“Are You Listening to Conference with Your Ears—or Your Heart?,” Liahona, Oct. 2023.
Young Adults
Are You Listening to Conference with Your Ears—or Your Heart?
Personal revelation is all about listening to the Spirit with your heart.
For me, general conference talks help me feel the Holy Spirit. Listening to conference gives us the opportunity to feel God’s love and get spiritual inspiration.
And because the speakers testify of truth, the Spirit is invited into the hearts and minds of everyone present (see Alma 31:5), allowing us to understand God and His purposes a bit better (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:5–10).
But sometimes there are distractions or other challenges that can make it difficult to receive spiritual impressions during conference. Maybe you feel disappointed that your faith wasn’t strengthened or that your questions weren’t answered.
What do you do then?
We can start by considering if there is anything making it difficult for us to focus. We can make sure we aren’t just listening with our ears but that we are pondering the promptings and feelings that come into our minds and our hearts. To listen with our hearts, we can pray for help to understand how the messages can apply to us personally (see Doctrine and Covenants 8).
Understanding personal revelation and how it relates to messages from God’s servants can help us know what it means to listen with our minds and hearts.
God’s Plan, Your Happiness
Personal communication between you and Heavenly Father is what we call personal revelation. And it is personal. As Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has stated: “Personal revelation rightly belongs to individuals. You can receive revelation, for example, about where to live, what career path to follow, or whom to marry. Church leaders may teach doctrine and share inspired counsel, but the responsibility for these decisions rests with you. That is your revelation to receive.”1
God can speak directly to your mind and heart about personal matters, but you must be willing to hear Him (see James 1:5). You still have agency. But His plan of happiness can only make you happy if you choose to draw closer to Him.
President Russell M. Nelson recently asked us, “Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other?”2
Your willingness to listen to God’s voice will in large measure determine how much you can actually hear Him. Even if you only want to be willing right now, “let this desire work in you” (Alma 32:27) to change your heart.
Prophets Speak Truth
Some have mistakenly taken the “personal” part of personal revelation a little too far. They erroneously claim that the teachings of the prophets and apostles don’t apply to everyone—that we can decide for ourselves what applies to us and “that truth is relative—that each person should determine for himself or herself what is true.” As President Nelson has warned, “Such a belief is but wishful thinking for those who mistakenly think they will not also be accountable to God.”3
God calls prophets and apostles to stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ, to speak truth, and to direct the affairs of His kingdom on earth. And they have accepted the responsibilities of those callings. (See Doctrine and Covenants 107:23.)
Truth is the language of the Spirit, so when we hear eternal truths testified of boldly and plainly, the Holy Ghost comes to impress upon us the absoluteness and beauty of those truths. The Spirit can also help us understand how the truth of our leaders’ words applies to us individually.
Elder Renlund said, “I invite you to have the confidence to claim personal revelation for yourself, understanding what God has revealed, consistent with the scriptures and the commandments He has given through His appointed prophets and within your own purview and agency.”4
Their Greatest Desire
Sometimes you might feel uncertain about what the prophet and apostles are teaching. Or you might struggle to understand how their words apply to you. In these moments, remember that their calling is to help guide you, a precious child of our Heavenly Father, back to Him.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has testified: “We should not be alarmed when the words of the Lord’s servants run counter to the thinking of the world and, at times, our own thinking. ... Their greatest desire is to please the Lord and help God’s children return to His presence.”5
Focusing on the prophets’ and apostles’ loving desire will change how you receive their words. Realizing their love for and devotion to Heavenly Father, the Savior, and your salvation will help you be more willing to let their words reach your heart.
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ in the latter days can be hard. It can be difficult to hear counsel from the pulpit that we don’t always want or feel prepared to hear, especially when the voices of the world often interpret the prophets’ counsel as just another list of rules or restrictions.
But truly, the Lord gives us prophets and apostles to guide us to live the best and most joyful lives possible. They don’t force us to follow their counsel. Instead, they extend invitations, help us understand why the Lord has high standards for His disciples, and help us deepen our faith in God.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently taught: “Is it wrong to have rules? Of course not. We all need them every day. But it is wrong to focus only on rules instead of focusing on the Savior. You need to know the whys and the hows and then consider the consequences of your choices. …
“Important temporal and spiritual choices should not only be based on personal preference or what is convenient or popular. The Lord is not saying, ‘Do whatever you want.’
“He is saying, ‘Let God prevail.’”6
Jesus Christ is our strength, and His prophets and apostles lead us back to Him. They help us seek Him to the best of our abilities so we can obtain all the blessings God has in store for us.
Walk the Covenant Path with Confidence
With faith in Jesus Christ and a willing heart, you can know the truth of all things (see Moroni 10:4–5). As you listen to the prophets and apostles, you can understand the whisperings of the Spirit through personal revelation.
You have leaders who are chosen by God and are qualified to help you. They can guide you back to the covenant path if necessary. They can help you stay if staying is tough right now. And no matter your past, they can help you turn to Jesus Christ and walk the covenant path with confidence.
Elder Andersen testified: “There is a treasure chest of heavenly direction awaiting your discovery in the messages of general conference. The test for each of us is how we respond to what we hear, what we read, and what we feel.”7
If you listen to God’s messages with wide ears and an open heart, you will grow your testimony. You will know the truthfulness of the gospel and believe in the authority of the Lord’s prophet and apostles. You will truly find and live the best life—the life Heavenly Father wants you to live because He loves you.