Review
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Title: Hearing the Voice of the Lord: Principles and Patterns of Personal Revelation
Author: Gerald N. Lund
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 392
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59038-893-8
Price: $22.95

Reviewed by Trevor Holyoak

Gerald Lund is probably best known for his fiction series, “The Work and the Glory,” but he has also written many other books, both fiction and nonfiction. Besides writing books, he has worked in the Church Educational System for many years, has served as a bishop and a stake president, and is now a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. He draws on his life experience for this latest book, on the subject of revelation.

The book is organized into logical sections, covering subjects such as what revelation is, how it is received, and how to tell the difference between true and counterfeit revelation, as well as ways to know that thoughts and feelings that originate with us are being mistaken as communication from the Spirit. It ends by giving suggestions to improve our ability to receive revelation and reminding us that “we cannot live on borrowed light.”

The way the book is written makes it read more like correspondence from a friend than a technical essay, which should help make it approachable for any reader. It uses scriptures, quotes from Church leaders, and stories that Lund has gathered over the years, along with thorough (and sometimes somewhat repetitive) explanations to assist us in understanding the concepts covered.

Lund attempts to cover every question someone might have about revelation, and he does a pretty good job of it. He introduces “a continuum of revelation,” that goes from the less direct to the more direct forms, beginning with the light of Christ and ending with visions and visitations. (He freely admits to having not experienced the most direct forms.) He explains how seeking revelation can be helpful in making important decisions, and gives his opinion of what it means to have a “stupor of thought.”

I found it interesting that Lund feels that the phrase “burning in the bosom” is not to be taken literally. I assume that this is because he has not experienced it. He also quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks as saying he hasn't. I have actually felt it many times in my life. However, I have not experienced some of the other types of revelation that Elder Lund says he has, so I suppose that different people tend to receive revelation differently. Still, I think it is unfortunate that he fails to consider the possibility that it could be literal.

One of the more interesting examples of revelation that he gives is an explanation of how stake presidencies are chosen. He also gives a humorous example of false revelation, stating that a female BYU student came home from her first semester and told her parents that eight different men had received a revelation that she should marry them. (Elder Lund actually goes into some depth explaining how revelation can be used to help choose a mate, something that should be helpful for singles.)

Divine intervention is discussed, which I wouldn’t have thought of as a type of revelation, and advice is given on how to know whether it is truly divine intervention, or just a coincidence. It is also pointed out that revelations are given to whom God chooses, as well as when, how, and in what way - sometimes it is just not “our lot in life” to be the recipient, as much as we might want or think we need it. (And sometimes “no answer means ‘no’” - or it could mean that it really doesn't matter what decision we make.)

Spiritual self-reliance is covered, and we are reminded that we should generally make our own decisions much of the time, and not ask the Lord such trivial things as what kind of toothpaste to buy - this is referred to as being “too spiritual,” and talking too much of spiritual things is a sign of this. This is linked to pride as well as the danger of being susceptible to counterfeit revelation. He suggests that we should actually avoid sharing spiritual experiences, but that when it does seem appropriate, they can be shared by making it sound as if they happened to someone else - however, this doesn’t seem entirely honest to me, and actually seems to go against trying to be righteous enough to receive revelation on a regular basis.

There are a few elements in the book that I feel detract from it. The footnotes are marked in the text with an asterisk, which I found very easy to overlook, possibly because my eyes often mistook them for quotation marks. Many times, I would get to the bottom of the page and find that I had missed one, and would then have to look back over the page to search for it. Also, the citations are numbered, but in order to look them up, you have to first figure out what chapter you’re in, and then look in the Notes section in the back under that chapter (there are no page numbers in the Notes, unfortunately, which would have made it much easier). Once you find it in the Notes, however, you are only given the author, title, and page number. You then have to turn to the Bibliography to look the title up under the author’s name for the rest of the information.

The biggest problem I had in my reading experience was the quote boxes that appeared every couple of pages. They were only peripherally related to the text on the page (with one exception), and tended to be very distracting from the flow of the text. I finally learned to ignore them and then go back and read them later. I also found some of the stories given as examples to be very trivial, although most of them are more helpful.

Overall, I do think this book would be useful for anyone who is interested in improving their spirituality and receiving communication from God. I learned a few things from it, and it gave me a lot of things to think about regarding my experiences in seeking revelation, and areas that might be helpful to work on in the future. Missionaries, new members, and lifelong members alike are likely to find something beneficial within its pages.