Logan Ward Sacrament Meeting Talk
15 March 2020
(Canceled due to pandemic)
by Jeremy Magland
Good morning brothers and sisters. Our Stake Presidency and other church leaders have recently asked us to increase our ability to receive divine revelation for our individual lives, our families, and in our church responsibilities. In the words of President Russel M. Nelson, and echoed by Sister Michelle Craig in this past General conference this means increasing our spiritual capacity to receive revelation from our Heavenly Father.
Imagine with me a container, maybe a glass pitcher. How are we going to increase the capacity of that pitcher to hold more lemonade? It’s not so easy to enlarge a glass container without breaking it, right? Maybe some of us may feel that way about this invitation to increase our spiritual capacity. How can I possibly increase my capacity? I’m already at my limit!
But, there is a way to increase the capacity of that lemonade pitcher without trying to stretch the glass. The remedy is to pour out what is already inside.
The Book of Mormon uses that phrase “to pour out” in at least two ways. The first is when the people pour out their souls unto God in prayer -- like when the people of Alma were in captivity and were forbidden to pray by Amulon (who mistakenly thought that he could prevent them from communicating with their God). “And [they] did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.” Or when Enos had received a remission of His sins, and then immediately had concern for His brethren and he “did pour out [his] whole soul unto God for them” (Mosiah 24).
Another use of this term is when God pours out His spirit upon us, like in Helaman chapter 6 when God “[pours] out his Spirit on the Lamanites, because of their willingness to believe in his words” (Helaman 6). Or in Section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants where we learn that no puny arm of man could hinder in even the least degree the ability of the Lord to “[pour] down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints”.
So we can imagine personal revelation as a two step process, the pouring out of our souls in pleading with Lord in sincerity and faith, thus increasing our spiritual capacity, and the Lord then being able to pour down knowledge upon our heads, guiding us, comforting us, enlarging our understanding, and helping us to find joy in doing His work in our families, at church, and in our individual lives.
There is one thing I want to emphasize about personal revelation. It is the word “PERSONAL”. That’s because God communicates with each of His children in an intimate, extremely personal way. I can tell you of my experiences of receiving revelation from God, but it won’t exactly match your experience. Nevertheless, many of the principles should be the same.
For example, is there a right or wrong way to pray? Here is a poem entitled “The Prayer of Cyrus Brown” by Sam Walter Foss (1858–1911) that addresses this question.
“THE PROPER way for a man to pray,”
Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes,
“And the only proper attitude,
Is down upon his knees.”
“No, I should say the way to pray,”
Said Reverend Doctor Wise,
“Is standing straight, with outstretched arms,
And rapt and upturned eyes.”
“Oh no; no, no,” said Elder Slow,
“Such posture is too proud:
A man should pray with eyes fast closed
And head contritely bowed.”
“It seems to me his hands should be
Austerely clasped in front,
With both thumbs pointing toward the ground"
Said Reverend Doctor Blunt.
“Las’ year I fell in Hodgkin’s well
Head first,” said Cyrus Brown,
“With both my heels a-stickin’ up,
My head a-p’inting down;
“An’ I made a prayer right then an’ there—
Best prayer I ever said,
The prayingest prayer I ever prayed,
A-standing on my head.”
Why was Cyrus Brown’s prayer so good? It was because he was in a moment of peril. Do you ever feel like you are hanging upside down in a well, so to speak? Sometimes I feel that way, and I have learned that the best thing to do is to go straight to the Lord in prayer, and pour out my soul. I explain to Him my situation or predicament and plead for His help in learning from the situation. Here is an example of part of an actual prayer (at a time of challenge) that I gave recently and decided to write down:
“Dear Heavenly Father: I am grateful for our Stake conference yesterday where I was able to see how thy Spirit has touched the lives of so many. I am grateful for the peace that thy gospel brings into my heart and into the hearts of those who come unto thee. Recently, my relationship with BillyBob (we'll call him BillyBob) has been strained. I would like to be a better friend to him. Please help me to know what I can do to improve our relationship. As I strive to keep thy commandment to preside with gentleness and meekness and to love and teach my children in righteousness, please bless me with insights on how to improve my relationships with them.”
I can happily report that yes, my prayers were answered in this matter on the very next day.
But our prayers are not always answered with such immediacy, and I have found that the answers rarely come in the manner we would expect or imagine. Sometimes we may feel like prayer is just a one-way communication. But from the foundation of our religion, when the young boy Joseph Smith reached out to God in sincerity and faith and God responded in what we now refer to as the “First Vision”, we affirm that communication with God is most certainly a two-way process.
In that first vision, God the Father and His son appeared to Joseph, and the Father instructed Him saying, “This is my beloved Son, Hear Him.” President Nelson has recently emphasized that just like the boy Joseph Smith, each of us have a crucial and individual role to play in the ongoing restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in bringing forth the Kingdom of God. Putting ourselves in the position of Joseph, and recognizing that we each feel the Spirit differently, our Prophet has asked us to consider how we “Hear Him”.
For me, hearing and heeding our Lord is multifaceted. On the one hand, I listen for feelings, impressions, and ideas that come after I have sought knowledge, as the scriptures say, “by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). But I can’t always know if those ideas originate from a divine source, or if they are coming from my own mind, or in the worst case if they are ideas planted there by the adversary. That is where scripture and inspired teachings of the restored gospel come into play to anchor me in my correct decisions.
Here is one such piece of discernment advice that comes from the autobiography of Isaac C. Haight (1813-1886). “The voice of the spirit of God is peace and goodwill to all men; but the voice of the evil one is full of wrath and bitterness”. I have used this test on numerous occasions, knowing that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance” (Galatians 5:22). If the impression or idea is not of this nature, then it is not from the Holy Ghost.
Another discernment test is from 2 Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” So, once again, if an idea fills me with fear, trouble, or confusion, then it is not from the Lord.
There are other tests in the scriptures for knowing which impressions come from the Lord. At the end of the Book of Mormon, Moroni tells us: “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.” (Moroni 7:16)
When we are seeking revelation in our lives, in our families, and in our callings, we must be sure that our actions and decisions are centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Here are some words of a children’s song by Janice Kapp Perry: “I’m trying to be like Jesus, I’m following in His way. I’m trying to love as He did, in all that I do and say. At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice, but I try to listen as the still small voice whispers: Love One Another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus taught.”
So, if the personal revelation that we are receiving and following is telling us to do something consistent with the message of Jesus - loving and serving others, not judging them, forgiving, being kind, trusting God, keeping His commandments, exercising faith, and other things contained in His Gospel, then we know we are on the right track, and cannot fall. As Helaman said to his sons: “remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)
Our loving Heavenly Father invites us to build on this foundation by pouring out our souls unto Him in prayer. I think He sometimes allows us to face challenges so that we are able to come to Him with full energy of heart. And what does He want us to seek guidance about? According to Alma, just about everything. From Alma 34:
Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.” (Alma 34)
God will surely answer our prayers, and help us to know what to do in all situations. For example, when participating in social media, how should we interact with others? The Spirit of God will help us to know what will be helpful to our own souls as well as the souls of our brothers and sisters, who are children of the same God. What does the Spirit of God tell us that we should be doing with our time? Is there somebody in our life that could use our love, our care, or our forgiveness?
As we take time to pour out our souls in personal ways, and in all kinds of places and circumstances, I know that we will receive the sacred assurance that He is there, He hears us and loves us, and in the Lord’s time, all knowledge and guidance will be poured down upon us. Let us take steps, line upon line, to assist in His cause with faith and trust, to follow the example of our Savior, and to help bring forth His Kingdom. He will then surely pour down His Spirit upon us.
Even though we cannot see Him right now with our natural eyes, I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to come to Him in faith, and is eager to bless us with everything we stand in need of. Let us increase our reliance on Him for direction in our lives and remember that we depend “wholly upon the merits of Him who is mighty to save” (2 Nephi 31:19).
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
