Monday, March 9, 2015

[the importance of tuning into God's revelation]

I love it that I can have a full gospel library available to me on my cell phone and on my tablet. It is so easy to study the gospel nowadays. No need to carry a heavy set of scriptures with me wherever I go. I can even look up something on my phone if I have some extra time while out and about. I decided to study General Conference talks starting from 1971 and on. I just studied Bruce R. McConkie's talk from the April 1971 Conference titled "The Lord's People Receive Revelation". I have always admired Bruce R. McConkie and what a spiritual scholar he is. 

He talked about climbing on top of Mt. Wellington in Australia with his missionaries (he was a mission president there). There they visited a television broadcasting station and someone explained to them how television signals were broadcast to the valley below. He related that to how we receive revelation from the Holy Ghost.

"This Tabernacle is now full of scenes from Vietnam and Washington. There is even a picture of men walking on the surface of the moon. But we are not seeing these things. The minute, however, in which we tune a radio to the proper wave band and tune a television receiving set on the proper channel, we begin to hear and see and experience what otherwise remains completely unknown to us.
And so it is with revelations and visions of eternity. They are around us all the time. This tabernacle is full of the same things which are recorded in the scriptures and much more... but we do not hear or see or experience because we have not tuned our souls to the wave band on which the Holy Ghost is broadcasting."

Cool to think that we can learn pretty much anything regarding God if we only tuned ourselves spiritually to his revelations.

"The laws governing radio and television have existed from the time of Adam to the present moment, but only in modern times have men heard and seen and experienced these miraculous things. And the laws have always existed whereby men can see visions, hear the voice of God, and partake of the things of the Spirit. But millions of people everywhere live and die without tasting the good word of God, because they do not obey the laws which implant the revelations of the Lord in their souls."

And this next part is almost funny to me as I think of Bruce R. McConkie as a brilliant man but this is what he says:

"We do not come to a knowledge of God and his laws through intellectuality, or by research, or by reason. I have an average mind - one that is neither better nor worse than the general fun of mankind. In the realm of intellectual attainment I have a doctor's degree... But when contrasted with spiritual endowments, they are of but slight and passing worth."

And then this quote about what kind of knowledge and skill really is important in life:


This is so true as well. Some people think they know all sorts of things about God but they really don't. Things of God are learned by revelation. Not by secular study.


I must say that to me, the gospel is the most interesting and fascinating topic to learn. The spiritual experiences I have had, are so cool and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I have received revelations from God and even if others might question that, I know what I have seen, heard and experienced. They haven't tuned into God's revelations so they have no idea what it's like when you do receive them. It is worth every effort we can put forth to get to know God. Receiving revelation is the coolest thing ever!