LDS Place

“We believe in a God who is engaged in our lives, who is not silent, not absent, nor, as Elijah said of the god of the priests of Baal, is He ‘[on] a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be [awakened]‘ (1 Kings 18:27). In this Church, even our young Primary children recite, ‘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’ (Articles of Faith 1:9).

“In declaring new scripture and continuing revelation, we pray we will never be arrogant or insensitive. But after a sacred vision in a now sacred grove answered in the affirmative the question ‘Does God exist?’ what Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints force us to face is the next interrogative, which necessarily follows: ‘Does He speak?’ We bring the good news that He does and that He has. With a love and affection born of our Christianity, we invite all to inquire into the wonder of what God has said since biblical times and is saying even now.

“In a sense Joseph Smith and his prophetic successors in this Church answer the challenge Ralph Waldo Emerson put to the students of the Harvard Divinity School 170 years ago. . . . The great sage of Concord pled that they teach ‘that God is, not was; that He speaketh, not spake’ (“An Address,” The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson [1929], 45).”

Jeffrey R. Holland, “My Words . . . Never Cease,” Ensign, May 2008, 93

“I learned at a young age that inspiration can come to any of us. When I was in junior high school I was taking a difficult class where most of what was being taught went over my head. One day the teacher asked me a question. I didn’t understand the question, let alone the answer. Out of nowhere a response came into my mind, which I repeated to the teacher. It was the right answer, but I knew it had not come from me.

“So how can we recognize inspiration when it comes? Enos stated, ‘While I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind’ (Enos 1:10). The voice of the spirit of revelation is not necessarily audible, but it gives us divine confirmation through our thoughts and feelings. As we are told in the Doctrine and Covenants, ‘I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart’ (D&C 8:2). We must cultivate our sensitivity to that divine voice.”

James E. Faust, “Did You Get the Right Message?” Ensign, May 2004, 62

“The choice of an eternal companion is up to each individual. Father in Heaven respects your agency, especially with this most important of all decisions. He won’t make the decision for you. He gives guidelines and principles, but the choice is yours. Ask Him to bless you with the wisdom to recognize the attributes of godliness in your potential spouse. Is this a good man who will honor his priesthood? Is this a woman who will nurture our children in loving kindness? “Be worthy of the inspiration you seek. Follow the counsel the Lord gave to Oliver Cowdery found in D&C 9:7–8:

“ ‘Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give [the answer] unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

“ ‘But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.’

“The decision of who you marry is the most important of your life. It is a decision that will be made with both your heart and your head. In other words, it will feel right (heart) and make sense (mind). ‘This is the spirit of revelation’ (see D&C 8:2–3).

“May the Lord bless you. May you know and feel of His love and concern for each one of you. His desire for your success and happiness in life is my prayer and my testimony.”

Lynn G. Robbins, “Finding Your Sweetheart,” New Era, Sept. 2003, 48

“Every man or woman that has ever entered into the church of God and been baptized for the remission of sins has a right to revelation, a right to the Spirit of God, to assist them in their labors, in their administrations to their children, in counseling their children and those over whom they are called upon to preside. The Holy Ghost is not restricted to men, nor to apostles or prophets; it belongs to every faithful man and woman, and to every child who is old enough to receive the gospel of Christ.”

Wilford Woodruff

“As General Authorities of the Church, we are just the same as you are, and you are just the same as we are. You have the same access to the powers of revelation for your families and for your work and for your callings as we do.

“It is also true that there is an order to things in the Church. When you are called to an office, you then receive revelation that belongs to that office that would not be given to others.

“No member of the Church is esteemed by the Lord as more or less than any other. It just does not work that way! Remember, He is a father–our Father. The Lord is ‘no respecter of persons.’ ”

Boyd K. Packer