Hearing the Voice of the Lord Review

Hearing the Voice of the Lord by Gerald N. Lund


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Eighteen Months after I started reading this book, I have finished and finally feel like I can offer a "review" on it. It wasn't that the reading was laborious or taxing; it was more that I re-read things over and over. I tried to take them into my heart. And sometimes that takes a while.

A few years ago one of my dear friends lost a child. One night, shortly after the accident, she related an awful experience she had in Relief Society. The lesson was on the Holy Ghost and there were women sharing their own experiences with heeding the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The problem was they were saying things like, "I listened to the spirit and it told me my bread was burning and I was able to save my homemade bread." or "I listened to the spirit and it saved my child's life." My friend sat listening in horror, why wasn't she prompted? Was this woman's bread more important than her child's life? I was furious that these women were so insensitive and clueless.

The next Sunday I had the same lesson in my own ward. When the women began sharing their experiences I started to squirm. I wondered who in the room was going through something and hurting because they felt that God didn't send the spirit to prompt them but cared about someone's lost keys.

Thus began a personal internal wrestling that has lasted me years. I began to struggle with the concept of the Holy Ghost and personal revelation. I can't deny that promptings from the spirit are real. I've experienced them for myself- many times. There are also times that I've longed for the spirit's nudge, only to be denied.

This was my wrestle.

I could understand God leaving us alone. He did give up his only begotten son for free agency; a gift I believe is second only to his son. So why would he take that agency away from us by giving us spiritual "knowing" or intuition- promptings? But then I could not deny that I have had those promptings. Ofttimes about little things. I know them to be real. I could not understand why he answers us sometimes and not others. Why does he help people with seemingly insignificant things and at other times lets horrific things happen to good and decent people without prompting? Were these people really hearing the spirit or was it their own voice? How can I tell the difference in my own head?

This was why I picked up Hearing the Voice of the Lord. I have to say that the answers comes down to this: it is all in God's hands. I knew that before, but this book and further personal reflection helped to show me the why behind it.

Here are a few concepts that had a great impact on me:

-When you feel prompted you will always receive confirmation that it came from Heavenly Father.
-I had a couple steps mixed up in my process for receiving personal revelation. The correct process is: Hear the Word, Hope for it to be true, take action, THEN receive confirmation. I've been trying to do it like this: Hear the word, Hope for it to be true, recieve confirmation, then take action. HUGE DISCREPENCY!
-I loved this quote, "How many times in my life have I closed off an opportunity for revelation because I didn't trust the Lord enough to ask?" I SO have trust issues. Even with my Heavenly Father.

I could go on and on but I'll close with the most important thing this book (combined with personal study and introspection) did for me. It reminded me that I KNOW God lives. I KNOW he is aware of me. I do not always understand His mysteries. I don't know why he tells me some things and leaves me to figure out others on my own. I don't know why he doesn't always intervene but sometimes does. But I do KNOW Him and sometimes that has to be enough. I know that my friend will see her daughter again some day; that we can live in families forever; and that even death cannot break the bonds of Love that originated from God himself.

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