Chapter 14

Revelation for Our Lives

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation.

From the Life of Russell M. Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson told of a revelation he received as an answer to the prayers of a faithful friend:

“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.”

Referring later to this experience, President Nelson said, “Through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, the Lord will assist us in all our righteous pursuits.”

Teachings of Russell M. Nelson

Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!

One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will. The marvelous privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to His children—available to every one of us.

No matter who you are, you can pray to your Heavenly Father for guidance and direction in your life. If you learn to hear the Lord through His promptings, you may receive divine guidance in matters large and small.

Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course … as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints” [Doctrine and Covenants 121:33].

Study Question

How does knowing that God wants to speak to you make a difference in your life?

You can receive personal revelation for your own circumstances

The Lord directs His Church through those that you sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. It is a very sacred process. It is so sacred that we don’t talk about it much. But it is not exclusively for us. You can get personal revelation just as much for your endeavors in life as I can for my responsibilities in life.

I testify to you that revelation is real and that it is no different for me than it is for you. You can receive personal revelation for your own circumstances just as actually as I can for my circumstance.

Imagine the miracle of it! … We can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own. If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small.

Study Question

How has personal revelation helped you accomplish things you could not do on your own?

God will speak to you in His own way and in His own time

Each of us is entitled to personal revelation for our own sphere of action—mothers, fathers, children in their homes. Now, I do receive that revelation for the whole Church. … It is always on the Lord’s timetable, never on mine.

Revelation need not all come at once. It may be incremental. “Saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more” [2 Nephi 28:30]. Patience and perseverance are part of our eternal progression.

Revelation from God is always compatible with His eternal law. It never contradicts His doctrine. It is facilitated by proper reverence for Deity.

We may need to be patient, but God will speak to us in His own way and in His own time.

Study Question

Why do you think it is important to remember that God speaks to us in His own way and in His own time?

We must learn to receive revelation to survive spiritually

We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages. If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation.

Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now. In the Godhead, the Holy Ghost is the messenger. He will bring thoughts to your mind which the Father and Son want you to receive. He is the Comforter. He will bring a feeling of peace to your heart. He testifies of truth and will confirm what is true as you hear and read the word of the Lord.

Study Question

What have you learned about how the Spirit speaks to you?

You can learn for yourself how to receive personal revelation

Every one of us has questions. Seeking to learn, understand, and recognize truth is a vital part of our mortal experience. Much of my life has been spent in research. You too will learn best by asking inspired questions.

At this very moment some of you are struggling to know what you should be doing with your life. Others of you may wonder if you have been forgiven of your sins. …

Some may question why the Church does some of the things it does. Perhaps many of you are not sure how to get answers to your prayers.

Our Heavenly Father and His Son stand ready to respond to your questions through the ministering of the Holy Ghost. But it is up to you to learn how to qualify for and receive those answers.

Where can you start? Begin by spending more time in holy places. The temple is a holy place. So is the chapel, where you make new sacramental covenants each Sunday. I invite you also to make your apartment, your dorm, your home, or your room a holy place where you can safely retreat from the dark distractions of the world.

Prayer is a key. Pray to know what to stop doing and what to start doing. Pray to know what to add to your environment and what to remove so the Spirit can be with you in abundance.

Plead with the Lord for the gift of discernment. Then live and work to be worthy to receive that gift so that when confusing events arise in the world, you will know exactly what is true and what is not [see 2 Nephi 31:13].

Serve with love. Loving service to those who have lost their way or who are wounded in spirit opens your heart to personal revelation.

Spend more time—much more time—in places where the Spirit is present. That means more time with friends who are seeking to have the Spirit with them. Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder.

You can learn for yourself … how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!

I promise you—not the person sitting next to you, but you—that, wherever you are in the world, wherever you are on the covenant path—even if, at this moment, you are not centered on the path—I promise you that if you will sincerely and persistently do the spiritual work needed to develop the crucial, spiritual skill of learning how to hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, you will have all the direction you will ever need in your life. You will be given answers to your questions in the Lord’s own way and in His own time. …

When you know your life is being directed by God, regardless of the challenges and disappointments that may and will come, you will feel joy and peace.

Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation” [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 132].

Study Questions

Why do you think receiving personal revelation is a “crucial, spiritual skill”? What counsel from President Nelson will you follow in the coming week to develop this skill?

Increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” [Doctrine and Covenants 42:61]. …

Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon [see 2 Nephi 32:3], and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you—even miracles—will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you. …

My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation. … Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.

To access information from heaven, one must first have a firm faith and a deep desire. One needs to “ask with a sincere heart [and] real intent, having faith in [Jesus] Christ” [Moroni 10:4]. “Real intent” means that one really intends to follow the divine direction given.

Refining our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and increasing our capacity to receive revelation requires worthiness. Worthiness does not require perfection, but it requires that we strive for increased purity.

The Lord expects daily effort, daily improvement, daily repentance. Worthiness brings purity, and purity qualifies us for the Holy Ghost. As we take “the Holy Spirit for [our] guide” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:57), we qualify for personal revelation.

If something is stopping us from opening the door to heavenly direction, we may need to repent. Repentance allows us to open the door so we can hear the voice of the Lord more frequently and clearly.

Study Question

What are some things you can do to “increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation”?

Counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life every day

The voices and pressures of the world are engaging and numerous. But too many voices are deceptive, seductive, and can pull us off the covenant path. To avoid the inevitable heartbreak that follows, I plead with you today to counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life—each and every day.

If most of the information you get comes from social or other media, your ability to hear the whisperings of the Spirit will be diminished. If you are not also seeking the Lord through daily prayer and gospel study, you leave yourself vulnerable to philosophies that may be intriguing but are not true. Even Saints who are otherwise faithful can be derailed by the steady beat of Babylon’s band.

My brothers and sisters, I plead with you to make time for the Lord! Make your own spiritual foundation firm and able to stand the test of time by doing those things that allow the Holy Ghost to be with you always.

Heavenly Father is so very generous. He wants to help you with everything—your families, callings, work, heartaches, and concerns [see Alma 34:18–27]. So ask, and then live to receive revelation.

The Lord knows you and loves you. He is your Savior and your Redeemer. He leads and guides His Church. He will lead and guide you in your personal life if you will make time for Him in your life—each and every day.

Study Question

What will you do today to make time for the Lord?

Invitations and Promises

Grow into the principle of revelation

Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

Stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation

Make time for the Lord

If you will do the spiritual work, you will have all the direction you need

You can learn for yourself … how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!

When you know your life is being directed by God, regardless of the challenges and disappointments that may and will come, you will feel joy and peace.