Two Guiding Principles of Personal Revelation That Every Latter-day Saint Needs To Know.

I often hear people talk about the struggle to get answers to their prayers or to discern if their answer is correct. In talking with them, I find the issue is how they are approaching revelation. They are not obeying the two guiding principles of personal revelation. And as God is a God of order, disobeying these to principles will be the cause that we struggle to receive personal revelation. What are these two guiding principles? Purview and pertinence. Answering these two questions will help ensure that you are following these principles of personal revelation:

First: Does it fall within your purview?

The first guiding principle of personal revelation is quite simple. Is it within your purview? In English, does it fall under your stewardship and right to receive revelation? It might sound simple enough, but I want to break it down even further by addressing the two main sub-principles of purview, stewardship, agency

Stewardship

You only have the right to receive revelation to things that fall under your stewardship. Your stewardship is how you should act within your calling, how you should act as a person, and as a parent what guidance you should offer to your kids. You do not have the right to receive revelation outside of your stewardship. Now, it is important that when someone asks for your help, they are extending your stewardship to assist them in their stewardship.

For example: If I were to tell the missionaries how to teach an investigator I would be acting outside of my stewardship; but if I was invited to be a fellowshiper for an investigator, then the missionaries by asking me to join them have extended my stewardship to receive revelation on what I should say in a lesson. This is the same principle as a calling, one with authority/stewardship extends your stewardship to assist them.

“If worthy, we are entitled to receive revelations for ourselves, parents for their children, and members of the Church in their callings. But the right of revelation for others does not extend beyond our own stewardship.”
James E. Faust

Agency

The second big mistake is that we think that personal revelation will replace our agency. What do I mean? Simply put, we believe that we can ask God, “What should I study at college?” or “Should I marry this person?” Whereas these are legitimate questions, we can’t expect God to answer questions that take away our need to use our agency. Oliver Cowdrey made this same mistake, and the Lord corrected him for taking “no thought save it was to ask” (D&C 9:7-8). The Lord expects us to use our agency to study it out, to think about it, come to what we think is a proper conclusion, and then go before Him in prayer with our conclusion and ask for confirmation.

For example, “I want to be a Doctor, is that within Thy plan?” or “I want to marry this person, is that within Thy plan?” When it is within our stewardship and we exercise our agency to make a choice; then we are ensured we are acting within our purview when we ask for confirmation.

Second: Is it pertinent to know?

Once you know that something is within your purview, then you must ask yourself if is pertinent to know? Pertinence is vital, as God giving you knowledge makes you accountable for how you act with that knowledge. Pertinence also has two sub-principles; the ability to act, and willingness to act.

The Ability To act.

Pertinence includes the ‘need to know’ right now about the topic in question. Often we pray for things that are within our stewardship, but not pertinent to know because we can’t do anything about it. For example, a young woman praying about how many kids to have when she is not even dating anyone. This information would be idle information as she cannot act on it. Or a missionary receiving a prompting that in their next area they need to go tracting on X street. Whereas receiving that revelation where to tract falls within their purview, it can’t be acted upon; therefore it is not pertinent.

Willingness to act.

The final element is to understand is real intent. God wants us to pray not just with the ability, but also the intention to act!  Just as He won’t hand out knowledge to us unless we can act, He also does not give us knowledge unless we are willing to act. He does this because of His love, imagine all those who would stand condemned at the judgment bar if the idle questioner with no intent to act was to receive answers that the gospel was restored! Therefore withholding answers from us until we are willing to act is proof of His love. Learning to pray with the intent to obey is the hardest part of personal revelation as it requires us to put our money where our mouths are. In April 1988 General Conference, Ezra Taft Benson taught that “The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.”

A note about following the prophet.

A tragedy I see within the Church happens when the Church makes a political statement or takes a stance. Some members of the Church take opposition against the Church; they claim that they prayed and got a revelation that the Prophet/Church Authority was wrong, or that they are just using their agency. They rationalize their murmuring and breaking of covenants to follow the prophet. To defend their apostasy, they cite Brigham Young and his teachings against blind obedience when he taught: “I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him.”
Brigham Young, (12 January 1862) Journal of Discourses 9:150

What many members do not understand is that whereas God does not desire blind obedience, He does require obedience.  Boyd K. Packer taught this in the April 1983 General Conference, when he said: “We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see.”

It is outside of your purview to receive revelation that the prophet is wrong. Your purview is to get a confirmation that His words are of God. Any revelation that the prophet is false comes from Satan, leads to murmuring, and eventual apostasy! Remember, the Spirit cannot testify against Christ. So if someone claims to have a witness that the Church Leaders were wrong then it is a binary choice: either the prophet has apostatized/the Spirit has apostatized, or that person who is fighting against the Church has started to apostatize. Hint, it will always the person apostatizing, 100% of the time.

“Whenever you see a man disobeying the counsel of the Lord through the Holy Priesthood, you may know that unless he repents, he will apostatize. It is a sure sign of apostasy. A man may be an Apostle, a Seventy, a High Priest, an Elder or a Bishop, yet if he tries to divide the people and persuades them to disobey the Prophet of God, he will surely fall, unless he repents with all his heart. The Lord asks us to obey Him. He tells us how to do so. He does not ask for blind obedience, because He gives His Holy Spirit to all who ask for it to show them that it is right to obey.”
George Q. Cannon  “Satan Hates a United People,” Gospel Truth, Vol. 1, pp. 210–11 (italics and bold added).

If you would like more quotes about following the prophet and politics click here.

Walking by faith.

But what happens if it is within my purview, and it is pertinent, and I still am not getting an answer? What then?! That one is quite simple: God trusts you. Use your agency to act according to the best knowledge you have, knowing that if it is wrong, He will give you an explicit prompting before you make a critical mistake. It is also important to remember that He only gives us enough light to walk into the darkness so that we learn to walk by faith. My favorite quote on this topic comes from an MTC address by Elder Bednar: “Quit worrying about it. Quit fussing with it. Quit analyzing it. You be a good boy, you be a good girl, you honor your covenants, you keep the commandments; and I promise you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that as you press forward with faith in Christ, your footsteps will be guided.”