Revelation: Night
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He has caused us to forget everything we once knew before our spirits entered within this veil of flesh. For instance, it is like this: when we lie down to sleep, our minds are often as bright and active as the mind of an angel, at least they are as active as when our bodies are awake. They will range over the earth, visit distant friends, and, for aught we know, the planets, and accomplish great feats; do that which will enhance our happiness, increase to us every enjoyment of life, and prepare us for celestial glory; but when we wake in the morning, it is all gone from us; we have forgotten it. This illustration will explain in part the nature of the veil which is over the inhabitants of the earth; they have forgotten that they once knew. This is right; were it different, where would be the trial of our faith? In a word, be it so; it is as it should be.
President Brigham Young
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The Second Coming of Christ (2)
President Wilford Woodruff
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Now I will give you a little of my experience in this line. Joseph Smith visited me a great deal after his death, and taught me many important principles. On one occasion he and his brother Hyrum visited me while I was in a storm at sea. I was going on my last mission to preside in England. My companions were Brother Leonard W. Hardy, Milton Holmes, Dan Jones, and another brother, and my wife and two other women. We had béen traveling three days and nights in a heavy gale, and were being driven backwards. Finally I asked my companions to come into the cabin with me, and I told them to pray that the Lord would change the wind. I had no fears of being lost; but I did not like the idea of being driven back to New York, as I wanted to go on my journey. We all offered the same prayer, both men and women; and when we got through we stepped on to the deck and in less than a minute it was as though a man had taken a sword and cut that gale through, and you might have thrown a muslin handkerchief out and it would not have moved it. The night following this Joseph and Hyrum visited me, and the Prophet laid before me a great many things. Among other things he told me to get the Spirit of God; that all of us needed it. He also told me what the twelve apostles would be called to go through on the earth before the coming of the Son of Man, and what the reward of their labors would be; but all that was taken from me for some reason. Nevertheless it was most glorious, although much would be required at our hands. Joseph Smith continued visiting myself and others up to a certain time, and then it stopped. The last time I saw him was in heaven. In the night vision I saw him at the door of the temple in heaven. He came to me and spoke to me. He said he could not stop to talk with me because he was in a hurry. The next man I met was Father Smith; he could not talk with me because he was in a hurry. I met half a dozen brethren who had held high positions on earth, and none of them could stop to talk with me because they were in a hurry. I was much astonished. By and by I saw the Prophet again and I got the privilege of asking him a question. “Now,” said I, “I want to know why you are in a hurry. I have been in a hurry all my life; but I expected my hurry would be over when I got into the kingdom of heaven, if I ever did.” Joseph said: “I will tell you, Brother Woodruff. Every dispensation that has had the priesthood on the earth and has gone into the celestial kingdom has had a certain amount of work to do to prepare to go to the earth with the Savior when he goes t6 reign on the earth. Each dispensation has had ample time to do this work. We have not. We are the last dispensation, and so much work has to be done, and we need to be in a hurry in order to accomplish it.” Of course, that was satisfactory, but it was new doctrine to me—DW 53:642-643, October 19, 1896.
President Wilford Woodruff
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Change is also accelerating in the world around us. Some of that change, like that in this university, is for the better. But much of the acceleration in the world is in troubles long prophesied for the last days. Each time you watch the evening news, you see stark evidence of that. You remember this scripture: “For behold, at that day shall he [meaning Satan] rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.” The Lord told us in the time of the Prophet Joseph that war would be poured out upon all nations. We see tragic fulfillment of that prophecy, bringing with it increased suffering to the innocent. The giant earthquake, and the tsunamis it sent crashing into the coasts around the Indian Ocean, is just the beginning and a part of what is to come, terrible as it was. You remember the words from the Doctrine and Covenants which now seems so accurate: And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people. Fear shall come upon all people. But you and I know that the Lord has prepared places of safety to which He is eager to guide us. I think of that often. A few days ago, I heard two accounts of God leading His children to safety on the coast of Thailand when that monstrous tsunami wave struck. One was of people who accepted His apparently routine invitation to a Church meeting on a Sunday. The meeting was called by ordinary men who hold the priesthood of God. The meeting place was on higher ground, away from the coast. The people who gathered with the Saints were spared from physical death, while the places on the coast where they would have been were destroyed. As they were spared physical death, they were being strengthened against spiritual temptation and the wave of eternal tragedy it will bring to those who are disobedient. The other account I heard was related to me by a Latter-day Saint who was led to safety by the Holy Ghost. He checked into a hotel on the ocean front in Thailand the day before the wave struck. He walked out on the beach. He felt uneasy. He went back to his hotel determined to check out. The hotel staff, I think worried that he didn’t like the hotel, pressed him for a reason. They only reluctantly agreed to his leaving. He moved to another hotel, away from the beach. It was on higher ground. Because of that, he not only survived but stayed to serve the survivors. The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground, away from the path of physical and spiritual danger. His upward path will require us to climb. My mother used to say to me when I complained that things were hard, “If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill.” And as the world becomes darker and more dangerous, we must keep climbing. It will be our choice whether or not to move up or to stay where we are. But the Lord will invite and guide us upward by the direction of the Holy Ghost, which He sends to His leaders and to His people who will receive it. ... As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough. ... I can’t imagine where this University will be in just a little while. I pray with all my heart that you know that I gave this message to you with a feeling of optimism, not of pessimism. I did not plan to speak to you about the hard times that are ahead and they are real, and they are coming. But as I prepared to come here I was given a feeling of light and confidence about you, that somehow the people I would be speaking to today were special, brought here and chosen because of your capacity to rise higher than you yourself would think even possible spiritually. As I was preparing to come, I was awakened, I will even tell you the time of day, at 1:00 in the morning. I had slept for only two or three hours and I think the Holy Ghost did it by telling me, “You’re rested,” which didn’t seem reasonable at that hour. “It is time to go.” So, I got up. In a period of five hours, when I planned to talk about quite a different thing, I wrote what I have given you. I was surprised. I thought that this isn’t the kind of thing you talk to young people about. You should tell more stories, or tell them something amusing, or try to catch their attention. But know you are special. Heavenly Father is inviting you upward, and you can move there if you have the determination and the grit to say to yourself, “I don’t have to be forced by circumstances to seek the Holy Ghost.”
Elder Henry B. Eyring
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Elder Monte J
Monte J. Brough and John K. Carmack
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There are some practical principles that enhance revelation. First, yielding to emotions such as anger or hurt or defensiveness will drive away the Holy Ghost. Those emotions must be eliminated, or our chance for receiving revelation is slight. Another principle is to be cautious with humor. Loud, inappropriate laughter will offend the Spirit. A good sense of humor helps revelation; loud laughter does not. A sense of humor is an escape valve for the pressures of life. Another enemy to revelation comes from exaggeration or loudness in what is stated. Careful, quiet speech will favor the receipt of revelation. On the other hand, spiritual communication can be enhanced by good health practices. Exercise, reasonable amounts of sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand revelation. We will live for our appointed life span. However, we can improve both the quality of our service and our well-being by making careful, appropriate choices. It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit. Revelation can also be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness. If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Inspired communication in the night is generally accompanied by a sacred feeling for the entire experience. The Lord uses individuals for whom we have great respect to teach us truths in a dream because we trust them and will listen to their counsel. It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost. However, He may in a dream make it both easier to understand and more likely to touch our hearts by teaching us through someone we love and respect. When it is for the Lord’s purposes, He can bring anything to our remembrance. That should not weaken our determination to record impressions of the Spirit. Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us. Recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recording of direction of the Spirit should be protected from loss or intrusion by others.
Elder Richard G. Scott
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I am a witness by being present, and I’m a witness by being absent, that the Lord indeed instructs His prophet. ... Sometimes the Lord has me stay close to my husband when he is receiving instructions. My husband will say during the night, “OK dear, it’s happening.” I just remain quiet and then soon he's sitting up at the side of the bed writing, now with a lighted pen that someone gave him. It’s pretty cute. The number of nighttime messages to him, since becoming President of the Church, have increased exponentially. It's incredible. It was an early Saturday morning, and I could feel I was supposed to get out of bed. I wasn't finished sleeping, I didn't want to get out of bed, but I could feel, “Move out of bed now.” So I went down and did some family history research. Two hours later, my husband emerged from our bedroom and said, “Wendy, you won't believe what’s been happening for two hours. The Lord has given me detailed instruction about a process I am to follow.” Sometimes it's just two lines, I never look at it, he’ll just hold it up and show me. I just think, those are private messages to him and I would never look.
Sister Wendy Nelson
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said her husband often receives inspiration for the direction of the Church during the night and gets up to take notes. “Just this past week,” she said, “the inspiration was flowing so rapidly during those early morning hours that he went to the office in our home and wrote for three hours.”
Sister Wendy Nelson
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As one of 15 prophets, seers
Elder Ronald A. Rasband
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