General Conference: Revelation is Here to Remain

“Of all things, that for which we should be most grateful today is that the heavens are indeed open and that the restored church of Jesus Christ is founded upon the rock of revelation. Continuous revelation is indeed the very lifeblood of the gospel of the living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We do not accept the theory of the so-called teachers of Christianity, that the Old Testament constituted the total words of God’s prophets; nor do we believe the New Testament to be the end of revelation. We testify that rather than an end of revelations of God, they continue to pour forth from God for the welfare and benefit of men.

How this confused world of today needs revelation from God. With war and pestilence and famine, with poverty, desolation, with more and more graft, dishonesty, and immorality, certainly the people of this world need revelation from God as never before. How absurd it would be to think that the Lord would give to a small handful of people in Palestine and the Old World his precious direction through revelation and now, in our extremity, close the heavens.

However, it is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright his children, but waits for their upreaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere, dedicated approach to him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun.

When the children of Israel would not live the commandments, believe in him, and follow his program, the Lord said: “And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:  “And your strength shall be spent. …” (Lev. 26:19–20.)

I bear witness to the world today that more than a century and a half ago the iron ceiling was shattered; the heavens were once again opened, and since that time revelations have been continuous.

That new day dawned when another soul with passionate yearning prayed for divine guidance. A spot of hidden solitude was found, knees were bent, a heart was humbled, pleadings were voiced, and a light brighter than the noonday sun illuminated the world—the curtain never to be closed again.

A young lad spoken of by some of our brethren today, Joseph Smith, of incomparable faith, broke the spell, shattered the “heavens of iron” and reestablished communication. Heaven kissed the earth, light dissipated the darkness, and God again spoke to man, revealing anew “his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7.) A new prophet was in the land and through him God set up his kingdom, never to be destroyed nor left to another people—a kingdom that will stand forever.

The foreverness of this kingdom and the revelations which it brought into existence are absolute realities. Never again will the sun go down; never again will all men prove totally unworthy of communication with their Maker. Never again will God be hidden from his children on the earth. Revelation is here to remain.

Spencer W. Kimball “Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets”

General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints