Chapter 10

Eternal Increase

Read the Ninth Article of Faith)

Revelation is the communication by divine means of the will of God to man.

Those who accept God as the Maker of man and all things about him must perforce accept the possibility of revelation. To deny such possibility is to say that intelligence does not direct the universe, or that the Organizer of the heavens and the earth cannot directly approach His creations. Either alternative, in the light of present knowledge, is unthinkable.

The necessity of revelation is also evident. The Lord devised a plan for man’s continued progress. Man accepted it, including its several conditions, such as forgetfulness of the preexistent state. It became necessary, therefore, in the very beginning or the human sojourn on earth, to teach and explain to man the principles and practices, the ordinances and obligations of the plan. For this purpose the Lord revealed Himself to the first man. Thus, revelation dates from the beginning of human history. But, man is a free agent and often uses his will imperfectly. When he departs, as he has frequently done, from the right path, those who come after him, for lack of information, may travel through life in ignorance of the requirements of the plan. On such occasions it becomes necessary for the Higher Intelligence to speak from the unseen world and to place man again on the road to progressive happiness. Or, though man may not depart from the truth, he needs to receive more light, than he possesses from those of higher wisdom. Without guidance from above, revelation, man would be without chart or compass for life’s voyage. Intelligence as well as justice demands divine guidance through revelation.

The relationship between man and God, that of child and Father, makes revelation an expected experience. A loving, earthly father would not refuse his children counsel and companionship or hesitate to help them in times of distress, especially if they were laboring under his plan. It is impossible to conceive of our Heavenly Father as a cold, icy figure in the boundless depths of space, careless of His children on earth. He must be a Being, the warmth of whose love surpasses the sum of human tenderness, and who naturally expresses Himself to His children in some form of revelation.

The manner in which communication is established between man and the divine domain is not always the same. Even as mortal men speak face to face, or by agents, or by telephone, radio, and letter, so there are many avenues by which Divinity may speak to humanity. God may appear in person; He may dispatch heavenly messengers, or He may transmit His word by the Holy Spirit. Personal appearances characterize the beginning of important events, such as the opening of a new dispensation of time. On other occasions, angels have brought the message. The Holy Spirit is always the guide of men whose wills are directed toward righteousness, and therefore in tune with spiritual things. The manner of revelation matters little. The certainty of it and the meaning of its message must remain.

The reality of past revelation rests upon historical evidence. Adam, Moses, Elijah, Joseph Smith, and others have declared that they spoke with the Lord, face to face. Others have stated that they have received divine communication through angelic visitors or by the Holy Spirit. We have the right to test these claims by the usual methods of discovering truth, and, unless this is done, we may not question the veracity of these and other great men. When the initiation, manner, sequences, and results of such visitations and experiences are examined and found to be sound, the events must be placed with the best established facts of history. But, like any other search after truth, the evidence for the reality of revelation must be pursued prayerfully, with full desire to know the truth, and with readiness to accept it when found.

Consider the first vision of Joseph Smith. It has a natural sequence: A boy seeks for truth; he finds isolation from outside, disturbing influences; he kneels to ask God for help; an evil power attacks him, almost overcomes him; he vanquishes it by intense effort; he utters his prayer; the vision with its message comes; and from the event issues the “marvelous work and a wonder” known popularly as “Mormonism.” The steps toward the consummation of the vision are flawless. If any step, say the battle with darkness, had been left out, we might have doubted; if the message and its results had failed to lift men into greater light or truth, we might have hesitated to accept the validity of the vision. As the story of the vision now stands, the earnest truth-seeker feels its certain truth. All revelations may be so examined and tested for their truth. The revelations of the Lord, past and present, will be found to be not only real, but the best and safest guides for human conduct.

Inquiry is often made concerning the language in which divine revelation is given. The answer is found in modern revelation. Seldom are divine revelations dictated to man, unless it be where personal visitations of the Lord occur. Instead, ideas are impressed upon the mind of the recipient, who then delivers the ideas in his own language. When Oliver Cowdery failed to obtain the gift of translation, the Lord said to him: “You have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.”— (Doc. and Cov., Sec. 9:7-9.)

This doctrine may be applied to all revelations. The same doctrine is expressed by Nephi in the Book of Mormon: “For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.” (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31:3.) The thought or idea is of divine origin; the language or form of expression is of mortal men “in their weakness.” Were this not so, it would be more difficult to understand the revelations of God to man. When therefore a passage of wondrous beauty or feeling occurs in a divine message, it is the natural result of the exalted feeling induced by inspiration which makes it easy to clothe the revealed truth in beautiful words and sentences.

Revelation is an integral part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He, the Son of God, the Firstborn, came down on earth and dwelt in the flesh with men. Thus, He revealed Himself to humanity; taught them the law of the Gospel, and conferred upon His disciples the authority to carry forward the work He had begun. All this was as in the beginning, when God spoke to Adam and conferred the Priesthood on him; and as a prototype of the future event when God spoke to Joseph Smith and conferred the Priesthood authority on him. An unfailing test of the true Church of Christ is the possession of the active principle of revelation.

The Church is guided today, as it ever has been, by revelation. The men who have presided and are presiding over the Church, have been and are directed by revelation. Their utterances, spoken when they stand before the people in the authority of their callings, are words of inspiration. Every member of the Church holding official position, and faithful in his calling, receives inspiration and assistance in his labors from the Power from on high, which are as revelation to him. Likewise all members of the Church, whether or not they hold official positions, provided they are faithfully living the lives of Latter-day Saints, have claim upon divine inspiration to guide them in the affairs of their lives. Thus, the highest to the least in the Kingdom of God may claim in their labors direction by revelation, each for his own work and no further, and each subject to the revelations given those holding higher offices in the organized Church.

This does not deprive man of the privilege and power of searching out knowledge for himself. Indeed, it is the duty of man, endowed with intelligence, to use his powers earnestly in the study of the universe in which he finds himself and to discover its truths. Yet the Sinai outcome of such searching is dependent upon the help that comes from the Lord—upon revelation.

Revelation must be continuous. The fundamental principles of existence may he communicated at one time, but man, in his progress towards perfection, must be guided in applying these truths to daily, changing conditions. The possession of the full volume of revelation, setting forth all truth and disposing of every human contingency, would be fatal to progress, and would cancel the right of the free agent. Man would not then need to find his way in semidarkness by faith; hence he would weaken in will, and move towards a static condition, it is a basic doctrine of the Gospel that man must win his salvation by self-effort, and that outside help should be administered only in time of special need. Since man is engaged in an eternal journey, his need of divine help is never ending, that is, revelation must ever be an available guiding force in human progress.

Knowledge which always precedes use, rises high in a program involving continuous revelation. We shall be forever learning, approaching perfection throughout the eternities, but by infinitely small steps. The revelations of the Lord add knowledge to knowledge; every forward step is the proper use of knowledge gained. At no time has all knowledge been available. Adam received “a fulness of the Gospel” in the sense that by the use of the principles taught he would be able to command further revelation as needed. It is so in our day. Each dispensation has its own peculiar needs which are met by revelation. Followers of Jesus, the Christ, must be engaged forever in the process of learning. Then eternal progress is made possible.

It may also happen in the progressive life of man that truth used in one age, under one condition, having served its purpose, may be laid aside, or displaced by truth needed under new conditions. For example, in the Sinaitic wilderness the Hebrews needed one set and kind of regulations; in the days of Isaiah another, and in the days of Christ yet another. “Ye have heard that it hath been said. An eye for an eye . . . But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matt. 5:38-39.) This thought is set forth also by Alma, the Nephite prophet: “The Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have.” (Book of Mormon, Alma 29:8.) Such a doctrine is in line of progress and does not violate fundamental truth. Eternal truth is never abrogated; the same everlasting principles permeate all divine communication; but the fitting use of such truth and principles in the life of progressive man is not only expected, but indeed required. In such development, man needs the help of revelation.

Here then is the great and grand meaning of the doctrine of continuous revelation: That, with the help of God, man may draw eternally upon the inexhaustible font of knowledge; that the natural endowment of man is such that through the endless ages he may add knowledge to knowledge, and that thus he may eternally increase his s power for righteousness. The high destiny of man is eternal increase—leading from increasing knowledge to increasing power, to increasing likeness of the Giver of Revelations. Revelation, past, present, and future, here and hereafter, is the means by which such unending progress is made possible.

The priceless gift of revelation does not come unsought. Man must seek it, pray for it, work for it, fit himself to receive it. Every revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith was an answer to a request uttered by him. It has ever been so and will ever be so. Under this law, all righteous men who earnestly seek for divine guidance may receive it. The Lord does not fail His children.

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. What is received by revelation? Cite examples.

2. Why is revelation the necessary Gospel foundation?

3. Why must revelation be endless?

4. What is the place of knowledge in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

5. How may a person fit himself for divine guidance?

6. Enumerate some of the various methods by which the Lord communicates his will and knowledge to men on earth.