BYU-Pathway Worldwide Devotional
“God, the Source of Truth, Wants to Answer Your Questions”
Imagine the miracle of it! Whatever our Church calling, we can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own. If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small. ...
Brothers and sisters, how can we become the men and women—the Christlike servants—the Lord needs us to be? How can we find answers to questions that perplex us? If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children.
The Prophet Joseph Smith set a pattern for us to follow in resolving our questions. Drawn to the promise of James that if we lack wisdom we may ask of God, the boy Joseph took his question directly to Heavenly Father. He sought personal revelation, and his seeking opened this last dispensation.
In like manner, what will your seeking open for you? What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.
Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”
Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course … as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.”
You don’t have to wonder about what is true. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.
I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.”
Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!” ...
To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you—even miracles—will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.President Ashton: I counted at least 20 times that President Nelson told us that God will guide and direct us if we will let Him. The promises contained in those statements are breathtaking! The great God of Heaven, your Heavenly Father, wants to speak with you! With these promises from the Lord’s prophet, can any of us doubt that God will reveal to us the truth if we are willing to ask and then do the work required to receive revelation?
Sister Ashton: So, what is the work that we must do?
- Have faith in Jesus Christ.
- Live such that we can feel and hear the Holy Ghost. As President Nelson has said, “Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.”
8 - Do our homework by searching the scriptures and the words of the prophets to find out what the Lord has already said about our question.
9 - Pray and ask with faith in the name of Jesus Christ that God will answer us. The Savior said, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
10 - Patiently wait on the Lord to answer in His way and in His time.
President Ashton: Now in conclusion, let me just share one example of how the Lord helped me to know the truth. Over 30 years ago, one of my brothers died. While I understood the Lord’s teachings about what happens to young children after they die, I still had questions. A few years ago, I decided to see if I could get answers to those questions. I sought answers through study and prayer. Initially, the answers didn’t come. But last year, I was asked to speak at the graveside service of a deceased child. It was then as I was preparing for that experience that I was given the answers. In fact, I find that answers to my personal questions often come as I am serving someone else.
Sister Ashton: I know our Heavenly Father is aware of us and desires to comfort and guide us. Because He loves us, He gives us the Holy Ghost so that we can seek understanding and answers. God wants us to seek and ask. As we learn how the Holy Ghost communicates with each of us individually, we will receive the guidance we need. At times we will have to be patient and have faith because He knows what is best for our learning and growth, but answers and comfort will come.
President Ashton: I testify that you can know the truth. Personal revelation is real! God wants you to ask Him your questions. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Because of Him you can get answers to your questions. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.