Hey Scott, I'm devastated this morning.
Yeah?
Driving over here this morning, I saw a sign that said, did you know that all fruit loops
taste the same?
That devastated me.
I thought the colors actually had different flavors.
I am so sorry for your trauma.
Did you know?
Did you know that?
Dave, I'm just going to pretend like we didn't even have this conversation because I can
go to denial real fast and I think I will on that topic.
Did you know?
I don't even want to talk about it.
Yes, no, I didn't know.
That devastated me, man.
I've been duped.
I know.
All these years, all these years I've been duped because I thought they all had a different
fruit flavor.
Well, I guess the real question is this.
What kind of a maniacal person would put out a poster or a sign that would say something
like that and ruin everybody's day?
That's probably the better question.
Yeah, a person's disturbed.
They need to care about guests.
Anyway, it devastated me and I thought, wow, the only difference between a green fruit
loop and a red fruit loop is the color.
Yeah, you thought they were like lifesavers in milk.
It tastes like lifesavers.
A green lifesaver should taste like a green lifesaver.
Well, yeah, me too.
I remember when, hey, I'm so old, I remember when fruit loops came out.
I remember the first year.
Do you really?
Yeah, I do.
I was like 16 years old.
Then I should be able to remember it.
We should Google that.
When was fruit loops first?
That's a great question.
When were fruit loops first marketed by General Mills?
I think you're going to see it's about 1970.
Yeah, let's see.
Well, actually, this says it was then released in the year 1963 under the name Fruit Loop.
So you would have been eight or something.
Oh, wow, I'm way off.
Well, eight, 16.
This is all the same to you.
He leaked that.
He leaked that part of his podcast.
Oh, no, I believe it, didn't it?
And that's why I probably...
I thought I was a teenager, but I remember when they came out because I thought they
were the greatest invention in the whole world.
How old were you in 1963?
I was nine.
Nine, OK.
I was born.
That's the year you were born?
That's the year I was born.
Well, then no wonder that was such a great year.
Yeah, exactly.
That's a great year.
Wow.
Like a fine cereal.
We'll just call it that.
Anyway, I'm not a great...
We are way off track, but...
No, no, no, it's perfect for our topic.
But let me say this before you get us on the right track because you have...
You say you're devastated, just a few minutes ago you just told me you shot a 77 yesterday.
Yeah, well, Scott, that's embarrassing.
You need to...
Yeah, no, I'm going to leave that on there.
I'm leaving that on there.
But that...
That's really good for a guy that was...
I thought I could trust you and brag to somebody.
That was a 77 at Fox Hollow, which is not a super easy golf course.
Now, I'm not a golfer, so no golf course is a super easy golf course to me, but I know
by reputation that Fox Hollow is not.
But to shoot a 77 and have been nine years old when you were in 1963, that's pretty remarkable,
David.
One of these days, if I live long enough, I'm going to shoot my age, Scott.
Okay.
If I could just hang in there and shoot my age, that will be the greatest day of my life.
Well, I can shoot my age, but it's got to be on nine holes.
Yeah, that's right.
I've golfed with you, I believe that.
And you got to give me those mulligans that you're so free with when we do golf together.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was fun.
I loved to golf.
So that fruit loop thing, I was just pondering that the whole way over here, thinking, wow,
duped.
I've been duped a few colors, and that's the only difference, and how easy it is for us
to be duped in many different areas of our life, not just a sweet cereal, but in the
more important things of life.
I think it's just our discussion today, Scott, will be, I think, extremely critical for you
and me, for our families, for our listeners, to understand how not to be duped.
And I have, I don't know why, but I've had the experience throughout my lifetime of being
in a position or in a place where I have witnessed firsthand, had a front row seat, to many individuals,
sadly, who have been duped, who have been deceived, who have, you know, become false
prophets and apostasized, and those who have been just really let astray, and it saddens
me that people are not more aware of and have a greater understanding of how revelation
works.
So last week we talked about the Holy Ghost as being an instrument of the Atonement of
Jesus Christ, the messenger and the administrator of mercy and grace and all the effects of
the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our life.
The Holy Ghost really administers Christ and His Atonement in our life, not only the words
of Christ, but also the forgiveness and grace and mercy of Christ in our life.
The Holy Ghost is a supernal gift that we receive and I believe is with us daily as
the gift of the Holy Ghost and with all people throughout the world is the power of the Holy
Ghost.
Anyway, we talked about that last week and this week I just think that we should talk
a little more about how to receive personal revelation in our life.
And I confess that this probably was never as critical of a topic to me personally until
I was ordained a patriarch.
And when I was ordained a patriarch, I had to really pay a price to try to understand
how revelation works and to develop that skill.
It's interesting that I think it was Sister Beck, General E. Said, President years ago
who first said and others have, many others have quoted her that revelation is the most
important skill that one can learn in this life.
And then I've concluded that that's true and that it is a skill and we need to work
at it.
We need to develop it.
It doesn't come by just drifting down the river on a raft or an inner tube.
It takes really conscious daily effort and I think some principles and patterns need
to be identified in order to not be deceived, first of all.
We've been told in the scriptures that even the very elect in the latter days would be
deceived.
And unfortunately, there's too many examples of that, of the elect being deceived.
So we need to learn the skill, first of all, not to be deceived.
And second of all, to be able to receive all of the direction and guidance that our Heavenly
Father is so anxious, so willing to give us if we will just learn the principles of revelation
and to grow as President Nelson says and to grow into the principle of revelation.
So let's talk about that, Scott.
Yeah, you got it.
You know, this topic is one that I think for myself and I think maybe a lot of the rest
of us, we recognize the importance of it.
We understand that it's critical to our spiritual and physical and mortal development as we
move through life in an effort to return to be with our Heavenly Father.
And there's been a lot of talks and a lot of books and a lot of various media produced
around the topic.
But you know, one of my favorite, I think when it comes to revelation, and I'll say
this today and I'll have a new different favorite tomorrow based on another different conversation.
I'm just kind of that way with this stuff.
But Elder Bednar gave a lot of really great direction in 2018.
And I think this was at a mission leaders conference or something like that.
He's talking about revelation and some of the very first things that he talks about.
And I don't think this is a quote to him, but maybe just a recap of what's being said
in his talk.
Receiving, recognizing and responding to revelation from God, our spiritual gifts for
which latter day Saint should yearn and appropriately seek said Elder David Bednar of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles in a 2018 Mission Leadership Seminar on June 26.
So if you're interested in finding that, I have read that.
It's been it's been a while since I read that to my brother-in-law.
I have a one of Deb's brothers is a stake president here in Springville, Utah, and we
were at dinner Friday night, Friday night.
And it's all I love going to dinner with him like I love going to dinner with you because
we get talking about things.
And we, you know, next thing we know it's midnight, you know, kicking us out of the
restaurant.
But we were talking about this revelation and this this specific talk that Elder Bednar
gave some of the most important things for us in mortality, David, is how do we recognize,
respond to and receive revelation?
Yeah, I really believe that it's really one of the great mortal challenges and lessons
that we all need to take more seriously.
And we need to think about it and and today's an opportunity for us to discuss it.
And it's an exhaustive topic, one of which will just probably barely touch the surface,
but I hope it will be helpful to our listeners.
It's been interesting to me, it left an impression upon me that the first talk that President
Nelson gave as president of the church, Scott, was the he entitled the talk, the first main
address he gave as the prophet of the church was entitled Revelation for the church and
for our personal lives.
So his first topic really was on revelation and he said in that talk, I'll quote it, one
of the things the spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as president
of the church.
I mean that should get anybody's attention.
I'm sure it did if anyone was listening to General Conference that in April 2018.
When the new president church says the one thing that has been repeatedly impressed upon
my mind since my new calling is how willing the Lord is to reveal his mind and will.
The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to his children.
I just I'll never forget him saying that.
I'll always cherish that that we are entitled to receive revelation and the Lord is so willing,
excited, I would even say to give us revelation.
But it takes work, Scott.
The one thing I've learned about revelation is it takes work.
President Nelson said in another talk, the Lord doesn't like lazy learners, you know,
in his I think classic talk called here hear him.
The Lord doesn't like lazy learners.
Well, I don't know how much the Lord doesn't or doesn't like lazy learners.
I don't think he said that.
I don't know how he said it.
But the point is, I know that you can't be lazy and just drift if you want to receive
guidance, direction and revelation from from our Heavenly Father.
So I submit to all of us that we need to just be more aware, conscious, more active, proactive
in in trying to seek revelation, but not to force it.
So just maybe a precursor to everything else we say today.
It can't be forced.
And there are too many people in this church who try to force it.
And if you try to force it, I promise you, you'll get revelation, but it won't be from
the Lord.
It'll be either your own determination, your own thoughts, your your own pleasure that
you're trying to carry out, or it'll be from another source and an evil source even.
And that can be Satan.
Again, Scott, I've seen that.
You know, I don't know if I ever told you this, Scott, or my family, but I served with
Ron Lafferty in a church calling.
And Ron Lafferty, I think he passed away this year last on death row at the Utah State
Prison.
And I served with him.
I prayed with him.
He and I, just the two of us, knelt in his home and prayed because we had us.
We shared a certain church calling.
And I loved him and I loved his family.
I taught some of his daughters in in seminary.
So to watch what happened to him has been a life lesson for me to not try to force revelation.
Ron who sought really I don't think this is unfair for me to say was always kind of trying
to seek certain church positions and felt like he should be the next Bishop.
And when he wasn't, he was devastated by that.
And when he didn't kind of move up in the hierarchy of the church, and I've seen that
too many times, I think that's one of the occupational hazards of a Latter-day Saints
sometimes is they think that leadership positions somehow makes them more holy or some
how is evidence of the Lord's approval or I don't know.
It's it's a it's a real challenge for some individuals, brother and especially, but but
I've even known of some sisters in Minnesota.
There was a hard case we had of an apostate woman who believed that she should have been
called to be general relief society president.
And so she starts having revelations and they they just force it.
They force it and they think that and Saint puts this this pride or these ideas in their
mind.
You know, Ron was influenced by his brother Dan who was involved in the school of the
prophets.
They called it an organization down in Spanish Fork and and they start getting revelation
through rocks.
Their own little seer stones.
I've I've seen individuals who belong to that organization and they've shown me their
stone and I I just go wow.
You know, it revelations Scott is delicate.
It's very delicate and it's very sacred.
But if one tries to manipulate it or one tries to force it.
That is like an invitation with open arms to Satan saying, come on.
Give me something and and he will believe me, he will.
And in Ron Lafferty's case, it led to a revelation to murder people.
It read first it led to a revelation to marry multiple women.
And when his wife would approve that and the bishop and the stake president was counseling
with his wife, then he got a revelation to kill the bishop, kill the stake president,
which he wasn't able to do.
But he also got a revelation to kill his brother Alan's wife, which he did and killed killed
their their baby and was on death row for for so many years.
I remember that right after they were captured and they were arrested and Ron tried to commit
to suicide.
And Dan was interviewed and Dan, who was also in prison said, well, I think I think Ron
is possessed.
Well, really?
That might be the only truth you've told.
Yeah, I really, Scott, I and and there are so many other examples of this.
Well, and I don't know why, but it seems like, yeah, I do know why there's just a higher
concentration of members of the church here.
And when that when you have that, then sometimes you have some of these offshoots.
I had a not a girlfriend, but a girl that I dated right after my mission and we became
quite close and I'm not going to say the name because this one didn't go on the news.
And there was no tragic criminal investigations or anything around that.
So it's not as public, but you know, David, and you know, what just the devastation there?
I was also one of I think Dan's daughter's friends in school, one of the laughter days
and just to see the devastation around that.
But you know, we're talking about revelation today, but we didn't just start episode one.
We're episode 34 or 35.
I can't remember for sure, but we're episode 34.
I think today we didn't just start talking about revelation today.
We started talking about knowing who we are, who's we are, understanding the name and faith
in the name.
I mean, we have gone through the entire doctrine of Christ and we're this is still part of
the doctrine of Christ.
Don't get me wrong, but we didn't start here.
We started at the beginning.
We worked our way here.
And so there's there can be sometimes some miscommunication between ourself and maybe
what we're trying to perceive as being communicate to us, etc. around revelation.
And sometimes we just think, OK, I got to get revelation.
I've just got to I've got to learn more about but no, that's not really how I mean, it can
work that way, I suppose, but that's not how it's intended to work.
You know, we work the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
We put on when I say work, we put on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we change our attitudes, we
change the direction we face in our life.
We put all things behind us that are not of Him.
We face Him.
We make changes in our lives to invite and to become a and to have the constant companionship
of the Holy Ghost.
Without that constant companionship or without that pretty regular companionship and without
the gift of the Holy Ghost having been bestowed, we are at a disadvantage when it comes to
revelation.
Because we look at this word revelation and it there's a there's a certain mystique to
it, a little bit of I don't really totally understand it.
And one of the things that we learn from Scripture, if we go all the way back to 1st Nephi, right,
1st Nephi chapter one verse six, when Nephi had taken layman and Lemuel and they were
going to get the brass plates, right.
Now Nephi wasn't concerned about revelation, he wasn't focusing on that I know of it, we
don't read that anyway.
I'm focusing on revelation, how do I get revelation, how do I get revelation.
But what we do know is that Nephi was living his life in a way that he had subjected his
will to the Father.
We know that the Holy Ghost was his constant companion.
We know that he was being led by the Holy Ghost.
We know that his father was.
And as that was taken place, we read right here in verse six of chapter four and 1st
Nephi, I was led by the Spirit not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.
So sometimes revelation is as a result of our living the Gospel as is a result of us
having the companionship of the Holy Ghost and making our best choices and decisions
in our life based on the Spirit that's with us.
That is an elder bedner talks a little bit about that in his talk that I referenced earlier,
but that's kind of one of the beginnings or one of the places where all of us should
have revelation at work in our lives.
Yeah, well, I love everything you just said.
I I do want to say today, Scott, that it seems to be one of the great dividing points for
those who may have a faith crisis or decide to leave the church is following their own
revelation and identifying revelation from the church or from the prophet.
I listen to another podcast recently and this individual had concluded in all of his studies
and he does podcasts on this all the time, but he had concluded that the number one reason
people were leaving the church was that they were following their own revelation in favor
of their own trusting themselves more than they trusted the prophet or were willing to
accept his authority or trust in his revelations.
And I think this whole talk by President Nelson on revelation in the church and individually
is really important in that we understand the pattern of God in always since Adam and
Eve there have there's been a process in which God speaks to his children through his prophets
and we can best receive revelation.
I know we can receive personal revelation and we'll talk mostly about that today, but
we can receive revelation by knowing that God has prophets on this earth and when we
do not follow their counsel, then we open ourselves up to be deceived.
Now I I know I know prophets are not infallible.
I know that there are policies and procedures that change practices change in the church.
Revelation comes and goes regarding certain policies and procedures and practices, but
Scott doctrine never changes and when prophets speak, we should listen and as able as we
can we should obey.
And if we do, we will be blessed the gates of hell shall not prevail against us that
great promise in doctrine and covenants section 21 verses 4 through 6 and if we follow prophets.
Now I'm probably spending too much time on this already, but I just have to tell you the
whole thing with Ron Lafferty.
I asked his best friend, his neighbor, what happened to run?
How did that how that even happen?
Where did that even start?
Do you have any idea or clue where that all started?
And Brother Hurran told me that they were hunting.
This was right after President Kimball back in the late 1970s had given a talk in October.
Right.
You know what happens in October in Utah?
Dear husband and President Kimball had given this priesthood talk to the brother.
Don't shoot the little birdie.
I will never forget that talk.
As a matter of fact, I'll never forget where I was sitting in the Tabernacle in American
for Tabernacle.
I was sitting by listening on my dad was to my right and Grandpa Derpy was to his right.
We were all in the same row there.
And when that when that came on, don't shoot the little birdies, man.
I got I got an elbow right in the ribs from my dad.
Good.
Yeah.
I was at the BYU Merriott Center listening to it.
And anyway, so he gives this talk about don't shoot the little birdies.
Well, a few weeks later, right?
They're on the deer hunt.
Dennis Hurran and Ron Lafferty friends, neighbors with their boys.
And it's the last day of the hunt and they haven't shot anything.
You know, you know what happens there.
Oh, yeah.
Then anything that moves, anything that moves.
And, and they were kind of shooting at different things, rabbits and other things like that.
And Dennis wasn't feeling very comfortable about it.
And so brother Hurran says to Ron, Ron, Ron, what do you think about what President Kimball
said about not shooting little birdies?
And he said that Ron was just went off and he was so angry.
And he said, President Kimball knows nothing about deer hunting.
He's never been deer hunting.
He's never taken his boys hunting.
He doesn't know what it's like.
And it's not so much of what Ron said, but how he said it, that a prophet had made him
mad.
And because of his anger, then all kinds of other problems began to creep in.
And it wasn't more than a year later that Ron was getting his own revelations.
So you bring up Nephi and Nephi being led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand what he
should do.
Well, the reason he was able to receive revelation like that, Scott, was because he followed
a prophet.
His dad, exactly.
He followed a prophet.
And as a result of seeking to fulfill the mission given to him by a prophet, he was able to
receive personal revelation.
While on the other hand, Laman and Lemuel, who went begrudgingly, didn't really want
to go, didn't really want to follow the, I mean, they were following their dad and they
were angry about it.
They didn't see their dad as the prophet.
As a prophet.
Right?
They didn't see that, I mean, ultimately Nephi knew that he was following the Lord through
the prophet.
And Laman and Lemuel thought they were just following their dad, Lehi, who was maybe deranged.
So because Nephi knew that the Lord spoke through prophets and he was willing to follow
that direction, he was able to receive his own revelation.
I think there's a pattern in that for all of us, that if we will follow, seek to the
best of our ability to follow the counsel given to us by prophets and apostles of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we will be able to receive our own personal revelation on how to do that,
which will then bless in ways that we can't imagine will bless our families.
Moses said in the book of Numbers, I would to God that all the Lord's people would be
prophets.
Well, prophets as defined by John in Revelation is the spirit of prophecy is testimony of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
And it would be awesome if we were all prophets, little P, not capital P.
And we can be Scott in our own families.
If we will follow the prophet that God has established on the earth.
And so I just think that's an important point that we need to make in our discussion of revelation
is understanding that there's revelation in the church and that we can receive personal
revelation when there is no counsel given to us from the church in regards to some of
our personal decisions.
The prophets not going to tell us where to move usually or when to move or there have
been examples of that too, I guess, in church history where they are moving across history.
Absolute exceptions, probably all of these examples.
But we're going to have to receive our own personal revelation.
So I know the Lord and his prophets got want us to receive revelation.
President Nelson in that same first talk is present the church.
And this this I think statement has maybe been quoted more by the brother in the last
five years than any other.
Maybe President Nelson has made since being present the church.
He said this is the April 2018 conference, but in coming days, it will not be possible
to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting and constant, constant
influence of the Holy Ghost.
Think about that, Scott.
It's not it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing,
comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.
That is such a powerful prophetic statement that should get all of our attention and therefore
this is such an important topic for us to try to understand and revelations such an
important skill that we should all seek to master again without manipulating it, trying
to force it or even to control it.
All we can do is be open minded, openhearted.
And I have a list of seven things that we can do in order to increase revelation in
our lives.
So this is this part of the podcast is the how how can we receive revelation?
Why should we receive it?
I just read that statement because if you don't, if you don't receive constant influence,
guiding, direction from the Holy Ghost, we will not survive spiritually.
So we need to get our own personal revelation all within our stewardship, right?
There's a stewardship.
This is another principle, I think, of revelation is that you need to stay in your lane.
I kind of hate that term because it's overused these days.
But you need to kind of stay in your lane when it comes to revelation.
And you can't get revelation for the church if you're not the president of the church
and you don't have those keys and you can't get revelation for the ward if you're not
the bishop who has who's the presiding high priest.
You can't get you can't start getting revelation telling the elders corn president how to do
if you're not the elders corn president.
I mean, Scott, there's that's just common sense to me that there's a line and a stewardship
when it comes to receiving revelation.
And we all need to to respect that and to to to understand what is my stewardship.
And we all have a stewardship over ourselves and over if I'm a dad or a mom over my children,
I can receive revelation for my children.
And that doesn't mean they have to accept it that I can force it.
But I can receive revelation to guide give guidance and direction for individuals that
I minister to that I have anyway.
So I think that's an important point when we talk about.
Well, and at the very least, you know, I can receive revelation on how to how to behave
with or how to interact with those that I minister to and especially my family, you know, as a
patriarch of my family.
And I have, you know, Melchizedek Priesthood holders in my family, you know, so there
there becomes that too, you know, but I can do the the definite revelation that I can
receive is revelation for me and how I behave and how I interact.
And there can be other things too, you know, for the family at large and, you know, and
I'm elders corn president in our ward currently.
And so, you know, there's things that are attached to that as well.
But at the very least, and maybe among the most important things that we will receive
revelation about is how do we in a Christlike manner interact and and behave with and around
other people?
Yeah.
In fact, I'm going to read one passage of scripture that that kind of touches on Scott,
how we interact and how we how we act with others.
Now, this this has always been an important scripture to me.
I think it's a pattern of revelation and it's in doctrine and covenants section 52.
Scott starting with verse 14.
And he he calls it a pattern.
I give you a pattern in all things that you may not be deceived.
So I I've always loved this passage, we're going to read verses 14 through 19.
Scott, as as if you don't mind reading it, let's look for as we read it in encourage
all the rest of you if you're not driving to look this passage up and study it to identify
the patterns of revelation in verses 14 through 19 of section 52.
And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things that you may not be deceived
for Satan is abroad in the land and he goeth forth deceiving the nation and individuals.
Wherefore he that prayeth whose spirit is contrite and the same is accepted of me if
he obey my ordinances.
The so so I think that's super important that we understand the the the ordinances are covenantal
relationship has a huge component to a huge part of what's going on here with Revelation
day.
Absolutely.
That's it's all about relationships and the more the closer relationship we have with
our our Heavenly Father as we as we participate in the ordinances of the Gospel and we go
to holy sacred places and we invite him to to be a part of our lives.
That's an important part of Revelation.
But but notice whose spirit is contrite.
Right.
A person who is going to get most revelation is the person who is repenting.
And that's our whole courses about that.
Right.
The person who's going to get revelation is a person who's repenting.
Okay.
Well and Elder Anderson in the book even even expounds on that a little bit when he talks
about having a contrite spirit and talking about what that really means is having our
will swallowed up by Heavenly Father's will.
You know so that that gives us some good insight to that verse 15.
And now verse 16 he that speaketh whose spirit is contrite whose languages make and edifyeth
and edifyeth the same as of God if he obey mine ordinances.
So there's that's a critical key takeaway there.
So that's only in effect if that person also is obeying the ordinances right keeping his
covenants.
Yeah he repeats that when the Lord repeats something I should get our attention.
That's right.
But but Scott I I am well I won't use any names but I've heard podcasts and YouTube presentations
and as a teacher for 40 years in and out of the church Scott I've heard people whose language
is not meek doesn't edify and and there they don't speak being contrite and you can you
can tell a difference.
Yeah.
And I mean the spirit I mean the individuals who are who don't just leave the church but
can't leave the church alone.
I can't judge them individually but just collectively my experiences just my experience watching
them is that they don't they don't they don't fit this pattern.
Yeah.
I mean they they're not they're not meek in their language.
It doesn't edify.
It seeks to really destroy and anyway I so verse 16 I think is a really critical part
of the pattern 17 and again he that tremble if under my power shall be made strong and
shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom according to the revelations and truths which
I have given you.
Also I think 17 Scott for me is you better be reverent you better know what reverence
is you better know what reverence and worship really mean that that you respect God's power
and that you understand where you you understand where you stand with God.
That's that's really critical and I think that's what verse 17 saying.
And 18 and again he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits even according to this pattern
is not of me.
Wherefore by this pattern you shall know the spirits in all cases under the whole heavens.
If one will really study that passage Scott it will help us to not be deceived.
So I recommend that passage to all of us to study.
Well let's let's let's jump into the seven what I call just I don't know what to call
it better but I just called it the seven keys to receiving personal revelation.
Now I know there are more keys I know that these are just kind of my list and and I don't
even like checklist so you know I hate steps.
I you know I don't want to kind of teach it like that.
I'm just saying here are some keys.
Not all the keys not all the you know not all the principles but here are some important
principles to help us to receive personal revelation.
So number one and we've talked enough probably about this we don't need to say a lot more
about it.
Number one to identify fears and other negative emotions and replace them with faith and love.
Perfect love casteth out all fear and believe me Scott I have come to know for myself that
fear can dominate one's life and can be an absolutely stumbling block total block to
us receiving revelation if we if we do not learn how to control irrational fears in our
life.
Anyway we've talked a lot about that over the well and you said this podcast you said
other negative emotions I think that we should probably hit on that for just a second you
know throughout this podcast we talk about inappropriate emotions negative emotions inappropriate
thoughts and feelings and so on and I think that so often that just because of our conditioning
in in this life in our culture I think because of that conditioning we automatically think
of you know pornographic or sexual connotation.
Lost is one of those inappropriate but there's so many others that I think that escape us
if we don't touch on them and I just want to take a second to do that so for example
anger hostility yes resentment yes jealousy jealousy envy and V coveting there you go
you know all of those insecurities feelings of control you know a desire to manipulate
and control any of those feelings.
Comparing yourself to the form of coveting or envy and if we don't control those emotions
it blocks our ability to receive revelation any emotion or feeling that blocks us from
filling the spirit or being able to receive that revelation are the negative emotions
that we refer to when we make that reference and the key to overcoming them Scott all of
them not just fear is to number one become aware of them number two pray immediately
with all energy of heart to be filled with love I believe perfect love not only overcomes
all fear perfect love overcomes all lust all anger hostility envy coveting all inappropriate
emotions I don't think your heart can be filled with perfect love the love of Christ the gift
of charity and other negative emotions dominate your life so that's number one number two
we talked a little bit about this last week Scott remove the pavilions of selfish inappropriate
motives and prideful desires by replacing them with not my will but dying be done this is
just going to the altar and saying what I'll do whatever that wants me to do I not trying
to answer your own prayers in other words not not saying well this I don't want to do
that this is you know we always have the self-talk with ourselves about what we want to do and
what we don't want to do and oftentimes our selfish is our selfish motives and our prideful
desires dominate our decisions instead of being open blank slate saying what what should
I do now I know we need to study it out in our minds I know that it takes work to get
revelation and President Elton said that talk again we keep referencing that good revelation
comes from good information I know that I know we need to pay a price in in that but
we need to be open and willing that if the Lord speaks to us we are absolutely our heart
is open to receive that and when there's pavilions of selfishness and pride in our life yet again
keeps us from receiving revelation number three increased purity and confidence in the presence
of God which comes as a result of letting virtue govern our thoughts we need to control
our thoughts not just our emotions Scott not just our emotions not just our motives but
we need to control our thoughts now I know we can't choose all the thoughts that come
into our mind but we can certainly choose which one stay and we need to take back control
of our minds and learn how to control our thoughts by replacing them with more appropriate
holy sacred thoughts quoting scriptures singing hymns anyway there's many ways to control
our thoughts someone said once Scott this was a sign I said I saw in northern Minnesota
driving past an old farm in northern Minnesota this man felt so strongly about this and it
was probably original with him because I've never seen anywhere else and he had made this
big sign probably about five feet by five feet and hung it up in his field in his farm
high enough so everybody could see it and it said watch what you view because what you
watch will become your view I think one of the really key ways to control our thoughts
is to control what we watch what we spend time looking at and if we will control what
we watch I've told you this before and in the podcast that I hate commercials I hate
watching commercials there are so many inappropriate things on commercials that I am preparing
to give a patriarchal blessing I had to have everything recorded because I couldn't watch
inappropriate commercials and it's true of what we listen to on the radio to it's true
of the music that we listen to what we watch what we listen to if we're not careful it
will become our view it will dominate our thoughts Satan will use those things against
us so we need to take control of our minds by what we choose to watch a number four
use instruments of grace such as the scriptures prayer sacred art and music the temple even
we just had the dedication of the Saratoga Springs temple which was an amazing experience
Scott I was I was so thankful to be there and be in the celestial room with President
Eyring when he dedicated it and I won the parts of it that stood out to me and I'm just
paraphrasing is in the dedicatory prayer he said something to the effect that even those
who who just come here to the grounds just to the grounds of the temple will be blessed
with greater discernment yeah that's what he said yeah that was actually in the newspaper
they quoted him okay yeah whatever they quoted him the dedicatory prayer exactly they quoted
him on saying that this place would be a refuge for those who come in and and I'm not going
to say it exactly but the reference was even the grounds the temple even the grounds is
a group is an instrument of grace that God has given us to help us to connect with him
and receive revelation Scott so I'm gonna I'm gonna push pause on you for just one second
I shared this experience with you before we started the podcast today I think I'm gonna
share it now when I was going through a really tough time in my life and I needed to find
a place to stay I stayed with my parents for about a year when I went through a divorce
they had some property was grandpa's property a lot of it but behind you know where I live
we lived and grew up and the back back far far far not on our property but back quite
a ways further and end up on the hill the Tempanogos temple was being built at that
time and I felt that David I got good great counsel by a loving bishop at that time and
without getting to into all the details but there would be nights sometimes when I couldn't
sleep and I would just go on a motorcycle I'd get on my motorcycle and I'd ride up
there and I'd sit on the grass in the middle of the night middle night one two three in
the morning in the summer on the temple grounds before and after it was dedicated and I felt
that I felt that power it invokes emotion in me right now to go back and recall those
sacred sweet experiences that I had there as I was communing with my heavenly father
trying to put my life back together and figure out what was going on it may have saved your
life yeah and it may have so I that's an instrument of grace so using instruments of grace scriptures
prayer sacred art music temple and service yeah service itself Scott is an instrument
of grace serving others I think you are an amazing example of that Scott the number of
people that you sponsor the number of people that you mentor the note I know you've told
me this you've told me this that one of the keys to your sobriety is your willingness
to give back and to sponsor is am I using the right that's exactly right yeah to sponsor
people yeah in the addiction recovery programs and a a programs yeah and and it's an instrument
of grace and fasting is an instrument of grace I think fact I know it just seems to me I'm
old I know but it just seems to me that fasting used to be a little more emphasized years
and years ago than it is now and fasting which is biblical and throughout the scriptures
can be such a powerful instrument of grace to receive to open us up to humble us and
make us more open to receiving revelation and I could share lots of examples of that
well Scott that's the first four I think I think if it's okay we'll maybe pick up and
finish the next three on the on the next podcast but let's review those four identify fears
and other negative emotions and replace them with faith and love to remove the pavilions
of selfish inappropriate motives what's your motive what are why are you wanting really
why do you want to know this is it unselfish is it to build the kingdom of God to bless
your family and others what's your motive so remove the pavilions of selfish inappropriate
motives and prideful desires by replacing them with not my will but died me done that's
number two number three increased purity and confidence in the presence of God is the result
of letting virtue govern our thoughts so that's right that comes from Dr. incumbent section
121 that virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly then shall I confidence waxed or wrong in
the presence of God by the way section 121 is a marvelous revelation for all to really
study how we can receive knowledge from God that whole section is about how to receive
knowledge and revelation from God and number four use instruments of grace that God has
given us such as the scriptures prayer sacred art I we didn't say anything about that but
I have art in my office and sometimes Scott I'll just go into ponder and to prepare to
give blessings or receive revelation I'll just go in my office and look at inspired art
I do the same thing I in fact and I'll give credit right here you the picture that we
use is our art on our podcast was a fairly famous artist Joe Brickie a good friend of
mine some of his art I feel that same way and I have some in the house we have we you
noticed we and I showed it to you we have a new piece of art in our living room as you
walk in yeah of Jesus his feet and others as he's walking the path and you see a finger
reaching through to touch the ham and be healed right sacred art yeah and yeah yeah yeah powerful
and people notice that you know and people notice the feeling that gets invoked when
you notice something like that we have that comment come quite frequently from those that
enter our home the picture on elder Anderson's book yeah the divine gift of forgiveness was
is one of his you know he shared with me is one of his personal favorites and then I know
he received a lot of revelation inspiration from that from that piece of art and and there
are so many other examples of that and inspired music Scott oh yeah I would always begin my
mornings on Sunday morning really early in the morning when when I was functioning paper
patriarch and I would begin by listening to music that's how I started my morning was by
listening to certain inspired pieces of music that every time I listened to them I feel closer
to my heavenly father and I feel the spirit coming into my into my life I mean it just
inspired music and inspired art can really clarify our our thoughts and feelings well
you talk about music you know if you go back to season one we had a interview that we did
with Scott Harmon who spent six years in the I think it was six years and you in the Utah
State Penitentiary we had one with Nate Moller you're right who and he wasn't incarcerated
or anything like that but he had a major tragedy in his life and both of those men both of those
men attributed their the feeling of the spirit in some of the most critical time back to a
memory of a primary song right matter of fact I saw Scott Harmon the other day as we did a
fifth Sunday thing together and asked him about that and he got he kind of got a little
emotional he's like yeah you know what that to heavenly father are you really there that
child's prayer that was his song he says I still invokes all kinds of positive wonderful
sacred emotions in me God God has God cherishes sacred music and and is the author of much
of it and no doubt when angels sing when they appear to shepherds and the heavenly choirs
and I know there was music in the pre-mortal existence I once gave a patriarchal blessing
to a young man who had some special needs I had never said this in any other blessing
of the hundreds I gave was that he had written and composed music in his in the pre-mortal
how cool and his mother just what because of how this young man would respond to sacred
music here in this life I knew I knew that was true Scott somehow I knew that he had
led and organized and composed music there anyway sacred music sacred art the temple
the temple is is definitely a gift to us in a and a gift of grace an instrument of grace
that we should all be using more to to really again clarify our thoughts and to go receive
revelation even if we can only walk the grounds or set on a bench and or just go touch the
outside the walls of the temple or stand under the eaves or the shade of the temple we can
receive revelation and fasting fasting and service our other really important instruments
of grace that God has given us to help open us up to help to bring us more of the gift
of revelation right well you know we talk about service and I just looked up the the
the lyrics the words to a poor wayfaring man of grief and I think that you know just that
just mentioning that title probably brings up memories or feelings in most of our listeners
and if not to invite you to go back and listen to that beautiful beautiful sacred hymn but
verse number seven then in a moment to my view the stranger start started from disguise
the tokens in his hands I knew the Savior stood before my eyes he spake and my poor name
he named of me thou has not been ashamed these deeds shall thy memorial be fear not thou
dis them unto me and they so it's no wonder the service is an instrument of grace you
know when Jesus when we service anybody he sees that service and accepts it unto himself
and so what a great way to you know kind of culminate and bring together that that feeling
of an instrument of grace when we're in service to others Dave well next week we'll finish
off that list of seven and we'll continue our discussion on how to develop and grow
in our ability to receive revelation so just a couple of quick invitations folks number
one I would invite all of us to go ahead and just do another inventory in our lives and
just see you know we've only hit on what did we hit we only hit on four of these seven
we've got three more to go and we'll have another opportunity to review our lives when we look
at those next three next week but for these four let's take an inventory let's look in
our lives where we're doing okay where we need improvement and where maybe we even just
need to begin maybe there's things here that we've been putting off or haven't been aware
of or haven't occurred to us or haven't been revealed to us that we need to be doing well
if you have felt that feeling today then we invite you to do it that's number one number
two for those of you who are having experiences and it's been a minute since we extended this
invitation but we go we invite you to go ahead and share your experiences with us you can
do that at he redeems us at gmail.com go ahead and ask any questions you may have we'll try
and answer those on the podcast or respond to them via email as we have done in dozens
and dozens of cases happy to do that as well thanks so much for being with us I think I
would be remiss if I didn't testify of not just the importance but the importance in
my own personal life of the concepts and precepts that we've been talking about today hopefully
the spirit of revelation is alive in all of our lives but before all of that hopefully
we have the spirit of the Holy Ghost as our constant companions hopefully we're having
His revelation in our lives and then as we do that then we'll be able to experience the
gift of revelation and the sacred gift that it is thanks for being with us we look forward
to being with you next week.