Lessons on Revelation From D&C 5

I believe that D&C 5 teaches us a lot about gaining a witness from God about important spiritual matters.  The revelation was specifically given at the request of Martin Harris who desired to have a witness that Joseph really had the plates, but it contains several general principles that help us to understand how the Lord gives revelation and what is required on our part to receive that revelation.  Perhaps the most fundamental requirement to receiving a spiritual witness is faith in God—something that clearly Martin had struggled with given the experience of the loss of the manuscript.  The Lord made this statement: “And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the Spirit” (v16).  Though faith and belief are certainly strengthened as a result of spiritual witnesses, some level of faith is also a prerequisite for the manifestations of the Spirit from God.  President Packer put it this way in his classic talk on spiritual knowledge: “One thing for sure, the skeptic will never know, for he will not meet the requirement of faith, humility, and obedience to qualify him for the visitation of the Spirit.”

              We can glean other principles about revelation from this section.  One is that some great spiritual manifestations are reserved for those the Lord has chosen and we need not be concerned that we don’t have the exact same experience.  Speaking of what we now know as the Three Witnesses, the Lord foretold, “And in addition to your testimony, the testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain, unto whom I will show these things, and they shall go forth with my words that are given through you.  Yea, they shall know of a surety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare it unto them.  I will give them power that they may behold and view these things as they are; And to none else will I grant this power, to receive this same testimony among this generation” (v11-14).  In other words, no other persons would have the same experience as the Three Witnesses.  Even the Eight Witnesses who also saw the plates could not say, “We also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us” (Testimony of the Three Witnesses). For some reason in the Lord’s wisdom, there would be only three who would directly hear His voice and see the plates in the manner that they did.  We need not worry that we don’t have the same powerful experience as others, for the Lord will reveal Himself to us individually “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68).

              Another lesson that we learn is that the Lord requires humility in order to receive the spiritual manifestations that we seek.  The Savior said this to Joseph about Martin Harris, “Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see” (v24).  He emphasized again a few verses later: “And now, except he humble himself and acknowledge unto me the things that he has done which are wrong, and covenant with me that he will keep my commandments, and exercise faith in me, behold, I say unto him, he shall have no such views” (v28).  Martin was rich and a prominent member of his community, and part of his problem appears to have been an unwillingness to truly humble himself before God.  Surely pride is a great stumbling block to all of us as we try to receive knowledge at the hand of the Lord.

              A final truth that we learn at the end of the section is that spiritual knowledge provides a great protection for us. It’s not a “nice thing to have” in life but it is essential if we are to navigate the temptations of life.  The Lord said this about Martin, “And now, because I foresee the lying in wait to destroy thee, yea, I foresee that if my servant Martin Harris humbleth not himself and receive a witness from my hand, that he will fall into transgression” (v32).  In other words, if Martin did not do what was required to receive the spiritual witness that he sought, he would succumb to temptation and be spiritual destroyed by the adversary.  A spiritual witness of the things of God and a testimony that His commandments are real is the greatest strength against the adversary that we can have.  It is why we strive so diligently to help the youth of the Church to gain their own witness that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph was a prophet, and that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.  For if we know those are true it is much easier to reject the temptations that bombard us.  Linda Reeves said it this way, “The greatest filter in the world… is the personal internal filter that comes from a deep and abiding testimony of our Heavenly Father’s love and our Savior’s atoning sacrifice for each one of us.”  D&C 5 invites all of us, like Martin Harris, to seek a person witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and other spiritual truths by humbling seeking Him with faith before it is too late.