Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read “‘And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit’,” by Julie B. Beck, Ensign, May 2010, 10–12.
Thought:
The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.
(Julie B. Beck, “‘And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit’,”Ensign, May 2010, 10–12.)
Song:
“Tell Me Dear Lord,” Children’s Songbook, p. 176.
Scripture:
Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers. (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10)
Lesson:
Read 1 Nephi 17:45 with your family, then tell them that listening to the voice of the Lord is a little like listening to the radio. Turn on a radio and tune it to a spot where all you can hear is static. Ask how this radio signal is like what Laman and Lemuel received from the Lord. Now tune the radio to a crystal-clear station. Ask how this signal is like what Nephi heard.
Share the following statement from Elder Boyd K. Packer: “The scriptures generally use the word 'voice,' which does not exactly fit. These delicate, refined communications are not seen with our eyes, nor heard with our ears. And even though it is described as a voice, it is a voice that one feels, more than one hears.” (“Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, January 1983, p. 52.)
Ask your family why someone with a hard heart would have difficulty hearing the voice of the Spirit. Bear your testimony of how wonderful it is when you are able to feel communication from the Spirit.
(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Book of Mormon, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], p. 39.)
Story:
Several years ago I learned a great lesson while laboring as the managing director of the Church's Welfare Services Department. We were at a critical stage in the history of Church welfare, and it was time to go through an agonizing reappraisal of the program in light of current world conditions.
After praying for a solution to the problems we faced, I had a terrific thought: Glenn, you have access to the Quorum of the Twelve and to a member of the First Presidency. What a resource! I called for appointments and met individually with these great men. I poured out my concerns and added my feeling that we were at a stage where further revelation on the subject was necessary. Then I sat back with my pen and yellow notepad and waited for pearls of wisdom. I was devastated when their collective counsel amounted to this: "Brother Pace, we commend you for your concern and conscientiousness in finding solutions to these weighty matters. We, too, have some deep concerns and anxieties, and you are absolutely right—we do need revelation. Now, go get it!"
Who, me? I was an employee of the Church, not a General Authority. However, I had been taught that I had the responsibility to take to the Brethren well-thought-out recommendations that could be confirmed, modified, or rejected in the appropriate forums. It was my obligation and right to receive inspiration. And I knew that inspiration would come only after intense, agonizing study, research, and meditation. In other words, I learned that revelation is 95 percent hard work.
(Glenn L. Pace, Spiritual Plateaus, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1991].)
Activity:
Give everyone a pencil and a piece of paper with the word REVELATION written at the top. At the signal to start, the players make as many words as they can in five minutes, using only the letters in the word revelation. The winner is the person with the most words after the time is up.
(George and Jeane Chipman, Games! Games! Games!, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1983], p. 131.)