26 January 2014

It is me, or is it the Spirit? (In re No. 5)

Good morning,

In an effort to resume my "In re" series of posts (it's been a busy week or so!), I will start off relatively small.  One of the questions or concerns that came up was regarding whether it is possible to receive personal revelation, or more specifically, whether something was revelation or one's own thoughts.  When I saw the following item, that struck a chord with me, and I thought I would share it--

Mormon Messages: Patterns of Light: Discerning Light

I don't claim or assert that this would answer all of the underlying questions or concerns, but I think this would be a good starting point for further discussion. 

Thanks,
Sandy

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This video actually causes more questions. Elder Bednar says “People will sometimes question whether it’s inspiration or if it’s my own thought. We have to act and then we find out if it’s coming from me or it’s the power of God.”

This statement doesn't actually answer the question you asked in the title of this post. (I assume you meant the title to say Is it me, or is it the spirit?)

He says you can only answer that question by the result that occurs. The example is about not saying your prayers and then hearing a voice that says to remember to say them. What if that voice said not to say them? What if by saying them, that person came to a red light just in time to be in an accident? What if not saying them that person missed that accident?

The question isn't really supposed to be asked about actions in the past. It is supposed to be used to determine what to do in the present. To determine one choice over another now, not yesterday's. It's not much use to determine if you followed the spirit yesterday, you want to know if you should follow that 'still small voice' you hear now.