D&C Lesson 5: Our need for personal revelation

One of our greatest blessings is that the heavens are open and the Lord communicates with His children through continuing revelation. We do not have to be prophets to receive revelation from the Lord. Although we do not receive revelation to guide the Church, we can receive revelation to help us learn gospel truths and to guide us in our personal lives and in our responsibilities in the home and in the Church.

What is “revelation?”
Webster’s Dictionary: An act of revealing or communicating divine truth. Something that is revealed by God to humans.

What is “personal revelation?”
Prophets receive revelation to help them in their own lives and in directing the earthly affairs of the Church. Our responsibility is to seek personal revelations for ourselves and for the responsibilities the Lord has given us.

Prophet Joseph Smith: God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 149)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie: Accordingly, those who are saints indeed, those who have been born again, those who are so living as to be in tune with the Spirit—they are they who receive revelation, personal revelation, revelation which is the mind and will of God to them as individuals. They … as individuals receive personal revelation in their own affairs. And there are no restrictions placed upon them; there are no limitations as to what they may see and know and comprehend. No eternal truths will be withheld, if they obey the laws entitling them to receive such truths. (Improvement Era, Dec 1969, p85)

Why is personal revelation such an important principle?

(1) Personal revelation is how we receive our testimonies of Jesus Christ, His gospel, and the divine calling of Joseph Smith.

• John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
• Personal revelation is the way Heavenly Father helps us know Him and His Son, learn and live the gospel, endure to the end in righteousness, and qualify for eternal life—to return back into Their presence.

(2) Personal revelation is the way we learn divine truths. Elder Hales defined it in a conference talk as “the way we know for ourselves the most important truths of our existence”.

• D&C 5:12 Yea, they shall know of a surety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare it unto them.
• Bible Dictionary: Divine revelation is one of the grandest concepts and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for without it, man could not know of the things of God. … 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, “Revelation,” 762)

(3) Personal revelation is how we receive guidance beyond our own limited understanding in answering life’s questions, meeting challenges, and making decisions.

• Never before has personal revelation been as essential as it is today for our protection from the influences of the world, and preparation for what is to come. This has been confirmed by modern-day prophets and apostles:

Elder Boyd K. Packer: No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less
in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1991, 29; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 23).

Note how closely President Benson and Elder Cannon associate personal revelation and knowing what the prophets have counseled, and listening and following that counsel.

President Ezra Taft Benson said that personal revelation is essential for us to prepare for the great day of the Lord: This preparation [that is preparing for the Second Coming of the Lord] must consist of more than just casual membership in the Church. We must be guided by personal revelation and the counsel of the living prophet so we will not be deceived. (Come Unto Christ, p115)

George Q. Cannon, speaking of the last days: The greatest events that have been spoken of by all the Holy Prophets will come along so naturally as the consequences of certain causes, that unless our eyes are enlightened by the Spirit of God, and the spirit of revelation rests upon us, we will fail to see that these are the events predicted by the Holy Prophets. (Journal of Discourse, vol. 21)