The Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation

In the 61^st year of the reign of the judges among the Nephites they were in a very difficult situation after the Lamanites had taken over much of their lands. Moronihah labored diligently to protect the people, but their wickedness was a great stumbling block to them. Mormon summarized this way: “And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face.” Perhaps one way of understanding this statement is that they began to disbelieve both that God spoke to their prophets—the “spirit of prophecy”—and that He could speak to them through the spirit of revelation. Because of this unbelief they no longer had inspiration from God to guide them, and they were left on their own: “The Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief…. They saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man” (Helaman 4:23-26). This is a stark contrast to the previous war when the Lord strengthened His people to overcome in battle even when they were well outnumbered. For example, in the first recorded battle of Moroni where the Lamanites’ “number [was] so much greater than the Nephites,” Moroni and his army were still able to overpower them because, as he described it to the Lamanites, “the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith” (Alma 43:21, 44:3). When the Lord was with them, it didn’t matter how small their numbers were, for He would preserve them. But when, like in the days of Moronihah, the people no longer believed in the prophets and revelation from the Lord, they were on their own and their enemies overran them.

                We live in a day that indeed mocks the spirit of prophecy and revelation. The words of prophets are rejected as outdated and the world at large does not turn in prayer to the Lord for revelation to be guided by Him. This description of the Nephites at the time of Moronihah could certainly have been written about our time: “It was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions” (Helaman 4:12). We have to be vigilant in our efforts to keep the Spirit of the Lord with us, in believing and following the spirit of prophecy and revelation, even while the world continues to make a mock of that which is sacred and denies spiritual things. I remember one good man that we taught at the end of my mission who gained a powerful witness of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and the latter-day scriptures. He came to believe indeed in the spirit of prophecy and revelation, and I distinctly remember one Sunday he spoke in church, raising his triple combination with The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price and said with great conviction: “Every word in this book is true!” And yet, after that, someone or something found a way to plant doubt in that testimony and my very last night on my mission I remember calling him on the phone trying to bear testimony to him and hearing him express his doubts and disbelief in that which he had not long before so ardently believed. I remember another time many years ago when a sister in our ward said in a fervent testimony to our congregation something to the effect of, “I would never leave this church.” She and her family indeed left the church within a year or two. Our testimonies are never sure, and we must always hold fast to the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation so that the Spirit of the Lord may indeed remain with us to “guide [us] in wisdom’s paths that [we] may be blessed, prospered, and preserved” (Mosiah 2:36).