Living Prophets and Modern-day Revelation

Mormons believe that the heavens are open and God still speaks. That is one of the fundamental differences between the LDS church and other branches of Christianity. We believe in a continuous line of modern-day prophets, starting with Joseph Smith and continuing through the decades to Thomas S. Monson today. I am now realizing that I never actually put up the story of Joseph Smith on here, so I'll have to do that in a future post, but that's not what this post is about. 

As a Church with Prophets and revelation, it would be silly if we didn't take time to gather and listen to our general church leaders every once in a while. So we have what we call General Conference every 6 months. We gather to listen to the Prophet and other church leaders including Apostles and Auxiliary leaders.  (Note -- The links that I add go to more information on the word/topic on LDS.org) Come listen in next weekend if you want to. I promise that if you listen with an open heart, you will hear something that touches your soul. 

Because I have the opportunity to listen to these men and women every 6 months, I have grown to know and love them. I have my favorites, that I always look forward to hearing from, but each conference I find that some of the most powerful talks are given by leaders that I am not very familiar with yet. 

So why do we believe in modern revelation? Well, I could ramble on for a while, trying to put my understanding of it into words, or I could let you listen to one of my favorite Apostles, Elder Jeffry R. Holland explain it. In short, we have modern revelation because God still lives, He is still involved in our lives, and navigating this changing world required continuous inspiration from Him. 

So the Prophet is the only one who has the authority or right to receive revelation for the church as a whole. However, we are each entitled to seek for and receive personal revelation. I pray for personal revelation all the time. I prayed for it when I was trying to decide what college to attend, what major to choose, and if I should marry my husband. It's not like I just pray and get answers to all my questions without any consideration on my part. The link I placed back there is a talk that addresses how we can receive personal revelation. I seek personal revelation and comfort when I feel sad. I pray all the time to know how to prepare for motherhood and other changes that are coming in my life. I pray to know what educational path is right for me and my family. Our Heavenly Father is invested in us. He wants us to be happy and he will help us find the path to get there if we ask Him to. Some of that path will be personal, but some of it is not so individualized. The parts that pertain to everybody are revealed through the prophets, old and current. 

General Women's Meeting

Tonight was the General Women's Meeting of the Church. This is a new meeting that has replaced an annual General Relief Society Meeting (women ages 18 and up) in the spring and a General Young Women's Meeting (ages 12 to 18, plus mothers and leaders) in the fall. (They might have been opposite times of the year). Anyway, it is now a semi-annual meeting for all women of the church, ages 8 and up! Millions of women gathered around the world to watch it in dozens of different languages. It's pretty amazing, and the messages were beautiful.

Here is the link if you'd like to watch it for yourself. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng It's about 90 minutes total.

There were 4 speakers and a few musical numbers.

I don't know about you, but I go through periods of life when I just feel a little down. Or inadequate. Or... not quite up to par for some reason. I can't always put my finger on why I feel that way. Sometimes it's because of changes in life, and other times I think it's because I'm anticipating changes rather than enjoying the present. I dunno, but it happens. And lately I've been in one of those slumps. Probably because I'm anticipating all sorts of changes coming in the next few months, and because I don't feel like I'm doing much right now that is useful. (Not to mention the bouts of inadequacy and worry that I sometimes feel when I contemplate becoming a mother in about 5 months.)

Anyway, I've been in this slump, so I have been praying that something in this meeting and in General Conference (next weekend -- I can't wait!) will help me somehow. That someone, as they are addressing millions of members across the world, would speak directly to me. That someone would address the fears and worries and questions in my heart. Well, tonight they did. And I fully expect that I will experience it again next weekend. Miracles happen all around us.

So here are some of my thoughts on the meeting. There was a lot of focus on keeping our covenants (formal promises made to God at baptism and in the Temple) and about serving others. The very first speaker, Sister Wixom, said something like as we strive to keep our covenants our feelings of inadequacy will cease. (I took some notes, but I usually paraphrase them in my notes.) Well, there you go, Abbey. Focus on keeping your covenants better. Be more Christlike. Look for more opportunities for service. Have more charity. Be a better friend. Get to know the people around you, and instead of focusing on your own needs and wants, focus on theirs. Learn more about the words, life, and examples of Christ and His prophets by studying the scriptures harder and attending the temple.

The next speaker, Sister Oscarson, mentioned that we will always feel inadequate when we compare ourselves to others, and that it isn't Christlike to be so hard on ourselves (or others). That kind of struck me. It's not Christlike to be so hard on ourselves. I had never thought of it like that before. She also spoke about serving others. I guess it would do me good to focus on my gifts and talents, figure out what more of them are, and use them to help others.

Sister Burton spoke about being a disciple of Christ. She said the best way to strengthen a home is to keep the covenants we have made. That was a welcome reminder. Of course it's important to strengthen your home no matter what stage of life you are in, but with a little one on the way, I've been thinking more about it. How do you show your children the love that you have for Christ, and the love He has for them? How do you keep them safe from all the evil things in our society but still encourage them to go out and find the good? How do you teach them to be a force for good in the world? You keep your covenants and have faith. And pray. A lot.

President Eyring spoke last. He gave the sweet reminder that our Heavenly Father sees greater potential in us, in each of us, than we could ever imagine. We are surrounded by others that are here to help us along our path home. Before this life, we lived with our Heavenly Father, and he taught and tutored us, preparing us for the challenges that we are facing now. It is always comforting to remember that we have God on our side and that He believes in us.

So, for me the meeting was filled with a spirit of comfort and peace. I'm sure that others "heard" different messages than I did, depending on their needs. That is how personal revelation works. The Holy Ghost can speak to our hearts through the words of others, and I am so grateful for that.

Next Saturday and Sunday, there will be 4 General Conference sessions, which anyone and everyone is welcome to attend/ tune into. They start at 10am and 2pm each day (MDT). You can find various ways of listening or watching on this page here. Past conferences are also available as text, audio, or video on LDS.org. Come check it out!

And, as always, feel free to ask me anything you'd like to know about Mormons. I'd be happy to talk or put up a post on the topic.