The Reaffirmation of the Word
in Our Hearts
Every man is supposed to be a
prophet for himself. Every head "Great shall be their reward and eternal
shall This reaffirmation is what brings this subject down to us as individuals.
of a house should be the revelator for his family. Joseph Smith said these
glorious words as he talked about the Second Comforter. "God hath not
revealed anything to Joseph, but what he will make known to the Twelve, and
even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear
them." (HC, 3:380.) The initial verses, in section 76, announce this
glorious concept: "Thus saith the Lord -- I, the Lord, am merciful and
gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in
righteousness and in truth unto the end." (D&C 76:5) We are not talking
now about apostles and prophets alone, we are talking about the whole body of
faithful members. be their glory. And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea,
all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come,
will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things
pertaining to my kingdom. Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know,
and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations. And
their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and
before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the
prudent shall come to naught. For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my
power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will -- yea, even those
things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of
man." (D&C 76:6-10)
Those words introduce the vision
that the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon received of the three degrees of glory. When
the vision had been duly recorded, and while the Spirit still rested upon them,
by way of conclusion and summary the Prophet wrote: "But great and
marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his Kingdom which he
showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in
dominion." (D&C 76:114) Such things could not be written. They cannot
be written because they can only be understood and felt. They do not come
through the intellect. They come through the power of the Spirit. They are
things, "Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in
the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter; Neither is man capable to make
them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the
Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves
before him; To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for
themselves; That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in
the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory. And to
God and the Lamb be glory, and honor, and dominion forever and ever."
(D&C 76:115-119)
The reaffirmation of the word
through us is such a glorious thing that we do not have words to express it. We
cannot explain the wonder and the marvel of living in a day when God has sent a
revealer to speak his word to the whole world, and when he sent supplemental
prophets to echo the message and proclaim the truth and get as much into the
hearts of men as they are able to receive. "This generation shall have my
word through you." (See D&C 5:10) Joseph Smith has given the word, and
we echo the message, and a great part of the message is that every one of us,
for God is no respecter of persons, and every soul is equally precious, every
one of us has power to get in tune with the Holy Spirit and begin, degree by
degree and revelation by revelation and concept by concept, to learn personally
what the prophet receives. There is going to be a day -- it is millennial, the
ancient prophets (Jeremiah for one) foretold it -- "when no man need say
to his neighbor, know ye the Lord; for all shall know him from the least to the
greatest." (HC, 3:380.) The Prophet Joseph Smith said that this promise
has reference to personal revelation, to a visitation of the Lord to an
individual. It is within our capability, if we adhere as we ought to the
standards of righteousness that we have received, to have a total, complete
reaffirmation of the word to us, the word the Lord gave first through Joseph
Smith. We begin to get that reaffirmation when we get in our hearts the spirit
of testimony and the Holy Spirit of God tells us the work is true. The Holy
Spirit of God tells us that the Book of Mormon is true and that the Doctrine
and Covenants is true; and we, therefore, know that this vision of the degrees
of glory is the mind and will and voice of the Lord to the world. That is the
beginning. What I am saying is that the ultimate end of spiritual progression
is, not only to know that the revelations are true, but to see visions and feel
the Spirit and get the added light and knowledge which it is not lawful to
utter and which was not recorded in the revealed record. What a glorious
dispensation we live in. We live in a day when the Lord desires to confirm his
word in the hearts of all who will heed his voice, and it is our privilege so
to obtain. (Bruce R. McConkie, “This Generation Shall Have My Word Through You,”
in Seventh Annual Sydney B. Sperry Symposium: The Doctrine and Covenants
[Brigham Young University Religious Instruction, January 27, 1979], 25-26 [unpublished
manuscript])