Revelation: Opening the Heavens

It is wonderful to be with you today! Thank you for the beautiful musical number. My wife is unable to be with us here today due to some health issues, but I wanted you to see a picture of her. Many of you are probably wondering, how in the world did a guy like you get a beautiful girl like her? You single young men might want to take a note: It helps to be very rich and ruggedly handsome. In my case, I was not rich…or ruggedly handsome. I am just saying, it might help.

If I were to ask you, “Do you want to receive more revelation in your life? Do you want God to communicate His will to you more often?” I believe most of you would respond in the affirmative.

Over the years, I have had many students come to my office and say something like, “Brother Allison, I never seem to get answers to my prayers,” or “How do I get answers to my prayers?”

I will respond by saying, “Do you feel comfortable telling me what questions you are asking?”

About 50% of the time, students respond by saying something like, “What do you mean?”

In this scenario, I explain that answers usually come in response to questions. “If you are not asking questions, that may be the reason you are not receiving answers.”

Others will tell me they have been praying about which college major they should choose, or if they should marry a certain woman or man. In this situation I will say, “Tell me how you word that in your prayers.”
They often respond with something like, “I just ask God.”

But I persist with “Yes, but tell me how you ask God. What words do you use.”

And almost always they respond with something like, “Heavenly Father, please help me to know if I should marry Trevor or Megan.”

I then ask, “If you wrote that sentence in an English paper, which punctuation mark would go at the end?”
They usually say, “A question mark.”

But I point out that “Please help me to know if I should marry Trevor” is a statement. It is not a question.

May I invite you to consider that answers often come in response to questions. In the scriptures, very few invitations are repeated as often as ask, seek, and knock regarding prayer and revelation.

After teaching the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior extended this invitation to His disciples, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” [1]

On this topic, Elder Ulisses Soares stated:

Notice that Elder Soares mentions that real intent means that we “intend to follow the divine direction given,” and that the revelation we receive might be “different from our own desires.” If you seek revelation and get an answer different than what you hoped for, are you willing to follow?

Let’s go a step further. I have learned that it matters not just how I ask, but what I ask. As a bishop, I learned that if I asked, “Who should the new primary president be?” I would not receive an answer to that question. Rather, I needed to follow the admonition of the Savior when He instructed Oliver Cowdery in his attempt to translate from the gold plates, “You must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right.” [3]

While God can provide revelation in different ways, for me, answers came after discussing the matter as a bishopric, then praying about each sister one at a time and asking God if Sister Jones was the right person. If we did not feel a peaceful witness or confirmation, we would subsequently pray about Sister Smith, and so on.

Revelation often comes by positive or negative feelings about a proposed course of action. Sometimes we get wrapped around the spokes with the wording in Doctrine and Covenants 9:8-9 after Oliver Cowdery struggled to have success translating: “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.” [4]

Have you ever struggled with the phrase “If it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn?” Perhaps the better phrase to focus on is “you shall feel that it is right.” President Boyd K. Packer highlighted the words feel or feeling in these verses on multiple occasions.

In verse nine, the Lord said, “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.” [5] Similarly, in this verse some trip up over the phrase “stupor of thought.” It might be easier to focus on the phrase, “you shall have no such feelings.” In other words, you won’t feel that it is right. We don’t have to overcomplicate this.

In 1959, Vince Lombardi became the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. They had just come off a losing season, winning only one game. He turned the team around in impressive fashion. Fast forward a bit. It is the first day of training camp in 1961. The Packers had just come off a winning season finishing first in the NFL West Division. The players probably expected to begin right where they left off. When they sat down Coach Lombardi held up a football and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football!” [6] Can you imagine what his players were thinking? The coach is holding up a football and telling his 38 professional players what a football is? Really?

He then proceeded to go over the fundamentals: blocking, tackling, throwing, receiving, and so forth. They had learned these basics in Pop Warner Football as children. But it was this hyperfocus on the basics that led them to win the NFL Championship that year, beating the New York Giants 37-0. Under Coach Lombardi’s leadership, the Packers won five NFL Championships. At the time, no coach was more successful than Vince Lombardi.

Today I want to share some basics about revelation: the fundamentals.

Principle #1: Revelation is communication from God

Revelation is communication from God to His children; to you. [7] Revelation comes in various ways, but let’s stick with the basics for now.

Principle #2: Revelation always comes through the Holy Ghost

Joseph Smith once stated, “The Holy Ghost is a revelator,” and “no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations.” [8]

Have you ever felt peace from the Holy Ghost? If you have, you have received revelation!

While the Holy Ghost is always involved in the revelatory process, [9] God also employs other resources such as Prophets, scriptures, patriarchal blessings, and other means to convey His will to His children.

Principle #3: God wants to communicate with you

In his inaugural general conference as our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson chose to speak on the topic of revelation. He queried, “Does God really want to speak to you?” He then answered his own question with an emphatic and enthusiastic, “Yes!” [10]

During his talk, President Nelson issued the following statement that has more recently been reemphasized by President Dallin H. Oaks: “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” [11]

Well, it sounds like we better know how to receive and recognize revelation from God if we are going to survive spiritually! Most of us know someone who has lost their testimony and are now past feeling. [12]

Principle #4: You can invite revelation from God into your life

Perhaps less quoted than the last statement from President Nelson is this statement from the same talk: “Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.” [13]

From a Prophet of God, a combination of five ways to open the windows of heaven; to receive revelation!

1. Increased purity
2. Exact obedience
3. Earnest seeking
4. Daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon
5. And regular time committed to temple and family history work.

Principle #5: Revelation comes on the Lord’s timetable

Immediately after this insight of how to receive revelation, President Nelson stated, “To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek.” [14] What a prophetic promise!

My first recollection of receiving revelation was on my baptismal day shortly after turning eight. I knew that I had done wrong things during my early years. I had not lived perfectly. On the morning of my baptism, I prayed earnestly that I would be forgiven of my wrongdoings. I also pled that I would somehow know that I had been forgiven when I was baptized. During the ordinance as I was submerged, I was overcome with peace from the Holy Ghost. It seemed to fill my entire 8-year-old frame. I knew that God had forgiven me and that I was clean. The Almighty God of Earth and heaven, indeed of worlds without number, listened to the prayers of an eight-year-old, and answered them!

Principle #6: Revelation may not always be comfortable

One of the titles of the Holy Ghost is Comforter. [15] Similarly, we often associate the word peace with the Holy Ghost. Comfort and peace are forms of revelation from God through the Holy Ghost.

But not all revelation from the Holy Ghost brings immediate peace or comfort. I can think of two categories of uncomfortable revelation. First, God will sometimes reveal something to you that you do not want to do. Abraham did not want to sacrifice his son.[16] Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah to preach. [17] Even Christ prayed that the “cup” would pass if there was some way around the impending suffering. [18]

Now for a couple of modern-day examples. Many years ago, my wife and I were asked to come to the stake center to meet with the stake president. During that interview I was called to be the bishop of a very large ward. I became emotional and tears began to flow.

My first response was something like, “Oh, president, I do not want to do that!” My response was sincere.

The stake president paused and lovingly said, “Brother Allison, of course you do not want this calling. No one should want this calling. But the Lord called you and I need to know if you will accept His will by accepting this calling.”
Although I still did not want to accept the calling, I bowed my will to the will of God.

Here is another example. Some LDS young men do not want to serve a mission. It is a big sacrifice. But what has God revealed about this matter? What counsel have prophets given regarding this matter?

Today I reaffirm strongly that the Lord has asked every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission. For Latter-day Saint young men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility… For you young and able sisters, a mission is also a powerful, but optional, opportunity. [19]

There is a second category to revelation from the Holy Ghost that is not typically communicated by a peaceful feeling. I call this type of revelation spiritual warnings. Has this happened to you? Have you ever received a warning to not go somewhere you were enroute to, or do something you were about to do, or say something you were about to say?

On at least one occasion, I believe my life was spared as a result of heeding a spiritual warning. Sometimes the warnings are not life and death matters. Suppose for example on returning to your apartment after a day of classes at BYU-Idaho, your roommates invite you to join them and watch a particular show or movie that has just begun. Immediately the Spirit prompts you to not watch that show or movie. Would you have the spiritual fortitude to politely decline the invitation? Remember, and here is another basic principle of revelation, the Spirit is never wrong. In fact, as a member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost is omniscient. [20] He knows all things and will not misdirect.
“For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record of the Father and of the Son.” [21]

I want to tell you about another learning experience I had with revelation. This experience reveals some spiritual immaturity on my part, but I gained some valuable experience and insight into receiving and following promptings from the Holy Ghost.

During my senior year in high school, at the beginning of a school assembly, the school principal introduced an army recruiter who, we were informed, would be at a certain place in the school all week to answer any questions.
As the recruiter briefly spoke, I unexpectedly received a strong spiritual prompting. I wasn’t sure what the prompting meant, but I knew it had to do with the recruiter and his brief message. A little bit of panic set in. I distinctly remember uttering a quiet prayer in my heart informing Heavenly Father that I did not want to join the military. I had other noble career plans after high school. I avoided the recruiter all week. In my mind, case closed.

In the next month, the topic of the military came up two more times. I again felt the Spirit each time. I grew up in Clearfield, Utah, next to Hill Airforce Base. I respected the members of the armed forces, but I had no desire to enlist in the military and kept explaining those feelings to God in my prayers.

So…I entered Army Basic Training three days after high school graduation at the age of 17. Through a series of events during the first week, I was given the nickname of “Mormon” for the entirety of basic training. Everyone else was Private Jones or Private Smith, but I was simply called Mormon even by the drill instructors.

This opened the door for missionary work. I took soldiers to church. I taught one soldier how to pray on the floor of the barrack’s latrine. There were so many conversations about the Church, about God, as we cleaned weapons, ate meals, and so forth. It didn’t take long to see the reason God wanted me to join the military. Basic training was not easy or fun, but God worked through me to bless others, just as He will work with and through you when you follow His revealed will.

I have held two callings that taught me a great deal about revelation. Years ago, when I was a bishop, I don’t think there was a single Sunday that I did not receive revelation for members of my ward while sitting on the stand. Often those promptings were unsolicited. In other words, I had not been praying for the revelations. For example, the Spirit would let me know that a member was in trouble with sin. On one occasion, the Spirit let me know that I should call a certain sister to be the new relief society president. I hadn’t been praying about that matter.

I am now a patriarch, and I continue to learn about revelation. There have been many sweet and sacred experiences with revelation in this calling. In neither of these callings are the revelations about me. They are always for the benefit of God’s children that I serve. Even so, it is sweet to be an instrument in the hands of God.

There is a patriarch handbook, and interestingly enough, there are no prescribed steps for receiving revelation, aside from being worthy. Even so, I feel a need to prepare for revelation for every blessing. Once a candidate is scheduled for a patriarchal blessing, I pray for and about them daily. I put their name of the temple prayer roll. I attend the temple and earnestly seek revelation in the celestial room. I have always received portions of the blessing in the celestial room. I fast on the day of the blessing.

While other patriarchs may not do the same things I do to prepare for patriarchal blessings, every patriarch I have spoken with tries to prepare for every blessing they give. It is as if they are trying to do their part to show the Lord their willingness to receive revelation. Personal preparation for revelation corresponds to the principle of asking, seeking, and knocking.

So, what are you willing to do to receive revelation in your life?

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.

“Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know.” [22]

Elder Neal A. Maxwell once stated, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!” [23]

Notes

[1] Matthew 7:7-8.

[2] Ulisses Soares, “Asking, Seeking, and Knocking: A Compassionate Pattern” (Brigham Young University devotional, Jan. 29, 2023), speeches.byu.edu.

[3] Doctrine and Covenants 9:8.

[4] Doctrine and Covenants 9:8-9.

[5] Doctrine and Covenants 9:9.

[6] Vince Lombardi, in Donald T. Phillips, Run to Win: Vince Lombardi on Coaching and Leadership, (2001), 92.

[7] Gospel Topics, “Revelation,” Gospel Library.

[8] Joseph Smith Jr., Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 132.

[9] Dallin H. Oaks, “Coming Closer to Jesus Christ” (Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 10, 2026), speeches.byu.edu.

[10] Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018.

[11] Dallin H. Oaks, “Coming Closer to Jesus Christ” (Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 10, 2026), speeches.byu.edu.

[12] See 1 Nephi 17:45.

[13] Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018.

[14] Ibid.

[15] John 14:26.

[16] Genesis 22:2.

[17] Jonah 1:2.

[18] Matthew 26:39.

[19] Russell M. Nelson, “Preaching the Gospel of Peace,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2022.

[20] Doctrine and Covenants 35:19.

[21] Doctrine and Covenants 42:17.

[22] Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018.

[23] Neal A. Maxwell, “Meek and Lowly” (Brigham Young University devotional, Oct. 21, 1986), speeches.byu.edu.

About Chris Allison

Prior to teaching religion at BYU-Idaho for 23 years, Chris Allison taught seminary and institute, trained seminary teachers, and worked at Church Headquarters developing movies for the seminary program.

Brother Allison earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s from Weber State University and is a Ph.D. candidate in curriculum design from Idaho State University.

Brother Allison retired from the Army Reserves as a Master Sergeant after 24 years of service, including time as an Airborne Jumpmaster, parachuting from airplanes and helicopters. He also worked with the Madison Fire Department as an advanced EMT and wildland firefighter.

Brother Allison served in the Quito Ecuador Mission, as a bishop, and as a counselor in a stake presidency. He currently serves as a stake patriarch.

Brother Allison loves to run, fish, and travel and has lead tours in Alaska, Central America, and Europe. He is married to his beautiful wife, Rochelle. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.