![]() It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all” ( That All May Be Edified, 335–36). The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. And even though it is described as a voice, it is a voice that one feels more than one hears. Packer explained: “These delicate, refined spiritual communications are not seen with our eyes nor heard with our ears. And all of a sudden, you hear in your mind the voice of your mother, who, when you were small, would say, “Remember your morning prayers.” Why would God send an angel to deliver that message to you when the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, who brings “all things to your remembrance” (John 14:26), can prompt a recollection of your angel mother reminding you to pray? The spiritual effect is the same. For example, you may have an occasion when you forget to pray in the morning. Thus, the Spirit of the Lord usually communicates with us in ways that are quiet, delicate, and subtle. Instead, the influence of the Holy Ghost is described in the scriptures as “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 see also 3 Nephi 11:3) and a “voice of perfect mildness” (Helaman 5:30). As covenant-making and covenant-keeping members of His restored Church, we should not expect or need Him to dramatically shake us to get our attention. People might ask, “Why would the Lord not make the voice of the Spirit easy to recognize all the time?” I would suggest a simple answer-because God trusts us and wants us to grow. But the task is not so much to persuade the Spirit to guide us as to recognize that He is and has been guiding us all along. Getting out of our own way-overruling our personal desires, expectations, preferences, and lack of understanding in order to hear and feel the voice of the Spirit-is one of the great challenges of our mortal probation. ![]() People can become so focused upon and preoccupied about “Am I receiving revelation? Is this a revelation?” that it actually may hinder their ability to receive revelation. Some people spend a good deal of time fretting about a basic question: “Was that revelation, or just me?” In essence, these individuals are flailing around in the beginning stages of trying to keep their heads above water. Just as we can learn to quit worrying about how to swim, we can come to a point where we stop worrying about whether or not we are receiving personal revelation. We increasingly move forward with the faith that we are being guided by the Spirit. And as we truly learn and trust that the Spirit is operating in our lives, it is as if we have been swimming for a really long time: we are in the flow and have quit worrying about the strokes and the mechanics involved. We learn in the scriptures and in the sacrament prayers that we “may always have his Spirit to be with ” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:77 emphasis added). Our learning and practice have replaced our fear with a settled assurance that “we can do this!” We know we are in the water, but it is no longer a big deal that we are in the water. The precision and rhythm of our strokes make air and water almost indistinguishable from each other. Our movements become increasingly natural and graceful. As we gradually gain experience and confidence, and as our strokes improve, eventually we just begin to move through the water. We first learn how to hold our breath, how to float, and how to perform a few basic strokes. We do not know what to expect we do not know what to do. When we are learning how to swim, almost all of us start out being terrified. The closest I can come to describing my purpose is with the metaphor of swimming. ![]() Rather, it is a witness and a testimony that revelation does work-and in a multitude and variety of ways. ![]() is not an attempt to define how revelation works. The roles of both the mind and the heart in personal revelation are crucial, and no simple formulas or recommended action steps can guide us through this rigorous spiritual process. ![]()
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