Article of Faith #9

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

I believe that Heavenly Father gives revelation to the whole earth through the prophets on the earth. When I hear the words and the spiritual wisdom that comes from our current prophet Thomas S. Monson, I KNOW that he is speaking from on high and revealing important things about the Kingdom of God.

I know that revelation exists on this earth today. The most important way that I know this is that I have received personal revelation. As I was reading about revelation today I realized that when we have questions in our life the most important thing that we can do is ask Heavenly Father to reveal the answers to us. These questions can be anything from doctrine, to confirming that something is true, to guidance in the paths of everyday life. BUT when we ask for revelation we need to be "focusing on things of God." To me this means that if we have a question about a path to take in our lives we need to look at the decision according to Heavenly Father's perspective. For example, when I was deciding on a job to take, I didn't pray to ask if they were offering me enough money or vacation time. I prayed if this would be a place that I could do the things that Heavenly Father wanted me to do like serve in the church, have a family and be a good wife.

I wish I could say that I constantly have experiences of personal revelation where the great mysteries of God are unfolded to me, but in reality what I have is on a much smaller scale and far less earth-shattering, yet so important to my testimony. Throughout the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants we are encouraged to ASK of God whether things are true. Personal revelation is not something you can be brainwashed to feel. It is something that is in your heart that is confirmed when you pray and the spirit speaks to you. (One important thing about that is the Spirit and fear do not exist together. If you are still experiencing fear when you pray about something that IS NOT letting the spirit truly speak to you.) I do know that when I read my scriptures I regularly find myself reading verse and getting a little flutter inside telling me that what I am reading is true and it is right. I also have had experiences of personal revelation guiding me on what to do, like marrying Richard and deciding where to go to school. Also, personal revelation is a way that I have learned about difficult doctrine and confirmed their truthfulness. One experience was when it was confirmed to me that women have divine role as mothers (I'll have to blog that entire story separately). I am grateful for personal revelation that is still given and teaches me about the Kingdom of God and my place in the Kingdom of God.