How do you feel like you have personal revelation?
Class member: I always know that I’m not following the inspiration when I start hitting roadblocks. My biggest road block is not acting on it.
Class member: It’s often a thought mixed with a feeling. We went to the temple open house the first couple of days and I felt like I had been rushed. I got this impression you need to take each kid separately during the day. I pulled them out of school and took them to lunch and the temple separately.
Class member: Sometimes I will be in the middle of prayer it’s immediately there. Sometimes someone tells me immediately what I needed to hear.
Class member: I usually can’t tell. I just assume it’s all personal revelation if it’s good. I had this impression to just message her. I did it. If it’s a good thing or positive thing and can help someone I just try to do it right then.
The reason I wanted people to share is that being sensitive to the Holy Ghost is a spiritual gift. To some it comes more naturally. It is a gift that we all need to work to obtain and we can. Too often we covet others that they get it and we don’t get it.
There is a balance between sharing it and just saving the experience. It almost comes across that I am ‘holier than thou’. The Spirit won’t tell us everything to do. The Spirit will tell us if we are doing it wrong. You are getting it daily, but you just aren’t aware of it.
Class member: This Saturday we had a Dad and son both baptized in our ward. The mother is in Thailand. This other family took them to the temple open house. Last weekend was Stake Conference. They came an hour early to my house to go. I purchased the New Era, Friend, & Ensign. I gave them to them to read. They came back that night and the lady said, “Your home feels like the temple.” When others don’t have that they can feel it when they come in.
That’s part of having the Holy Ghost all the time. We get so used to it that we don’t appreciate it.
How many of you had an experience with “Remember, Remember”?
Class member: I have a “Line a day” journal that lasts for 5 years. To have to reflect on it each day to find something you are thankful for it turns your heart to receive the revelation.
The reason I ask that was because that was an intentional assignment to focus on the Holy Ghost. How many of you have felt ‘joy’ recently? That is the Holy Ghost. When you sit in church and you are contemplating the sacrament and you want to cry. That is the Holy Ghost. In looking at one of your children while they are sleeping that is the Holy Ghost. Holding your husbands hand and feeling that sweetness. That is the Holy Ghost. We receive it over and over and over in our lives. It’s to acknowledge that and know that you have the right to expect answers to big things. You have the give and you live with it. When we have the biggy problems or only allow the biggy problems to take us to the place where we access the bigger power that’s when we think we can access power. We need to have the desire and knowledge to access the greater power on a regular basis. It’s because we don’t take the time to spiritually reach up to that next step.
Sometimes we hit a plateau. How do you ‘go up’ when it’s not a big trial. Elder Bednar challenged them to ‘1 up’ their prayers. He drew a big T across the board…safety, health, missionary experiences…all great thing to pray for. Then you end your prayer. Elder Bednar said, when you pray for safety driving home promise something connected to your request. “Please help us get home safely. We promise to buckle up. We promise not to speed. We promise not to text.” When you ask for missionary experiences say, “I promise to invite someone to church please guide me to invite the correct person.” It’s life changing. This came from the Seventy that came to Stake Conference this week.
Change percentages.
Class member: When I was really sick and started to give up I decided to start negotiating my prayer. If you can help me comb my hair without the sink being full of hair I promise to pray for the week. It was to try and break down the barrier that I had. When you are really really sick and depressed you don’t feel the spirit. There is a spiritual disconnect. It’s amazing what will happen when you ‘negotiate’. Just keep trying. You won’t be perfect at your promises, but you will be better and things will start helping in your life.
Let’s take the first side of the “T”. The prayer is sincere. Real intent goes to ‘action’. You can pray sincerely (praying a job list). Heavenly Father doesn’t want the job list. He is there to empower us to do it not do it for us. When we pray the job list it’s hard to feel the spirit. When you focus on the action that’s when we qualify to hear the spirit more. Sometimes we pray in a way that the Lord can’t answer our prayers for us. We have asked the Lord to do “it” instead of “what can I do to make my husband happier.” You will get an answer.
Class member: You can’t just pray to say, “Heavenly Father give me patience”. He will give you experiences to learn the patience.
Elder Bednar… (pg 113 Syllabus)
“This influence from the Holy Ghost yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is the power or capacity to do it. These two capacities come together.”
We may not even know what it is that we need to pray for to be able to do. I don’t know how to change it from a ‘to do’ list over to the other column. If you will open your heart and wait a minute even in the prayer the Lord will tell you what to do to ask for to something so the Lord can help you ask for it correctly and then he will bless you with the capacity to do the answer. We have bound the Lord’s hands because he can’t take away our agency.
We need to say, “What can I do?” He increases the capacity to help you have success. We have to change how we pray and we have to change our expectations.
We need to pray with enough intent that we pray ‘expecting’ not just ‘hoping’ for an answer. We have to pray that we ‘KNOW’ he is there. We have to pray with a sincere desire to act on.
D&C 138
Vs 1: I sat in my room ‘pondering’ over my scriptures. (This question is already in his heart and mind).
As we are reading the scriptures we need to read the scriptures and have spiritual questions. “The Nephites did that. How is their faith strong enough to do that?” “How can I receive more power through the Atonement?” It has to be something you think about and you ponder on. “How can I know that he was lead?” In reading your scriptures you will find the question .
Ponder means to meditate---it’s to think about it all the time. It’s constantly on your mind. You are deeply thinking about and really wanting it, yearning for the answer. Pondering does not come fast.
Devotional by Sharon Eubank…”Sticky questions, Spiritually panicking, and encountering the son of God” July 14---BYU-I Devotionals
Vs 2…And reflecting upon the Atonement
Vs 6…Opened the Bible and read the 3 & 4th Chapters.
This is a process…he thinks about them and is mulling over the questions and scriptures accompanied by prayer. You have to create questions you want answered or confirmations that you want. To have a greater appreciate of the temple. Understand the needs of a child. You find answers in scriptures in church, talks,
Class member: When I’m thinking about something everyone seems to be ‘talking’ about that. Joseph Smith “reflected on it again and again.” It was a process.
Understand that it is a process. Answers come in bits and pieces when you are not on your knees.
Class member: I’ve had experiences where I have something I was struggling with. I was studying something that didn’t even relate to my question, but the answer came. Heavenly Father knows and will give you the answer.
Answers usually come when you are not specifically searching right at that moment, but the answers do come when you are doing righteous things. We have to of our own free will and choice be seeking to become more holy, to become more capable of having light. We have to increase out capacity to have light. That is what the Celestial kingdom is. We have to show that we want to be there by seeking more light.
We have to be seeking stronger testimonies by seeking, pondering, and allowing him to bless us and lift us. He won’t just lift us. We have to do our part and decide that is what we want enough that we will go seeking those answers. When those answers come to act on them.
Elder Richard G. Scott…..
“The inspiring influence of the holy Spirit can be overcome or masked by strong emotions, such as anger, hate, passion, fear, or pride. When such influences are present, it is like trying to savor the delicate flavor of a grape while eating a jalapeno pepper. Both flavors are present, but one completely overpowers the other. In like manner, strong emotions overcome the delicate promptings of the Holy Spirit.”
Elder Richard G. Scott, “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance”, Ibid.)
Women have anger, depression, criticism, self pity…emotions we take into prayer. We go to the Lord to ask the Lord to fix them. We ask the Lord to take away the depression and make us happy. Those are strong emotions that lead us to prayer because we want the Lord to fix it.
We have to reach a point of humility where we say, “I need thee..O I need thee…” and “Thy will be done.” We have to quiet our spirit and listen. When you pray in those strong emotions you wait for the answer to be what you want it to be. You have to go with ‘thy will be done’. “How can I help him? Teach me what to do to walk beside him.” The Lord can’t change someone that doesn’t want to be changed.
Class member: The Lord helps you understand what you need to understand in a way you need to understand it. Heavenly Father will guide you.
You were sensitive enough to see what Heavenly Father was sending to you. Sometimes we don’t see the signs. In almost every case when you look back if you regret a situation you will see where the Lord was trying to guide you.
Richard G Scott…
“The Lord answers prayers in three ways:
1.When He answers ‘yes’ it is to give us confidence
2.When He answers ‘no’ it is to prevent error
He sometimes wants us to pursue a little longer in the seeking. The Lord will not give an answer in all things. Does it matter if you buy a blue car or a red car? What about professions? Does it really matter? Sometimes. Most of the time you pick and the Lord will help you get there. Or the Lord will tell you when you aren’t supposed to be there. We become staginant and wait for the Lord to command us in all things.
Class member: My Bishop said, “Information is inspiration”. Do you need more information?
That’s the pondering, research, and asking questions. We put ourselves in a position to receive answers. When we become emotionally spontaneous without doing the homework or allowing him to assist in the decision making we can get into a bad situation. He will answer your prayers. He expects you to reach higher, to not just pray the job list. He wants us to desire to move forward. Unless we act we don’t open the door for him to bless us.
Class member: Sometimes it’s important that we still have confidence in that and turn back to the Lord and say, “I need some help.” Things aren’t always going to go well down that path. We need to stay confident in that answer.
Elder Holland, “Cast Not Therefore Your Confidence Away”
Class member: The more prevalent the Lord is in your life the harder Satan will work in your life to destroy you.
We are strengthening our spiritual muscles. As you increase from 2# to 150#, you are increasing your capacity to have light. The more you learn the more you are putting light into your soul. We have to increase our capacity to have light because that is what the Celestial Kingdom is made of. We have to become stronger spiritually.
Class member: The hardest is when you are in a tough situation and others are getting the revelation, but others are, that’s hard. Sometimes it’s because your mind isn’t open to hear it. You need to get back to the basics…read scriptures, go to church. Heavenly Father will give you more keys to get back.
Think of the people of Alma. They weren’t taken out of the bondage of the Lamanites, but they were given power to be able to endure while they were in it.
Think about Peter when they were on the sea. He said, “Can I come walk on the water?” Peter got out in the tempest, the storm, he is there waiting for us. It took faith for Peter to step over the edge of the ship and he walked on the water and then he lost his focus and he started looking at the storm and when we focus on that he started to go down. The Lord put forth his hand brought him up. “They returned to the ship.” We don’t know how long it took them to return to the ship. The storm didn’t stop when He helped the Peter up. The Savior walked with Peter through the storm. That is usually the way it happens. He walks with us in the storm because that’s when we learn
Homework:
Ponder Question:
I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and God gave me brawn and brains to work.
I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for patience and God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.
I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.
I asked for everything so I could enjoy life.
Instead, He gave me life so I could enjoy everything.
I received nothing I wanted, I received everything I needed.
- Unknown
Class member: I always know that I’m not following the inspiration when I start hitting roadblocks. My biggest road block is not acting on it.
Class member: It’s often a thought mixed with a feeling. We went to the temple open house the first couple of days and I felt like I had been rushed. I got this impression you need to take each kid separately during the day. I pulled them out of school and took them to lunch and the temple separately.
Class member: Sometimes I will be in the middle of prayer it’s immediately there. Sometimes someone tells me immediately what I needed to hear.
Class member: I usually can’t tell. I just assume it’s all personal revelation if it’s good. I had this impression to just message her. I did it. If it’s a good thing or positive thing and can help someone I just try to do it right then.
The reason I wanted people to share is that being sensitive to the Holy Ghost is a spiritual gift. To some it comes more naturally. It is a gift that we all need to work to obtain and we can. Too often we covet others that they get it and we don’t get it.
There is a balance between sharing it and just saving the experience. It almost comes across that I am ‘holier than thou’. The Spirit won’t tell us everything to do. The Spirit will tell us if we are doing it wrong. You are getting it daily, but you just aren’t aware of it.
Class member: This Saturday we had a Dad and son both baptized in our ward. The mother is in Thailand. This other family took them to the temple open house. Last weekend was Stake Conference. They came an hour early to my house to go. I purchased the New Era, Friend, & Ensign. I gave them to them to read. They came back that night and the lady said, “Your home feels like the temple.” When others don’t have that they can feel it when they come in.
That’s part of having the Holy Ghost all the time. We get so used to it that we don’t appreciate it.
How many of you had an experience with “Remember, Remember”?
Class member: I have a “Line a day” journal that lasts for 5 years. To have to reflect on it each day to find something you are thankful for it turns your heart to receive the revelation.
The reason I ask that was because that was an intentional assignment to focus on the Holy Ghost. How many of you have felt ‘joy’ recently? That is the Holy Ghost. When you sit in church and you are contemplating the sacrament and you want to cry. That is the Holy Ghost. In looking at one of your children while they are sleeping that is the Holy Ghost. Holding your husbands hand and feeling that sweetness. That is the Holy Ghost. We receive it over and over and over in our lives. It’s to acknowledge that and know that you have the right to expect answers to big things. You have the give and you live with it. When we have the biggy problems or only allow the biggy problems to take us to the place where we access the bigger power that’s when we think we can access power. We need to have the desire and knowledge to access the greater power on a regular basis. It’s because we don’t take the time to spiritually reach up to that next step.
Sometimes we hit a plateau. How do you ‘go up’ when it’s not a big trial. Elder Bednar challenged them to ‘1 up’ their prayers. He drew a big T across the board…safety, health, missionary experiences…all great thing to pray for. Then you end your prayer. Elder Bednar said, when you pray for safety driving home promise something connected to your request. “Please help us get home safely. We promise to buckle up. We promise not to speed. We promise not to text.” When you ask for missionary experiences say, “I promise to invite someone to church please guide me to invite the correct person.” It’s life changing. This came from the Seventy that came to Stake Conference this week.
Change percentages.
Class member: When I was really sick and started to give up I decided to start negotiating my prayer. If you can help me comb my hair without the sink being full of hair I promise to pray for the week. It was to try and break down the barrier that I had. When you are really really sick and depressed you don’t feel the spirit. There is a spiritual disconnect. It’s amazing what will happen when you ‘negotiate’. Just keep trying. You won’t be perfect at your promises, but you will be better and things will start helping in your life.
Let’s take the first side of the “T”. The prayer is sincere. Real intent goes to ‘action’. You can pray sincerely (praying a job list). Heavenly Father doesn’t want the job list. He is there to empower us to do it not do it for us. When we pray the job list it’s hard to feel the spirit. When you focus on the action that’s when we qualify to hear the spirit more. Sometimes we pray in a way that the Lord can’t answer our prayers for us. We have asked the Lord to do “it” instead of “what can I do to make my husband happier.” You will get an answer.
Class member: You can’t just pray to say, “Heavenly Father give me patience”. He will give you experiences to learn the patience.
Elder Bednar… (pg 113 Syllabus)
“This influence from the Holy Ghost yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is the power or capacity to do it. These two capacities come together.”
We may not even know what it is that we need to pray for to be able to do. I don’t know how to change it from a ‘to do’ list over to the other column. If you will open your heart and wait a minute even in the prayer the Lord will tell you what to do to ask for to something so the Lord can help you ask for it correctly and then he will bless you with the capacity to do the answer. We have bound the Lord’s hands because he can’t take away our agency.
We need to say, “What can I do?” He increases the capacity to help you have success. We have to change how we pray and we have to change our expectations.
We need to pray with enough intent that we pray ‘expecting’ not just ‘hoping’ for an answer. We have to pray that we ‘KNOW’ he is there. We have to pray with a sincere desire to act on.
D&C 138
Vs 1: I sat in my room ‘pondering’ over my scriptures. (This question is already in his heart and mind).
As we are reading the scriptures we need to read the scriptures and have spiritual questions. “The Nephites did that. How is their faith strong enough to do that?” “How can I receive more power through the Atonement?” It has to be something you think about and you ponder on. “How can I know that he was lead?” In reading your scriptures you will find the question .
Ponder means to meditate---it’s to think about it all the time. It’s constantly on your mind. You are deeply thinking about and really wanting it, yearning for the answer. Pondering does not come fast.
Devotional by Sharon Eubank…”Sticky questions, Spiritually panicking, and encountering the son of God” July 14---BYU-I Devotionals
Vs 2…And reflecting upon the Atonement
Vs 6…Opened the Bible and read the 3 & 4th Chapters.
This is a process…he thinks about them and is mulling over the questions and scriptures accompanied by prayer. You have to create questions you want answered or confirmations that you want. To have a greater appreciate of the temple. Understand the needs of a child. You find answers in scriptures in church, talks,
Class member: When I’m thinking about something everyone seems to be ‘talking’ about that. Joseph Smith “reflected on it again and again.” It was a process.
Understand that it is a process. Answers come in bits and pieces when you are not on your knees.
Class member: I’ve had experiences where I have something I was struggling with. I was studying something that didn’t even relate to my question, but the answer came. Heavenly Father knows and will give you the answer.
Answers usually come when you are not specifically searching right at that moment, but the answers do come when you are doing righteous things. We have to of our own free will and choice be seeking to become more holy, to become more capable of having light. We have to increase out capacity to have light. That is what the Celestial kingdom is. We have to show that we want to be there by seeking more light.
We have to be seeking stronger testimonies by seeking, pondering, and allowing him to bless us and lift us. He won’t just lift us. We have to do our part and decide that is what we want enough that we will go seeking those answers. When those answers come to act on them.
Elder Richard G. Scott…..
“The inspiring influence of the holy Spirit can be overcome or masked by strong emotions, such as anger, hate, passion, fear, or pride. When such influences are present, it is like trying to savor the delicate flavor of a grape while eating a jalapeno pepper. Both flavors are present, but one completely overpowers the other. In like manner, strong emotions overcome the delicate promptings of the Holy Spirit.”
Elder Richard G. Scott, “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance”, Ibid.)
Women have anger, depression, criticism, self pity…emotions we take into prayer. We go to the Lord to ask the Lord to fix them. We ask the Lord to take away the depression and make us happy. Those are strong emotions that lead us to prayer because we want the Lord to fix it.
We have to reach a point of humility where we say, “I need thee..O I need thee…” and “Thy will be done.” We have to quiet our spirit and listen. When you pray in those strong emotions you wait for the answer to be what you want it to be. You have to go with ‘thy will be done’. “How can I help him? Teach me what to do to walk beside him.” The Lord can’t change someone that doesn’t want to be changed.
Class member: The Lord helps you understand what you need to understand in a way you need to understand it. Heavenly Father will guide you.
You were sensitive enough to see what Heavenly Father was sending to you. Sometimes we don’t see the signs. In almost every case when you look back if you regret a situation you will see where the Lord was trying to guide you.
Richard G Scott…
“The Lord answers prayers in three ways:
1.When He answers ‘yes’ it is to give us confidence
2.When He answers ‘no’ it is to prevent error
- When He withholds an answer it is to have us grow through faith in Him. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act. Most of the time what we have chosen is right. He will confirm the correctness of our choices His way.” ( Elder Richard G. Scott, “learning to recognize answers to prayer”)
He sometimes wants us to pursue a little longer in the seeking. The Lord will not give an answer in all things. Does it matter if you buy a blue car or a red car? What about professions? Does it really matter? Sometimes. Most of the time you pick and the Lord will help you get there. Or the Lord will tell you when you aren’t supposed to be there. We become staginant and wait for the Lord to command us in all things.
Class member: My Bishop said, “Information is inspiration”. Do you need more information?
That’s the pondering, research, and asking questions. We put ourselves in a position to receive answers. When we become emotionally spontaneous without doing the homework or allowing him to assist in the decision making we can get into a bad situation. He will answer your prayers. He expects you to reach higher, to not just pray the job list. He wants us to desire to move forward. Unless we act we don’t open the door for him to bless us.
Class member: Sometimes it’s important that we still have confidence in that and turn back to the Lord and say, “I need some help.” Things aren’t always going to go well down that path. We need to stay confident in that answer.
Elder Holland, “Cast Not Therefore Your Confidence Away”
Class member: The more prevalent the Lord is in your life the harder Satan will work in your life to destroy you.
We are strengthening our spiritual muscles. As you increase from 2# to 150#, you are increasing your capacity to have light. The more you learn the more you are putting light into your soul. We have to increase our capacity to have light because that is what the Celestial Kingdom is made of. We have to become stronger spiritually.
Class member: The hardest is when you are in a tough situation and others are getting the revelation, but others are, that’s hard. Sometimes it’s because your mind isn’t open to hear it. You need to get back to the basics…read scriptures, go to church. Heavenly Father will give you more keys to get back.
Think of the people of Alma. They weren’t taken out of the bondage of the Lamanites, but they were given power to be able to endure while they were in it.
Think about Peter when they were on the sea. He said, “Can I come walk on the water?” Peter got out in the tempest, the storm, he is there waiting for us. It took faith for Peter to step over the edge of the ship and he walked on the water and then he lost his focus and he started looking at the storm and when we focus on that he started to go down. The Lord put forth his hand brought him up. “They returned to the ship.” We don’t know how long it took them to return to the ship. The storm didn’t stop when He helped the Peter up. The Savior walked with Peter through the storm. That is usually the way it happens. He walks with us in the storm because that’s when we learn
Homework:
- Cover all of the ‘ponder questions’ in this chapter. Think about them. Ponder them. Focus on them. Pay attention to them. Let those questions be a guide to lift you in your ability to receive personal revelation.
Ponder Question:
- What do I do when I receive an answer to my prayers?
- Where can I record impressions so I can ponder them and create a plan of action?
- Have I taught my children how to recognize answers to their prayers?
- When was the last time I felt I had a prayer answered? Did I give thanks to Heavenly Father?
- When I receive an answer to prayer, do I ask the Lord if there is more that I need to be taught?
I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and God gave me brawn and brains to work.
I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for patience and God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.
I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.
I asked for everything so I could enjoy life.
Instead, He gave me life so I could enjoy everything.
I received nothing I wanted, I received everything I needed.
- Unknown
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