Ever since President Russell M. Nelson urged us “to increase [our] spiritual capacity to receive revelation,” many of us have worked hard to hear and recognize the voice of God. (See “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” General Conference, April 2018.)
Nephi promised that if you receive the Holy Ghost, “it will show unto you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:5). Moroni added, “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). It sounds like a pretty comprehensive gift.
On the other hand, Nephi’s brother Jacob urges us to “be wise” (Jacob 6:12), which suggests that in many cases, we already know and simply need to align our actions with our understanding.
In August 1831, on the banks of the Missouri River, God combined these two concepts into a single admonition to a group of church leaders traveling home to Ohio. After giving them some instruction, he pointed out that they would have to make some decisions on their own, such as their mode of travel. He then said:
These things remain with you to do according to judgment and the directions of the Spirit.
Doctrine and Covenants 62:8
I often find that these two elements — reason and revelation — are fused together in my decision-making process. I love dramatic stories about people receiving messages from God which defied common sense yet proved to be correct, but these are the exception, not the rule. Most of the time, the personal guidance we receive from God integrates pretty effectively with our own experience and wisdom. The Spirit of the Lord may suggest new ideas, or it may help me see things in a new light, but these new ideas and interpretations usually make sense to me, they are generally consistent with my own wisdom and experience.
God’s ways are higher than our ways, but He instructs us “line upon line,” reasoning with us according to our understanding. His goal is to help us learn to make wiser decisions, not to turn us into simple order-takers. (See Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 29:13, 2 Nephi 28:30-31, Isaiah 1:18.)
In practice, reason and revelation interact non-linearly in my decision-making process. I may begin to think through a problem, perhaps identifying multiple possible solutions. I may be guided to reliable sources of information which shed light on the decision. When a course of action doesn’t feel right, I may think it through more carefully, seeking to understand why a different option would be better. The outcome of the process is not only a wise decision, but hopefully a wiser me.
Today, I will make decisions “according to judgment and the direction of the Spirit.” I will evaluate promptings I receive against my own understanding, both to ensure that it really is the voice of God and to learn from the guidance I am receiving.
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