Gramps,

Chad Daybell is in solitary confinement until he breathes his last breath.  He claimed voices that talked to him were dead ancestors. He used them to manipulate his family, justifying an affair.  He used control to get his wife to do family history and move to Rexburg. Seems like the spirit is nothing like what the voices told him. We see what happened to him now. Innocent lives were lost due to his evil.

Do people receive revelation from ancestors?

Spencer

Answer

Spencer,

The concept of ancestral revelation is deeply rooted in the Church’s emphasis on family history and eternal relationships. Members engage in genealogical work, performing proxy baptisms for their deceased ancestors, believing that these ordinances offer salvation opportunities for those who have passed away without the chance to accept the gospel in this life. This practice underscores a commitment to connecting families across generations, reflecting the Church’s teachings on eternal families.

At the heart of ancestral revelation lies the belief in a spirit world where the spirits of the departed reside. The Church teaches that this realm is a place of continued progression and communication. Scriptures within the Church, such as Doctrine and Covenants, affirm that the dead can hear and respond to revelations and prayers made on their behalf. This theological framework provides the basis for members to believe that their ancestors can offer guidance, comfort, and confirmation of the Church’s truth.

While official Church doctrine provides the foundation, personal experiences of revelation from ancestors vary widely among members. These experiences often manifest as profound feelings of peace, joy, or a sense of divine confirmation rather than tangible visions or apparitions.

Many members describe receiving subtle spiritual impressions during temple worship or personal prayer. These impressions may come as a deep sense of assurance, inner prompts, or a heightened awareness of divine presence. Unlike dramatic paranormal events, these experiences are characterized by their gentle and affirming nature, reinforcing the individual’s faith and commitment.

Some individuals recount moments of feeling a strong connection to their ancestors, especially during or after performing proxy ordinances. These connections are often accompanied by a serene sense of love and unity, suggesting a spiritual acknowledgment of the work being done on behalf of their forebears. Such experiences, while deeply meaningful, are personal and may not be universally felt among all members.

Officially, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains a cautious stance regarding personal revelations from ancestors. While the Church acknowledges that members may receive spiritual impressions, it emphasizes the importance of discernment and alignment with established doctrine.

The Church encourages members to seek personal revelation through prayer, scripture study, and righteous living. This personal communication with God is seen as a primary source of guidance and confirmation. While ancestral connections are valued, the Church advises members to rely on divine guidance rather than seeking specific revelations from deceased relatives.

The Church advises against becoming preoccupied with paranormal phenomena or seeking signs from the deceased. Leaders have counseled members to focus on living a Christ-centered life and to regard spiritual experiences as personal and subjective. This approach helps prevent distractions from core spiritual practices and maintains focus on eternal principles.

The Church places a greater emphasis on collective revelation through its leaders and authoritative teachings. Members are encouraged to seek guidance from the Prophet, apostles, and official Church publications rather than relying solely on personal experiences. This ensures consistency in doctrine and spiritual understanding across the global Church community.

Gramps

Gramps,

You may have heard of the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) that is in the works to be brought to the world banking.  Cash would be gone all together. And many are saying that digital IDs will come at the same time, which is a computer chip implanted under the skin in the right hand. Revelation is clear that the mark of the beast will be in the right hand or the forehead. Could this be the mark of the beast as prophesied?

Scott

Answer

Scott,

I think a good place to start answering your questions would be sharing the scripture where your questions are spring boarding from. In our scriptures, Revelation 13:15-17 provides the following prophecy:

15. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

 

16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

 

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

To state the obvious, the hard thing about symbolic prophecy is actually determining if what we are looking at, if what we are reading, or if what we are listening to gives evidence for the fulfillment of the prophecy. When interpreting this type of scripture the first avenue we should confirm is if there is anything revealed to us by the lord’s servants, his prophets, and we don’t have any clarifying statement regarding who or what this is. This means that any interpretation we provide to this prophecy is ours and ours alone. This brings us to your main question regarding a centralized digital bank, “Could this be the mark of the beast as prophesied”?

Let’s review the verse in question and its elements:

1. It will affect ALL people no matter our class, sex, age, race, or culture.

2. It will result in a mark on the right hand (this could be figurative or literal)

3. It will result in a mark on our foreheads (this could be figurative or literal)

4. Without these marks individuals will not be able to: buy or sell

Let’s review concepts of a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) and Digital Ids:

1. Could a digital ID be placed in our forehead or our right hand? Yes. This could be similar to a dog or cat tag. As to being placed on our forehead it could easily be a cranial implant.

2. If we want to use this bank, then it would make sense that we would be required to have this digital ID to use their digital currency.

3. If this is a major bank that even stores would only accept this currency, then it would lead more people to have it.

4. It would also increase the power/authority a bank has over an individuals lives. If you don’t do this, or if you do this we will cut off your access to your digital currency. Gone.

In light of this, and in light of your question beginning with “could”, then yes, this could definitely be a potential candidate for the mark of the beast with regards to buying and selling. At the moment, does this cause me fear or any anxiety for this to be the “mark of the beast” now? No, and I would be hesitant to say so emphatically (without any spiritual witness), because we don’t want to get ourselves entangled in a religious hobby where we ultimately lose ourselves in a potential falsehood.

We could ask ourselves also, is there anything else happening right now that might give evidence to this prophecy also?

Gramps

Hi Gramps,

Why is it that when a group of LDS people pray about the same thing, for example, who to vote for, they say they are inspired to vote for a certain person but it isn’t the same result as everyone else, and yet they claim that it is inspiration from God? How can God be inspiring everyone to vote for different people? Please help! I am not one of these people but people I know have left the church because of recent elections and asked me these questions that I cant eloquently answer.

Danielle

Answer

Hello Danielle,

Thank you for this question, as this is an important question for all of us to ponder and think about. A personal experience of mine might help, at least it will show that I understand your dilemma. I was once speaking with an individual who said, “The Lord shared with me in the temple not to vote for [he named a presidential candidate] because he didn’t serve in the military. The Lord also told me to tell everyone he is not the right person to vote for.” Through our discussion he told me all the callings he served in in order to boost his revelation.

The irony – is what you have shared – I had a different discussion with another member who said the exact opposite and that the Lord told him to vote for this unnamed presidential candidate, and that he should tell other people as well.

In light of this, how are we to interpret/clarify what is happening? What we know for sure is that God would not inspire two people with different revelations. This then tells me someone is wrong, and honestly, I am not interested in who is wrong. I am interested in how I feel, what I find important, and what the Church leaders have shared. Every year the Church leadership lets us know that we are to prayerfully consider candidates and then vote. So why different revelations?

1) The most obvious is that we are not perfect beings with regards to revelation. Very few people on this earth have reached what is called a “more sure word of prophecy” — a oneness with God.

2) There are members who are not able to distinguish their personal feelings (strong feelings) and the actual witness of the Holy Ghost.

3) There are members who are not able to separate their political affiliation from truth, and thus their “strong feelings” are interpreted as revelations, but they are solely voting within their political affiliation.

4) We have members who are praying for the best candidate, they are praying to know which is the best candidate in their political paradigm. I mean, if a person is praying between, let’s say, Obama or Clinton, and then they feel they know by revelation which God wants well, this will obviously be a different revelation from the individual from the other platform who is praying to know which is the better candidate between Trump or Cruz. Both of these scenarios would lead to different revelations from different platforms, and both in this case could be correct. This doesn’t mean though that God provided contradicting revelations. On the contrary, God answered their prayer according to the candidates they were asking about, and according to their knowledge and what they were requesting to know.

5) Also, I am hearing a lot in the Church the notion, good information leads to good inspiration. If we could see what God sees pertaining to each candidate I personally believe we all would come to the same conclusion, because we would have all the necessary information to make a right decision. In light of #1 – #4, not every decision is based upon the whole truth, but through a obscure looking glass, and people are doing their best (at least I hope so) according to their knowledge.

I can think of a few other scenarios, but these suffice, and if people have left the Church due to the elections I would ask my friends, “Why would you leave the Church over an election?” My testimony of the Church is not based upon man, or any election, or any temporal affair. My testimony is built upon Christ, and Christ alone. The varying revelations really do not matter to me, because I know no one is perfect, and that the majority of members have not reached a more sure word of prophecy. I am also hesitant to trust in other people’s revelations, especially when people are not bridling their passions within their own party platform.

If a friend tells me they have received a revelation, I simply think to myself, that is great. I have not yet received the same, and according to what I know I wouldn’t vote for him due to this [insert principle or action]. If another friend tells me they have received a revelation and it is different than my other friend, well, I simply just smile inside and continue to recognize we all are progressing in our understanding of what a true revelation is, and sometimes we can easily interpret our strong feelings as a revelation from God. This is in part why I believe God asks us to have a still heart and mind when we approach him.

Gramps

Gramps,

Hi, for the past year, I have had many instances of very uncommon personal revelation for my age (16). I suffered terrible depression, so much so that I became suicidal. I believe this was Satan trying to destroy me from hearing God’s message. Now I know this is very, very rare, but hear me out: Through out my depression, I received multiple very clear revelations defining my life. I have been told what career path I need to take, and I even who am specificaly supposed to marry, is this normal?

Austin

Answer

Dear Austin,

I’m very sorry to hear about your depression and suicidal ideation.  I would caution you not to write it off as Satan’s influence.  Elder Holland recently gave a talk about depression called, A Broken Vessel.  It’s a wonderful talk, and I recommend you read the whole thing.  For now, I would like to highlight two portions of his advice to those who struggle with depression.

First, he said,

“Seek the counsel of those who hold keys for your spiritual well-being. Ask for and cherish priesthood blessings.”

You asked me about your personal revelation, but I can’t give you an answer about that except to say talk it over with your Bishop and get a blessing.  I think that is the best way to find the answers you seek.

Second, Elder Holland counseled:

“If things continue to be debilitating, seek the advice of reputable people with certified training, professional skills, and good values. Be honest with them about your history and your struggles. Prayerfully and responsibly consider the counsel they give and the solutions they prescribe. If you had appendicitis, God would expect you to seek a priesthood blessing and get the best medical care available. So too with emotional disorders. Our Father in Heaven expects us to use all of the marvelous gifts He has provided in this glorious dispensation.”

Talk to your Bishop about seeing a therapist.  A therapist would be another great resource to help you sort out all you are dealing with.

I’ll close with one more quote by Elder Holland :

“Believe in miracles. I have seen so many of them come when every other indication would say that hope was lost. Hope is never lost. If those miracles do not come soon or fully or seemingly at all, remember the Savior’s own anguished example: if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead.”

I pray those happier days come quickly for you,

Gramps

Gramps,

Is storing a one year supply of food no longer suggested by the Church? Also, as conditions worsen in the USA and the world, the less is said about the present conditions in the General Conference talks. It is like the 800 pound gorilla in the room that no one mentions. What are your thoughts on why the silence on present conditions in the General Conference talks?

Joseph

Answer

Joseph,

Great questions. Thank you for asking them.

As far as a one-year supply of food, nothing really has changed regarding that. However, we are now advised to first have a three-month supply of food on hand. These would be foods that we use daily as part of our normal, daily diet. At lds.org we can find this statement:

“Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.”

Once we have achieved this, it is then recommended we add to our storage those items that would be appropriate for longer-term storage.

Now as far as why it’s not spoken of more frequently in General Conference I can only speculate. During a past General Conference session, Elder Robert D. Hales gave a wonderful talk entitled “General Conference – Strengthening Faith and Testimony.” In this talk, he made the following statement concerning how subjects and talks are decided upon by those speaking:

“These conferences are always under the direction of the Lord, guided by His Spirit. We are not assigned specific topics. Over weeks and months, often through sleepless nights, we wait upon the Lord. Through fasting, praying, studying, and pondering, we learn the message that He wants us to give.”

You may have noticed many of the topics have been on subjects such as returning to activity, covenants, missionary work, family, marriage, and numerous others. Many of these topics address a declining spirituality and morality affecting many throughout the world. Perhaps Heavenly Father felt these topics were more appropriate given the conditions of the world today.

So while the subject of food storage may not have been spoken of during the last few sessions of General Conference, it does not mean that the subject has lost its importance. We still need to have a supply of food and essential items. It just means that Heavenly Father has other topics He feels a need to address.

Gramps

I was reading in church history how difficult it was for President Spencer W. Kimball to get the 1978 revelation on the priesthood. He spent months in the upper rooms of the Salt Lake Temple, pondering and praying upon the matter before he felt he had an answer. I was contrasting this with Joseph Smith and how he was able to sit down almost anywhere, anytime and with ease dictate revelation verbatim.  Since both were prophets, seers and revelators, how can we explain the difficulty of the one and the ease of the other? I’m sure both were equally worthy to receive revelation and enlightenment. Your ideas on this contrast would be very much appreciated.

Robert

________________

Robert,

As we study the history of different prophets, different time periods, we begin to realize the word “difficult” may not be the best word choice, and it would be better said “they waited” upon the Lord.

When we further look into different prophets I think the question would be why does the Lord decide to wait longer sometimes than at other times?

When Jacob prayed, the scriptures mention the “wrestle” he had with God. When Enos prayed it mentions how he prayed all day and night until finally the Lord answered his prayer, and than the moment the first answer came Enos then receives what one may consider as true communication with the Lord as other questions were asked and answered immediately (so it appears), versus praying again all day and night for another answer.

There is no difference in difficulty between each prayer and revelation, only the waiting period. We define this wait at times as difficult.

Our ability to receive revelation is influenced by our faith, our worthiness, and the timing of the Lord.

Gramps

Gramps,

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints professes to be a church that continues to receive inspiration and revelation from the Lord. It is perhaps one of the primary premises for the argument of a restored church. With that said, why have there not been further revelations and additions to the Doctrine & Covenants? The last revelation added to modern day scripture was the manifesto granting the Melchizedek Priesthood to all worthy males. I know when the General Authorities of the Church speak, we are receiving instruction and counsel, but why have the canon of revelations not been incorporated into the scriptures?

Wayne

Answer

Wayne,

As members of the Church we proclaim,

“We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

Revelation is manifested when God speaks directly to his servants the prophets, and then these prophets share with us what the Lord has shared. Thus, continued revelation is manifested at General Conference, Stake Conference, Stake Trainings, Ward Trainings, etc…

Some examples of modern revelation are: The Family: A Proclamation to the World and The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles. We are blessed with updates to the Church Handbooks of Instruction.

All of this information has been received by revelation for the learning of existing and new generation members.

As pertaining to why some of these haven’t been added, that is known to God, but for a wise purpose they have still been given.

Gramps

Gramps,

Please explain revelation to me.

Linda

Answer

Linda,

What a question! I could go on for pages, but I doubt that would be a preferred response. Instead, let me describe how I have received revelation in my life.

Sometimes it comes as an epiphany, or a sudden falling-into-place of several elements that were previously somehow misaligned in my mind.

Sometimes it comes as a peaceful feeling regarding a decision I have made. Sometimes it is a feeling of trouble or danger regarding a decision that needs to be changed.

Sometimes it comes as a piece of truth that instantly fits perfectly with what I already have as a testimony of Christ and His gospel.

Not even these are all the ways that revelation comes to us. What revelation is, however, is pure truth given to us from God, and confirmed by the Holy Ghost whose mission it is to testify of all truth.

Revelation can be about anything ranging from major financial decisions, to how best to fulfill a specific challenge in our church calling. Major family decisions, career choices, questions about our testimony, even talks we are asked to give in sacrament meeting can all be reasons we seek and receive revelation.

The key in receiving revelation from God is an attitude of willing acceptance of the answer, regardless of what that answer may be, including the willingness to act upon the answer without doubt or hesitation. After all, we’re asking Heavenly Father what we should do or what we should believe. If he doesn’t see we’re willing to obey him, he may not give us an answer until we are.

Gramps

Helena

_______________

Helena,

The First Presidency and the Apostles haven’t invited me to their book club lately, so I’m not really privy to what books they read and use in their discussions. I have read some of these “lost books” and find them to be quite the mixed bag. Some aspects fall in line well the doctrine of Christ and some deviate. We don’t use these books in our church curriculum, but instead focus on canonized scripture and the teachings of modern prophets. LDS scholars and gospel enthusiasts use these apocryphal works in their personal and professional studies, and I think they’ve found great benefit from it. The Brethren may read such books, but in determining doctrine and teachings rely on the spirit of revelation. Elder Christofferson shared this insight in the workings of the Twelve:

“We value scholarship that enhances understanding, but in the Church today, just as anciently, establishing the doctrine of Christ or correcting doctrinal deviations is a matter of divine revelation to those the Lord endows with apostolic authority”

By the way, you can also find the name Laban in our canonized Bible. He was Jacob’s (Israel’s) father-in-law. You can read all about their strained relationship in Genesis 24, 27-31.

-Gramps

Dear Gramps,
I would like to thank you for your response to my question. I have found articles on the internet outlining the contents of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in some detail. I have spent the last couple of hours reading through these articles and have found that it seems to make a lot of sense. In reading this I now feel I have a lot better understanding of why people accept religion and indeed it has made me realize that a lot of science is accepted on faith as well especially by myself. I have said time and time again that I accept science as it is provable, however it has occurred to me that personally I am able to prove only a very small percentage of scientific facts are true, but in general I believe in science because I trust that someone else has done all the hard work and proved for me that the concepts of the particular science are true. So in that case I find myself questioning why I might disbelieve religion for the same reason, I suspect that through my own life’s experiences I could prove some parts of religion are true equally as well as science. Unless I have missed the point, one of the main points of this book is to show that accepted paradigms are only accepted as long as a more provable newer paradigm does not conflict with the existing one, therefore I can extrapolate from this that potentially nothing that I believe to be true in terms of core science is necessarily true and hence using science as a reason for not accepting religion is flawed.

If I am now willing to accept that I should be open to new concepts of belief, how should I investigate the possibilities and is loving someone reason enough to investigate one religion over another? Thank you,
Colin

Answer

Dear Colin,
Some very objective reasoning on your part! So many people are tied so dogmatically to their scientific belief system, that they are incapable of considering any point of view that is not in accord with “today’s” science.

I think that your care and concern for another person is a perfectly valid reason for investigating her belief system. If, after an objective examination you were to find that it had value, it would very likely cement your relationship. (And on the side, such an effort on your part really demonstrates the sincerity of your commitment to her).

I mentioned that Mormonism is a rational theology. Here is an objective experiment or test that you could apply that may yield some positive results. In order to validate the experiment, the a priori conditions associated with the experiment must be accepted and utilized, exactly as in any scientific discipline. In science we accept as true the a priori postulates without subjecting them to any proof.
Experiment–to test the validity of the Book of Mormon.
Brief background–one of the Articles of Faith of the Mormon Church is the following—

We believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. We also believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it translated correctly.

Joseph Smith, who translated the Book of Mormon from Egyptian characters into English, said of the book,

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and that a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book.”

To prove–that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.
a priori premises–There is a God who is the Father of the spirits of all mankind. As our Father, He loves us, and is vitally interested in our welfare and in our eternal salvation. He has commanded us to pray to him, and has promised to answer our sincere prayer, offered on the principle of faith. Faith represents another a priori condition, that faith being a full confidence that the Lord hears and answers our prayers to Him. In other words, expect that He will communicate with you.

The experiment–Read the Book of Mormon. At the beginning of each page, ask a prayer. The prayer would be to sincerely ask the Father to reveal to you that the Book of Mormon is indeed the truth, as it claims to be. That represents a total of 531 prayers–a highly significant statistical number.

Now, having myself performed the same experiment, and being acquainted with numbers of other people who have done the same, I can promise you, in the name of the Savior, that if you will fulfill the conditions of the experiment, before you finish reading the book the Lord will have answered your prayer and you will have received a personal testimony from God that the book is indeed true.

This experiment comes from the Book of Mormon itself. The last prophet of the Nephite people, of whom the Book of Mormon is a record, wrote the following—

Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:3-5).

Please let me know how things turn out.

Gramps