REL 275 - Teachings and Doctrines of the Book of Mormon

Read the following passages in the Book of Mormon before our class:

Pres. Dallin H. Oaks #2
Defining a "Burning in the Bosom"
in Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, The Holy Ghost [1989], 14;
also Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Teaching and Learning by the Spirit,” Ensign, Mar. 1997, 7

What does a “burning in the bosom” mean?  Does it need to be a feeling of caloric heat, like the burning produced by combustion?  If that is the meaning, I have never had a burning in the bosom.  Surely, the word “burning” in this scripture signifies a feeling of comfort and serenity.  That is the witness many receive.  That is the way revelation works.  Truly, the still, small voice is just that, “still” and “small.”  “The language of peace, as spoken by the Lord, embraces a sense of quiet confidence, comfort, and warmth. It is gentle and calm, amiable and sweet; it is temperate and kind; it is orderly and identified by happiness, joy, and feelings of love.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith #1
The Spirit of Revelation
Teachings, pp.149, 151

There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost, the same as given on the day of Pentecost, and that all Saints receive after faith, repentance, and baptism. This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge ...

The Spirit of Revelation is in connection with these blessings. A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon … and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.

The Prophet Joseph Smith #2
Revelations Come to Our Spirits
Teachings, p.304

All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies.

The Prophet Joseph Smith #3
Incomplete Revelations
Teachings, p.304

There are three grand secrets lying in this chapter, (2 Peter 1) which no man can dig out, unless by the light of revelation, and which unlock the whole chapter as the things that are written are only hints of things which existed in the prophet's mind, which are not written concerning eternal glory.

The Prophet Joseph Smith #4
Greater Enjoyments with Gradual Approach to Perfection
Teachings, p.51  January 22, 1834

We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees, until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same.

The Prophet Joseph Smith #5
Don't Worry When Interpretations are not Given
Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.249

I make this broad declaration, that whenever God gives a vision of an image, or beast, or figure of any kind, he always holds himself responsible to give a revelation or interpretation of the meaning thereof, otherwise we are not responsible or accountable for our belief in it.  Don't be afraid of being damned for not knowing the meaning of a vision or figure, if God has not given a revelation or interpretation of the subject.

Elder Richard G. Scott #2
Proceeding in the Absence of an Answer to Prayer
Conference Report, April 2007, pp.8-11

What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust.

When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. ... When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision.

Pres. Spencer W. Kimball
Spetacular Manifestations are Exceptions
Conference Report, Munich Germany Area Conference 1973, p. 77

The burning bushes, the smoking mountains, the sheets of four-footed beasts, the Cumorahs, and the Kirtlands were realities; but they were the exceptions. The great volume of revelation came to Moses and to Joseph and comes to today's prophet in the less spectacular way-that of deep impressions, without spectacle or glamour or dramatic events. Always expecting the spectacular, many will miss entirely the constant flow of revealed communication.

Brigham Young
Keep Personal Revelations Personal
Journal of Discourses 4:288

Should you receive a vision or revelation from the Almighty, one that the Lord gave you concerning yourselves, or this people, but which you are not to reveal on account of your not being the proper person, or because it ought not to be known by the people at present, you should shut it up and seal it as close, and lock it as tight as heaven is to you, and make it as secret as the grave. The Lord has no confidence in those who reveal secrets, for he cannot safely reveal himself to such persons.

President Wilford Woodruff
The Administration of Angels
Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, chapter 24; Deseret Weekly 38:389-390, March 3, 1889

[As] a general thing, angels do not administer to anybody on the earth unless it is to preserve the lives of good men, or to bring the gospel, or perform a work that men cannot do for themselves. We do not particularly need the administration of angels unless we are in a condition similar to that in which Brother Kimball, Brother Smith, and I were placed, when we could not save our lives without them.

Avenues of Revelation