I have written on many occasions how I have experienced the Spirit of God tell me things that I didn't know before. It's not voices in my head, (like a crazy psychotic,) but revelation that comes in many different forms.
Sometimes it is vision where I see in my mind things as they will happen, sometimes it is a burst of knowledge or inspiration that I didn't know before, sometimes it is a feeling of peace confirming the decision I made, sometimes the peace does not come after I have acted on the right decision, but it is always unmistakable confidence, light, and peace as I continue and follow the revealed truth. I am not alone, many other people receive revelation for themselves and their stewardships everyday.
Often it is called inspiration, creativity, ESP, listen to your gut, or following your heart. There are many different names for this spontaneous knowledge, but many, many people the world over recognize and act on it every day.
Revelation is available to anyone in need, but it is most accessible to those who prepare themselves by trying to live like Jesus taught and being receptive to the whisperings of the Spirit of God. This requires putting aside what our 5 senses tell us, and listen to something else inside. Most people receive promptings of the Spirit everyday, but ignore them, thinking they are their own thoughts, coincidence, or fantasy, until they realize later that it was wise counsel and they regret they failed to follow it.
The Lord restored His Priesthood in 1829 to Joseph Smith. This Priesthood gives to man the authority and ability to speak and act in the name of God, to provide the saving ordinances for mankind. It also affords the bearer insights and revelation into those for whom he is serving. and blessing.
This authority is passed from holder to recipient by the laying on of hands. I received it from my Father, who received it from another and back up the unbroken line to Christ's resurrected Apostles; Peter, James, and John, who gave it to Joseph Smith in 1829. I have also given this authority to my sons and they to their sons.
Many times revelation comes while I am giving a blessing with the Priesthood to a person. As I lay my hands on their heads to pronounce the blessing; thoughts, images, or words come into my mind relative to what the Lord wants them to know. Many times these pronouncements are expected, such as with a blessing of healing or peace. But many times, new information is shared that I didn't know and may even be contrary to the desired or expected blessing.
Rather than this power being some omnipresent force one can turn off and on like a light switch, the power or knowledge comes to you when and only when, it is needed to help another. I can not use the Priesthood to bless or heal myself. As a person prepares themselves by living more like Christ, being kind, sensitive to the needs of others, and compassionate to the trials and hardships of others, the ability to hear and respond to the opportunities to serve with the Priesthood becomes more and more clear and apparent.
Here are some examples of revelation. in my personal life that are unmistakable and very dear to me..
Back Surgery
Recently, my wife, Laurie, was scheduled for some major back surgery. She had had a back fusion 4 years previous, so we knew what was involved and what to expect. As normal, before she went to the hospital, I gave her a priesthood blessing.
Usually blessings of this nature consist of promises that things will go well, the doctors will be blessed to perform the surgery properly, and the person will have a speedy and full recovery. This is what the blessing was like 4 years ago for her previous surgery. The person giving the blessing tries to not say what they want to say, but what the Spirit of the Lord instructs them to say.
This time, the blessing contained all the previous messages, but I also felt to say that even though everything would go well, the doctors would be able to deal with the complications that would follow and she would be surprised at how quickly she recovered. Complications was not something I wanted to give to my wife.
As promised, the operation went very smoothly and the doctor was pleased with the outcome. The surgery was on Wednesday, and we expected to go home on Friday or Saturday.
When Friday arrived, she was having trouble weaning off the supplemental oxygen and still keep her O2 levels above 90%. That afternoon when it still wasn't improving, and she began to have a pain in her chest when breathing deeply, Laurie was taken for a CT scan, as they were worried about blood clots.
The CT scan showed that part of her right lung had collapsed, preventing her from taking in enough air and oxygen. Physical therapy was employed to try and correct the problem.
Then on Saturday, when we were sure we would go home, her blood pressure spiked to 201/168. Now everyone was excited. The entire day was spent administering different drugs of different doses to bring down her blood pressure. By mid afternoon, they felt comfortable that it had come down and remained in the 150's.
Then Sunday morning we were again expecting to leave, only to find that she had a terrific headache and now concerns of a stroke from the previous high blood pressure occupied all the nurses and doctors. She was wheeled off for a CT scan of her head to rule out a stroke or potential stoke. But fortunately, the scan was negative.
So, Monday morning dawned and we didn't know what to expect. The doctor came in and said that before anything else went wrong, they wanted to send us home. As soon as they took her off all the machines and monitors, she began to feel better and an hour later she was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed and ready to head home.
Now after a few weeks at home, the physical therapist told her that structurally, she was weeks ahead of most back patients he has seen. We have still had other complications, such as intense nerve damage pain as the nerves begin to heal and a fall which bruised everything except her back, but we are confident that as promised, all things will eventually heal properly and she will be fully functional.
A Ruptured Aneurysm
In March of 2002, Laurie had gone upstairs to take a bath before we retired for the night, while I finished working on the room we were remodeling in the basement. A short time later, I heard her bang on the floor, so I rushed up stairs to see what the problem was. She said she just suddenly had the worst headache of her life and didn't know what to do. I told her I would take her to the hospital right then, but she said, "No", because the pain was so intense, she couldn't imagine riding a car. She wouldn't even let me touch her for fear of increased pain. She insisted on going to bed.
The next morning, the headache had subsided a tiny bit, but since it was still raging, she let me take her to the clinic. The doctor recommended a CT scan, so we went to the hospital for the scan. Twenty minutes after the scan, I had a doctor tell me that she had a ruptured aneurysm and would be life-flighted to a nearby neuro-trauma hospital. The next thing we knew, we were in an isolated wing of the hospital, lights turned down low, with a personal nurse parked at a desk outside our door waiting for the helicopter.
I had no idea what an aneurysm was or what it mean't when it ruptured, so I asked. An aneurysm is a bubble on a blood vessel and when it ruptures, blood flows into the body. It is a serious issue. When it is in the brain, it is even more dangerous because blood on the outside of the brain is caustic and actually burns and destroys cells. Brain surgery to clip off the bleeder and evacuate the blood, is the only way to fix the problem.
I later learned that 50% of people with a ruptured aneurysm die before they reach the hospital, half of those who make it to the hospital are dead in 30 days, and the rest who actually live, have stroke-like symptoms of paralysis, as well as memory or speech loss.
As the helicopter arrived, one of the male nurses helped me anoint and bless my wife. In the blessing I told her that she didn't need to fear, that everything would be okay. The doctors would know what to do and she would make a complete recovery. She was also promised that she and everyone else, would be amazed at how rapid her recovery would be.
She was transported, the surgery was completed, and her recovery proceeded. Usually this procedure required a 6 hour surgery but the doctor said everything went so smoothly that he did it in 4 hours. The patient usually stays in the neuro-ICU for 3 weeks and then another 4-6 weeks in the neuro unit. She was 1 week in ICU and released from the hospital 2 weeks later. Her recovery went so quickly and smoothly, that 6 months later when her mother fell and also needed brain surgery, Laurie was able to be her primary caregiver as she lived in our home, a task that brought innumerable blessings to our lives.
Every blessing given her happened better than we could have ever assumed and everyone was amazed.
Stolen Car
Shortly after the ruptured aneurysm experience, we decided to sell our car and posted it on Craigslist. A nice lady in her 20's wanted to buy it and we felt good about selling it to her. She paid with a check for $9,000, which I deposited the next day, but didn't realize until nearly a week later that it bounced and the whole thing was a scam. Boy, did I feel totally stupid!!!
So, I wrote a ad on Craigslist, "To The Woman Who Stole Our Car," expressing our sadness at her deception and hoping she would repent and turn her life around.
My wife was so distraught, that she asked for a blessing. In the blessing the Lord told her that she needn't fear because He was handling everything and we would be astonished at how well everything would turn out. That was a shocker to us, they had just stolen our car.
Two weeks later, a man rang our doorbell and told me he thought he had something that was mine. I had no idea what he was talking about. He told me that 2 weeks earlier, his friend wanted to buy a car that was listed on Craigslist, but he didn't have the cash right then. This man on my porch loaned his friend $9,000 to buy the car, with the understanding that he would pay him back.
Then a few days later, he noticed my post on Craigslist, "To The Woman Who Stole Our Car." This sounded very strange to him, so he checked the registration of the car and found that my name was listed and I lived a block from his home. He realized that he had been an unwitting party to the scam and felt terrible.
He came over and gave me back my car. I offered to pay him for the car, or at least split the cost, but he refused and said it was the cost of his education in life.
So, we were truly astonished as how things turned out.
Indian Placement Child
In the 1950's to 1990's, the Latter-Day Saint Church was helping the Native American children on the Reservations gain an education and learn better how to cope in the world. This was known as the Indian Placement Program. Native American children who who were members of the Church, could come to Utah or Idaho and live with a member family for the school year and return for the summer to their home. They would attend school, church, and all other activities with the family as though they were one of their own children. It was a foster care situation done with the consent and permission of the parents. Some children participated a year or two, others continued until they graduated from high school, and some even went on to college.
In the 1980's, my wife and I had discussed participating in the program, but I had just lost my job and things were tight raising our other 5 children. One day, the Bishop of the our local congregation, called us in and asked if we would be willing to participate. We said we would, but didn't have the resources to make it happen. He told us that he had wanted to do it, but his wife was not interested. If we were willing, he would donate $200 per month to help defray expenses. He encouraged us to ponder and pray about it and see what the Lord wanted us to do.
We spent several days discussing and praying about it but still weren't convinced we could do it.
That next Sunday in Church, the speakers were a couple that had been involved in the Indian Placement Program for decades. They testified of the tremendous good that had come to their family, along with the good that came to these Indian children as they attended school regularly, graduated, and returned to their homes to be productive citizens with their own people. Our hearts were touched so much, that as I looked at my wife, tears were streaming down both our faces and we knew for sure this is what we should do.
We called the Bishop that night and told him we would be willing to make it work. He told us he just heard that a child had dropped out of the program and there wasn't a child for us to take. We were devastated. We had received one of the most powerful witnesses of the truth of this decision and now it wasn't going to happen. We had a lot of questions in our minds.
Then, a week later, just a few days before the children were to arrive, the Bishop called us again and told us that one of the families had decided to drop out and there was an 8 year-old boy available, if we still wanted to do it. Of, course we said, "Yes".
The irony is that the family who dropped out had just lost their job and didn't have the faith or testimony that the Lord would help them succeed.
So we shared our home for a year and a half with this young boy. He was a tremendous opportunity for all of our family and we loved him so much. We all grew so much from the experience.
Once again, the Lord came through exactly as He said He would and our lives were blessed.
Conclusion for Me
These are just 4 examples of the Lord's goodness to us. These experiences, along with dozens and dozens of others, have given us the sure witness that the Lord hears and answers prayers and blessings. He also gives us revelation and insights into the future so we are prepared emotionally, physically, and spiritually for what will happen.
Coincidence is when something unexpectedly lines up with another thing. When it happens dozens and dozens of time, it is no longer coincidence. Someone is guiding and directing the actions.
There are times when things did not go as we thought they would, that's most of the time, but eventually they did occur as He said or we are confident they still will.
Too many times people don't understand that timing is relative to everyone, including the Lord. When a child is 4, soon to them means in the next 5 minutes. When they are a teenager, they realize that soon may be a few days or a week. When we mature, we learn that soon can be months or years. In geology, soon can mean hundreds or thousands or millions of years. Soon is short time relative to a longer time.
Assuming that our time table is the same as the Lord's always portends disappointment. Patience is required to see the fruition of the Lord's hand in our lives.
I know and testify in the name of Jesus Christ, that God is there, that He loves us, and He directs our lives so we can become the best people possible, eventually become like Him, and return to live with Him.
