Editor’s note: The following is an adapted excerpt from Aaron D. Franklin’s book What is Truth? Navigating a World of Faith, Science, and Noise.
In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, President Russell M. Nelson reminded us of the importance of increasing our capacity to receive personal revelation. He taught:
Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son.
Because when we seek to hear—truly hear—His Son, we will be guided to know what to do in any circumstance. …
In those two words—“Hear Him”—God gives us the pattern for success, happiness, and joy in this life. …
As we seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our efforts to hear Him need to be ever more intentional. It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths.
…
I spent months earnestly trying to follow President Nelson’s counsel, but despite my efforts, it seemed the Lord was not speaking to me any more than before.
I redoubled my efforts. I refined the questions I was asking in my personal prayers, amplifying my focus on repentance, and sought more opportunities to serve others. All of these were (and are) spiritually rewarding, but none seemed to thin the barrier that felt present between my supplications and heaven’s response.
Around this time, I’d been working on revisions for my book The Spiritual Physics of Light, in which I explore some of the possible connections between the physical properties of light and its spiritual attributes. … It was then that it occurred to me: I’ve been trying to get God to speak to me more, when in reality He already has spoken, is speaking, and will continue to speak—it’s just a matter of me tuning in! I’d been thinking of my communication with God like a telephone and was waiting impatiently for God to call or to answer. Instead, it’s more like a radio, where He’s already spoken and it’s just up to me to tune in and trust that the message is being received (even when it can be difficult to tell).
This was a landmark realization for me. I know the difference may seem subtle—that I’m not trying to get God to speak but rather trying to hear Him—but it allowed me to recognize that because He’s always speaking, I can trust that He’s there whenever I strive to listen. I realized that the barriers I felt between the heavens and my prayers were of my own making, mostly related to how I expected the Spirit to communicate with me. By removing those barriers, I also expanded my confidence that the Spirit may often speak in ways I don’t immediately recognize. Yet as I press forward on the covenant path, I can trust I am being led to greater and greater truth.
Discover divine truth
More articles for you:
▶ A Latter-day Saint scientist’s genius answer when asked how he balances science and religion
▶ 3 divine ways you learn during the presentation of the temple endowment
▶ How many new temples has Pres. Nelson dedicated?
