Know The 3 Voices

Revelation is the language of the Lord. The prophet Mormon councils us strongly to believe in revelation (3 Nephi 29:6-7; Mormon 9:7-9).  Revelation is also the means by which we are led, guided and directed on our own unique journey to Christ.  If a person cannot learn to discern among the 3 voices of eternity they will not be able to receive what the Lord has in store for them.  This is the purpose of The 3 Voices of Personal Revelation Study Guide–to help a person increase their gift of revelation and develop their gift of discernment among the 3 voices.  This collection of blog posts entitled “Know the 3 Voices” are only supplements to that study guide and other relevant topics.

A Physical Stir

In another post, I have tried to help overcome the false tradition of relying on “feelings” alone for pure revelation.  Due to a recent conversation with someone, I felt directed by the Lord to update some things in The 3 Voices of Personal Revelation Study Guide to help add even more clarity:

The Mind

Revelation (words) in the mind are information thoughts in the form of Yes/No, Words, Phrases, Sentences, Dialogues, etc.  Revelation in one’s mind can come from any of the 3 voices. This is why it is so important to discern the source of thoughts in the mind. Revelation from voices of light is pure revelation and pure truth (information) from the source of all truth–God!  What a beautiful thing!

The scriptures are full of examples of either the Lord or one of His servants admonishing all people to hearken, hear or obey the words of the Lord.  A few examples include (search the scriptures for more):

(2 Nephi 5:25)  “And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to astir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.”

(3 Nephi 23:5)  “And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things.”

(3 Nephi 21:22)  “But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;”

(2 Nephi 31:20)  “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”

(2 Nephi 32:3)  “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”

The “Recognizable” Stir

Revelation (light) in the heart (feeling) is a confirmation resource like an on/off switch or channel tuner.  The “feelings” will be in your body and even specifically in your chest or “bosom”, as the scriptures say.  These distinct feelings should have some sort of a “stir” or “impression” upon your physical body. The light within your spirit is what causes this stir or impression within your physical body.  Those feelings might consist of:

• Fruits of light–peace, love, humility, etc. even to the point of “tingles” or a washing.  (This is something that my wife experiences more so than I do.)
• Burning or aching in your heart;  Even a “piercing” feeling in my heart (3 Ne. 11:3; Helaman 5:30) or specifically upward of my left breast (This one is my personal experience and a very distinct feeling for me).
• Filling-up, growing, enlarging of your chest (Personally, I experience this one simultaneous to a burning or aching in my heart.  The two together are my favorite.)
• Potentially others…I want to keep an open mind that there may be others that are unique to you but these are ones I personally identify with because they are accounted for in scripture.  If you identify another, just make sure it is of God by praying for more understanding and get your own witness of its source.

Does the “ache” really hurt?  For me, the ache can feel like it is hurting but it is still different from what I think a heart attack might feel like.  It is more “filling” and “enlarging” in a positive way rather than just a painful ache.  It’s also not a fearful ache or sad ache like you might have at a funeral of a loved one.  So it’s not like a true painful ache. However, it is very obvious and it is obvious for a reason.  The point is that it should be recognizable and even obvious to some degree.  Consider Moroni’s words:

“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 daylight is from the dark night” –Moroni 7:15

Keep in mind that the level or degree of stir or impression can vary depending on the sensitivity of your body.  Your body is also a “veil”.  If you don’t have a very strong connection at a given moment for whatever reason the the ability to recognize or distinguish the stir/impression will vary to one degree or another.  It is in those situations that you can clear your mind from other thoughts, even ask for a protected conversation with the Lord or whatever you are directed to do so that your mind can dial-in to the physical sensations that are actually taking place and may not realize it.

When you are experience these “feelings” it is a sign to your own spirit.  It is as if the Lord is saying, “Good news, your mind is tuned to my channel and you are prepared to receive words in your mind from me.”  One must also practice comprehending or interpreting even the feeling in one’s heart and soul.

Notice the relationship between the words of the Lord and the feelings in one’s heart as Alma delivers the powerful sermon on “the word” of the Lord being a seed (Alma 32):

26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words [personal revelation]. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties [your mind], even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord [resist the words in your mind], behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

Do not fear getting this wrong as it could cripple you from making decisions. So long as you are making the habit of taking time to learn from your interactions even misinterpreting the voices in our mind or misinterpreting the feelings in your heart can be teaching experiences from the Lord and learning and refining experiences for you. Remember you are developing a relationship and there is much to learn in relationships.

Practice, practice, practice.  Do this in your personal “holy time” as much as you can to develop your own gift of discernment.

Please take all my personal descriptions and comments to the Lord for more understanding and clarity for how it relates to you.

A lot more content explanation are available here in the entire section (Two or More Witnesses:  The Mind & The Heart) within The 3 Voices of Personal Revelation Study Guide.

 

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