Joseph Smith said a lot of extremely intriguing things. Acting on the assumption he was called of God as a prophet to restore the same church Christ established while he was on the Earth, many of his statements deserve deep reflection.
(Even if you aren’t willing to assume that, the statements probably deserve reflection, even if you may not come to the same doctrinal conclusions I do.)
One of Joseph Smith’s famous statements is to this effect: “The Lord will not reveal anything to Joseph that he will not reveal to the Twelve or to the least and last member of the Church as soon as he is able to bear it.”
Bruce R. McConkie, Ordinary men, extraordinary callings. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2007/09/ordinary-men-extraordinary-callings?lang=eng
My religious belief is centered in personal revelation. I believe (read: “have had experience with”, “expect”, “know”) God will reveal to each of his children truths that will help them at specific points in their lives.
(You may claim my “experiences” are anecdotal; however, God in unchangeable and is no respecter of persons, therefore, what he does for one, He is willing to do for all. Extrapolation is therefore not only appropriate, but divinely confirmed.)
So if God revealed hundreds of typed pages to Joseph Smith, and Joseph stated that the Lord is willing to reveal everything he received to any member of the Church as soon as that member is able to bear it, what must that least and last member DO to be able to bear that revelation?
At least three things come to mind
- That member must want it
- That member must have a need to know it
- That member must have paid the price
Without a desire to know a thing, there is no reason to reveal it. Revelation can/should only come to those likely to act on it.
If you’re not willing/able to act, why would God tell you something? This is basic logic, and God is a more perfect parent than are we, and relies on hearts and minds already converted or desirous to be converted to Him to accomplish His work
Heaven is economic in its disbursements of knowledge. If a thing has already been revealed, recorded, and is readily available, an angel is unlikely to be sent to you. It’s probably easier for you to find it in the scriptures.
(This, interestingly, actually reduces the price you must pay for the knowledge (and may keep you from realizing that the price for the other things you want revealed is great).)
Also, if you are looking for knowledge that you don’t need, it may be withheld (1) until you need it–or are ready for it–, or (2) until you have paid an additional price to be able to bear knowledge you want but don’t need immediately.
Lastly, preparation is everything. God asks His children to sacrifice to bring their wills in alignment with His. This may be a sacrifice of a particular physical thing, a single (or set of) behaviors, or it might be a series of actions over a number of years.
Joseph was strongly reprimanded many times during his early life, and those reprimands are recorded for our relatively easy perusal in The Doctrine and Covenants. Public exposure of mistakes is certainly a sacrifice. But what came from it?
A man who was humble and strong willed. A man who knew and did the will of God without question (occasional complaint–again recorded–but saw and recorded the extreme blessings as well). A man who could gaze into heaven five minutes and know more than by reading all that was ever written on the subject. (See McConkie, “How to get personal revelation.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1980/06/how-to-get-personal-revelation?lang=eng).
More on that in another post.
But the simple question opens a very complex understanding.
I think there is a relationship between want, need, and sacrifice, and I think if you have two of the three, it can mitigate how much of the third is required to receive the revelation. One of the two, however, must be want: if you don’t want it, you likely don’t get it.
I’ll probably muddy the argument here: but if you’ve sacrificed enough, your need for the information doesn’t have to be as great.
And if your need is massive, you may not have had to sacrifice as much.
It’s worth commenting that sacrifice may not be a single action.
Scripture study–deep, questioning, meaningful–on a consistent (daily) basis is a sacrifice that brings revelation.
Overall, it is simple. But the consistency of the simple action is what prepares the mind to be influenced.