11 Nov 2007 SWK#22: Revelation: "A Continuous Melody and a Thunderous Appeal" by Shannon Allen

Today Shannon Allen taught Lesson #22 from the Spencer W. Kimball Manual on Revelation. She emphasized a number of statements from the manual. The first one she selected was from page 237:

President Kimball trusted in the principle of continuing revelation, declaring that it was “the very lifeblood of the gospel of the living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”2 This trust, said Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “was clearly a part of the makeup of this very special man.”3 President Kimball took his responsibility as President of the Church seriously, knowing that he was the only person on the earth who was authorized to receive revelation for the Church. He testified: “I know that the Lord called me to this position. I know that there are greater prophets, perhaps, than I, but I wish to do all I can to carry forward the work of the Lord as he wants it done. Every night and morning I kneel and pray with deep sincerity that the Lord will inspire me and reveal to me the direction I should go and what I should tell the people of this Church.”4

I (Potato Girl) was impressed by the image of the prophet praying morning and night for guidance. I thought how helpful it would be in my life if I would pray this fervently for guidance in the various stewardships I've been entrusted with.

Shannon was a full-time missionary in Georgia, and frequently was asked about the issue of African Americans being denied the priesthood until the 1970s. She read us President Kimball's description of some of the preparation that went into receiving the revelation that it was finally time for all worthy male members of the church to have access to the priesthood and subsequent temple blessings:

“I knew that something was before us that was extremely important to many of the children of God. I knew that we could receive the revelations of the Lord only by being worthy and ready for them and ready to accept them and put them into place. Day after day I went alone and with great solemnity and seriousness in the upper rooms of the temple, and there I offered my soul and offered my efforts to go forward with the program. I wanted to do what he wanted. I talked about it to him and said, ‘Lord, I want only what is right. We are not making any plans to be spectacularly moving. We want only the thing that thou dost want, and we want it when you want it and not until.’ ”5

Shannon was particularly impressed that in spite of the social pressure on the church, and in spite of President Kimball's own fervent desire that the priesthood be extended to all worthy males, he wanted above all to do the Lord's will. She read:

“We had the glorious experience of having the Lord indicate clearly that the time had come when all worthy men and women everywhere can be fellowheirs and partakers of the full blessings of the gospel. I want you to know, as a special witness of the Savior, how close I have felt to him and to our Heavenly Father as I have made numerous visits to the upper rooms in the temple, going on some days several times by myself. The Lord made it very clear to me what was to be done. We do not expect the people of the world to understand such things, for they will always be quick to assign their own reasons or to discount the divine process of revelation.”6

Shannon asked us to raise our hands and talk about some of the things we think of when we hear the word 'revelation.' She told us that we often mistakenly think of it as something spectacular, something that we as individuals may not experiences. She said that as she prepared the lesson, she was struck by the importance of the act of seeking God's guidance. She read us this statement about the Father and Son's willingness to speak to us:

"Someone has said that we live in a day in which God, if there be a God, chooses to be silent, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims to the world that neither the Father nor the Son is silent. They are vocal and commune as proper and necessary, and constantly express a willingness, indeed an eagerness, to maintain communication with men."

God wants to be a part of our life, but we have to get on our knees and seek him.

She read us this statement:

"How presumptuous and arrogant for any man to say God is unapproachable, unknowable, unseeable, unhearable because that one himself has not prepared himself for the experience."

Shannon told us a story about the time in her life when she was trying to decide whether or not to go on a mission. She received an unexpected letter one day from a sister in the mission field that felt like an answer to her prayers for guidance. She prayed and asked god if this letter and the feelings she had reading it were indeed his answer for her.

She asked us how many times we should be getting on our knees in prayer each day. She asked us if we were relying on our own intellects to guide our lives without thought to what the Lord might want for us. She read this statement:

"It should be kept in mind that God cannot be found through research alone, nor his gospel understood and appreciated by study only, for no one may know the Father or the Son but “he to whom the Son will reveal him.” (Luke 10:22.) The skeptic will some day either in time or eternity learn to his sorrow that his egotism has robbed him of much joy and growth."

She concluded by reading this series of questions posed by President Kimball and challenging us to answer them on our own at home:

"Do you want guidance? Have you prayed to the Lord for inspiration? Do you want to do right or do you want to do what you want to do whether or not it is right? Do you want to do what is best for you in the long run or what seems more desirable for the moment? Have you prayed? How much have you prayed? How did you pray? Have you prayed as did the Savior of the world in Gethsemane or did you ask for what you want regardless of its being proper? Do you say in your prayers: “Thy will be done”? Did you say, “Heavenly Father, if you will inspire and impress me with the right, I will do that right”? Or, did you pray, “Give me what I want or I will take it anyway”? Did you say: “Father in Heaven, I love you, I believe in you, I know you are omniscient. I am honest. I am sincerely desirous of doing right. I know you can see the end from the beginning. You can see the future. You can discern if under this situation I present, I will have peace or turmoil, happiness or sorrow, success or failure. Tell me, please, loved Heavenly Father, and I promise to do what you tell me to do.” Have you prayed that way? Don’t you think it might be wise? Are you courageous enough to pray that prayer?"