The Gift of Revelation

"And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land. ¶

"And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters. ¶

"And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the, seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles, and were smitten. ¶

"And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, that they did prosper, and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceeding fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain. ¶

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity, did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them; ¶

"And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them; ¶

"And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle. ¶

"And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations." ¶

WE BELIEVE IN REVELATION. ¶

The Church, in its very incipiency, declared to the world, among other fundamental doctrines of its creed or belief, that it believed all that God had revealed, all that he does now reveal, and that he would yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Revelation is the revealing or making known that which was not previously known or understood. The Church has always claimed that gift. It is indispensable. It must exist in the Church. ¶

REVELATION BELONGS TO EVERY MEMBER OF THE CHURCH. ¶

It belongs to every member of it. The Lord has declared, in this same book from which I have read, that when the doctrines which are ¶

contained in the book are made known to the peoples of the world the truth of its contents shall be manifest by the gift of the Holy Ghost to all of those who seek God in faith with a desire to know the truth. ¶

BUT IN AFFAIRS PERTAINING TO THE CHURCH, AT LARGE, THE KEYS ARE WITH ONE MAN ONLY THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH. ¶

So that revelation, the gift of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, who manifests the truth and leads us into it, is given to all of the members of the Church, but in affairs which refer to the Church at large, its doctrines, its policies, its purposes, the keys remain with the man who has been chosen, whom we have sustained here, by our vote, to occupy that special calling and to speak in the name of the Lord for the Church at large, and revelations for the benefit of the Church, its government, its doctrine, must be so confined. They will never come through emotional women; they will never come through men whose right it is not, and never has been, to receive them. That is what we mean when we say that the key of authority vests in and belongs to the president of the Church. It has no application to other people. It applies only to the Church. ¶

MANY NOTED CHARACTERS OF HISTORY HAVE RECEIVED REVELATIONS. ¶

The doctrines of the Church just as fully recognize that from the beginning of time God's Spirit has striven with man and his will has often been revealed to man, just as this scripture which I have read declares that it was revealed to Columbus, who was the discoverer of this country. That fact is as fundamentally a part of the faith of the Latter-day Saints as is any other doctrine. The Church has always believed and taught that those men who came to America, guided by God our Father, inspired by him, men who sought asylum where they might worship God according to the dictates of their conscience, did come moved upon by his Spirit and his revealed will to them, that they were so established here, that they were so protected, and that it is because of the inspiration of God which has come to men that we live today under the constitution which forms the fundamental law of this government. The thought that this gift should be enjoyed by us and by us alone has never been a part of our faith. ¶

Let me read here, but let me go back just for a moment before reading. We believe, and it is a part of the doctrine which we have always taught, that those men who in early days broke away from the mother Church, which had degenerated until all kinds of wickedness were permitted to be committed in its name through license and written permission given by the bulls of the Pope, against which Luther protested, against which he stood firmly when his very life was at stake as he stood there before the Diet of Worms and declared that except he be convinced by reason and by the scripture, ¶

he could not retract anything -- acted under the inspiration of God. It was the power and Spirit of God which prompted the man to begin the opening of a better and greater dispensation. We believe that John Wycliffe, whose body was burned and the ashes of it scattered upon a river of England that it might float down to the sea and be obliterated, was raised up of the Lord to publish the Bible and make it, as he said, so common that the plow boy in the field would understand it as well as the Pope. He gave his life for it. God inspired him to do it. He inspired Tyndale, burned at the stake because he dared to raise his voice in defense of the simple truths contained in the scripture. The Lord was with him. The spirit of revelation was upon him. It marked and blazed the way which we have followed after. Now, that is the doctrine of the Church. Let me read here briefly again from the Book of Mormon: ¶

"Behold, that which is of God, inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. ¶

"Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God, to be of the devil. ¶

"For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the day-light is from the dark night. ¶

"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that they may know good from evil; wherefore, I shew unto you the way to judge: for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God, ¶

"But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Chi-ist, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him." ¶

WE WISH GODSPEED TO GOOD MEN AND WOMEN EVERYWHERE. ¶

It appears to me, my brethren and sisters, that this doctrine is made so plain in the scripture which I have read that there need be no doubt regarding it. I only wish to say to good men and women everywhere that we pray for them and wish them Godspeed and cooperate with them and bless them in every effort which they put forth for the accomplishment of that which is good, that which will uplift, that which will enlighten, that which will make better the lives of men and women, that which will draw men towards Christ, who is the Redeemer of the world, and away from the influences of the evil one, which are so dominant in the world today. ¶

THE CHURCH DICTATES NO CREED OR POLICY TO ANY OTHER BODY. ¶

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never assumed nor desired to dictate the creed or the policy of any other religious denomination. We grant to our fellow workers who stand and speak in the name of the Lord, the right to receive the inspiration of his Spirit for the control and government of their own congregation; and if they lack that, if there is a church in which the man chosen to represent it is not endowed with the spirit of revelation that he may communicate it to his congregation and thus lead them in the way of the Lord, woe be unto them; they need to seek after it and get it, for only by the inspiration of that Spirit can the will of the Lord be done. So we stand here not to restrain, not to withhold support, help, or blessing, from any man or woman under heaven who is seeking to do the will of God and bring other people to do it. The Lord bless them, and bless us and help us to understand that this right does belong to the Church and it cannot be taken from it, for without it, confusion and dissolution would immediately occur. ¶

THE SHEEP KNOW THE VOICE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the blessings of this conference. I felt that I would like to say just this much before its conclusion. I pray that you may understand the spirit and meaning in which I say it, as I believe you do. I have been just as thoroughly converted to this truth all my life as to any other, that I cannot stand before a congregation of Latter-day Saints and declare that which is not true and in harmony with the will of the Lord and make them believe it. The sheep know the voice of the good Shepherd, and a stranger they will not follow. Cultivate the spirit of revelation, every one of you; plead with the Lord for greater endowment of his Spirit. That it may direct us in the walks of life and help us to live in harmony with the plan which he has given us in the organization of the Church, is my prayer for us all, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶