I'm getting different answers for the same question??

[hellolove]

So I think I had posted something about personal revelation awhile ago and I was satisfied with the feedback that I had gotten because it did answer my question. Then I read a bit of the talk by Elder Lund: Personal Revelation: Receiving and Responding to the Voice of the Lord. Now I'm somewhat confused again. I realize that being worthy is a HUGE part of how in tune you are with the spirit and that by being in tune you will be able to hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost. So Elder Lund was saying how IF you are worthy only then you will be able to receive revelation for yourself and you won't be mislead. So I understand this and understand the reasoning for this. My question is that I think the people who have made wrong choices and have been mislead in their lives are the ones that need personal revelation the most. I am one of them. I understand that it's because of our actions that we make the barrier between us and our Heavenly Father. So how are we able to get back on track with our lives with Heavenly Father being farther away from us?

[Spartan117]

So how are we able to get back on track with our lives with Heavenly Father being farther away from us?

That's kind of the point. The yoke of Christ is easy. The demands placed on us from Heavenly Father are very simple, we just have this inherent ability to mess it up . Especially since we all suck.

Being "worthy" can be a touchy subject for people. I am one of the most imperfect people you will ever meet and I have had some moments through out my short time in the church where I've found myself calling my bishop because I made a mistake and didn't know what to do. I've had a Sunday or two where I was instructed not to take the sacrament that day. And I have felt the spirit withdraw because of how I have acted in the past.

Now, if you're looking up talks by general authorities about personal revelation I'm going to assume you have a pretty good handle on how the church works and what is taught. You certainly can offend the Spirit of the Lord and feel distanced from our Father in Heaven, but we feel that sadness and emptiness for a reason. Our whole point here during our probation is to hopefully end up back in the presence of God the Father, right? Well he's already told us what we must do to make that happen. He's made that information available to anyone who has ears to hear. So I think you already know the answer to your question. If you want to have that communion with the spirit more frequently in your life, follow the commandments. Go to church. Pray. Read your scriptures daily. If you have a worthiness issue, talk to your bishop tomorrow. He made the requirements very simple, as a mercy to people like me no doubt. When the Lord is grieved, we've left Him no choice but pull away from us. You don't need an increase of personal revelation to understand how this works.

D&C 1

31: For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;

32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;

33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.

You don't get an increased measure of the spirit in your life through sin. He will be as much a part of our daily lives as we will allow Him to be.

Edited August 13, 2011 by Spartan117

[MsMagnolia]

So how are we able to get back on track with our lives with Heavenly Father being farther away from us?[/QUOTE]

Heavenly Father is never far away from us. We move ourselves away from his influence so we have the power to move ourselves back. Since none of us are perfect we have to stick to the basics of the Gospel to receive personal revelation. Sincere prayer, scriputre study (note I said study not reading), attending church meetings. A person makes themselves worthy to receive personal revelation in the same manner that we make ourselves worthy for the presence of the spirit in our lives because personal revelation comes through the spirit. Everyone makes mistakes. My father always told me "it doesn't matter how many times you fall down, as long as you get up one more time than you fall down". I know that this has been true for me in my life. It is ok to have questions and not have the answers right then. It sounds like you have already received some personal revelation in your life because you are already starting to change your heart. Keep asking, keep praying, keep trying.

Just my thoughts,

Mags

[estradling75]

If one needed to be worthy to receive revelations. Then no one would ever get their foot in the door to receive the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, or any other foundational truths that we are expected to build our testimony on. After all how can you have faith in Christ (which is a worthiness issue) unless you have something to work with.

It might help your understanding if you don't view worthiness as a binary on or off state, but more like a ladder you can move up or down. The President of the Church is a man with typical human shortcomings that he works to over come yet he is worthy to receive revelations for the whole world. Someone investigating the church with just a bit of effort can be worthy to receive a revelation that the Book of Mormon is true. Both are worthy for what they get, but both are in wildly different places.

Consider the scripture that says to whom much is given much is required. I believe it does also apply to worthiness and revelation. God will give you a little then sees what you do with it. If you embrace it and live up to it then you are 'worthy' to receive more. If you don't well then you are not listening and no more new stuff will come until you live up to it. (He might repeat the old one)

So when the Leaders are saying that you need to be worthy to receive revelation it is being worthy up to what you have been given. Now in the case of stumbling into sin yeah that stops the progress and even drops you back a bit. Its bad, no doubt. But to be worthy to receive help overcoming sin we only need to be sincerely trying to over come it and to ask in prayer. That means its always possible to get help from God if you want it.

[ZorabelMay]

I was once also a 'wanderer", mislead at some point of my life, the Holy Ghost has been there but I have taken him for granted and never even listen to its promptings.

Yes, I agree that only if you are worthy, will the Holy Ghost and us be in tuned.

I don't know if this is true to you but, I have come back to Heavenly Father through the Adversities and trials he gives us. In such a way, we will be chastened and humble ourselves to ask for the guidance and Holy Ghost and then receive a personal revelations.

yes. 3 Nephi 9:20

[NoGreaterLove]

The Holy Ghost can not dwell in unholy temples. So what does that boil down to? It boils down to this. Christ is quick to forgive and the Holy Ghost is quick to wash you clean so he can dwell within you. Service is the quickest way to receive forgiveness. Reading scriptures also helps in the purification process.

So you are always one step away from receiving revelation from God. That step is repentance.

[Gwen]

When we talk about being worthy I think we often think that is always defined the same way. For example, what is required to be worthy to enter the temple is the same as what is required to be worthy to receive revelation. That isn't the case. Worthy to be baptized isn't the same as what it takes to be worthy to enter the temple. Revelation is the same way.

From my experience what it takes to be worthy of personal revelation is simply being open to it, asking, willing to listen, with a heart that will follow that revelation.

So if you sit down after a night of drinking and sarcastically say "ok god, are you there? is the book of mormon inspired?" You probably won't get an answer. You are not worthy of that revelation. Not because you were drinking but because you didn't really want an answer. You didn't intend to follow if the answer came.

However there have been times when in the midst of trial I became angry with the lord. My prayers were not kind. I was hurt and angry and feeling lost and alone. I blamed god and I wasn't holding that fact back. But they were genuine, I was truly speaking to god, I was desiring an answer, I was willing to follow if I got one. It was real and he answered me. I did receive revelation even though many may say I was not "worthy".

Matt. 7:

7 ¶aAsk, and it shall be bgiven you; cseek, and ye shall find; dknock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that aseeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask abread, will he give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then, abeing evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

The only requirement given by the lord to get that answer is to seek, ask, knock. Be genuine and you are worthy of that answer.

I find the comparison of parent and child pertinent as well. As parents we want to give good gifts, we want to spare our children from pain but sometimes they push us away. I am currently in that situation with my stepson. For various reasons (no offense on our part) he has pushed us away. He is going through some very hard things right now and we can't help him. He won't let us, he won't tell us what's going on, he won't answer our questions. We have the ability to make this trial go away for him but he won't give us the chance. So all we can do is wait. When he asks we will be there with open arms. He could call at 2 am and I'd get in the car and make the hour drive to get him. But until he calls my hands are tied, he tied them. We are like that with our heavenly father. He wants to be there. We don't have to get life in perfect order to turn to him. He's waiting anxiously to help us, we have lose his hands and let him.

If you desire to come unto christ you are worthy of personal revelation.

[NoGreaterLove]

This scripture helps me to understand what it takes to receive revelation.

Helaman 4:24

24 And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—

[mrmarklin]

Remember this:

You don't need to be perfect. Your sins are forgiven every time you take the sacrament, if done with the right spirit. We are all saved by grace, after all we can do.

The Holy Ghost is always available, just like the radio waves that are around you right now. All you have to do is tune in.

[tubaloth]

Like others have said, it seems you are thinking that you have to reach a certain level of worthiness to receive revelation. Like if you aren't 20% keeping the commandments, then you don't receive any Holy Ghost. Or the Holy Ghost will only come once you are 50% worthy.

That is all not true. Like I think we described before there are two ways the Holy Ghost comes to us. Before we are baptized the Holy Ghost (with the help of the Light of Christ) prompts us towards the truth. The Holy Ghost does not stay with people before they are baptized but Revelation still comes in smaller form. After one has Faith, Repents and is baptized, they get the gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.

Now when people fall back, the same process is still in effect. You can still gain promptings from the Holy Ghost, but if one isn't worthy the Holy Ghost will not stay with that person. But as you have Faith, Repent, and partake of the Sacrament (renew your baptismal covenant), then you gain the Holy Ghost back into your life.

The key is repentance. We probably should be talking about those steps more than steps of getting the Holy Ghost. When somebody is truly repenting then the spirit does come back.

It should be the lack of the Holy Ghost which prompts people to realize they are headed in the wrong direction, or realize they have made the wrong choice.