Seeking Revelation Leads Us to Unity With God

 A passage I love sharing with others is John 17:20-22.  In John 17, the Savior prayed to the Father (in what we sometimes term the "intercessory prayer), and in verses 20-22 He said this: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one".  It is our Savior's great desire that we, His followers, be one with Him and the Father as they are united.  One of the most important aspects of such unity is submission of our will to that of the Father, modeled by our Redeemer in the Garden of Gethsemane as He said, "not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)

Perhaps it seems to be not immediately related at first, but in recent years, President Nelson has put a lot of emphasis on seeking personal revelation.  In the April 2018 general conference, in what I would consider the most profound statement to have been made in the last decade (at least), he said, "in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.  My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation."  (from the talk Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives)  In the general conference that was broadcast less than a month ago, he spoke of the importance of full-time missions work for young people (and the responsibility young men have to serve), and encouraged them to pray about it.  "Pray to know if the Lord would have you serve a mission, and the Holy Ghost will respond to your heart and mind."

He also referred to it as a "decision", because it always is, but encouraged us to pray to know God's will about it.

I remember being encouraged to pray to God about the same thing, and I remember my response.  I don't remember who I was speaking with or what else occurred in that conversation, but the general question was along the lines of "are you going to serve a full-time mission?"  The other person said I should pray about it.  In response, I basically said, "Well, I already know what the answer will be."  I don't think I had as much familiarity with seeking answers to pray at that younger age, but I did recognize that God would give me an answer to my prayer, and in that case I knew what it would be.  But knowing God's will isn't all that we need; the choice remained for me then, and still remains for me now, whether I will choose to do His will.  It is definitely a crucial decision to demonstrate our faith and submissiveness to God through such choices.

As Jesus Christ said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)  And as King Benjamin taught, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)

Even in merely considering the act of discovering God's will through prayer, I begin making a decision about whether I will follow my own desires or submit to that higher will.  Seeking revelation from God tends to provide us not merely with general knowledge, but especially a knowledge of what we should do.  As we seek and open ourselves to His answers, we find opportunity to follow His will, and thus we make steps toward greater unity with Him and with our Savior, who enables us to repent and become more than we already are.  Earnestly seeking revelation is thus a major part of exaltation.

Last thoughts for now:
I intend for personal revelation to constantly be a part of my life.  There will be times when it will be easier or more difficult in some way for me to do things I know God desires of me, but I know that I can seek God's will through prayer in the name of Christ, and that in doing so I can reform my own will.  I hope to do so often.