"The Lord maketh no such things known unto us..."

How many of us go to class studying the Book of Mormon, and we talk about how great Nephi is, and how bad Laman and Lemuel are, but then when it comes to having the faith that we can have visions just as Nephi did we hear things like, "But most of us just get a feeling in our heart."  Or even this quote from a general authority which was then quoted by other general authorities stating:  "[We] should [bear] in mind that some of the General Authorities have had assigned to them a special calling; they possess a special gift; they are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators, which gives them a special spiritual endowment in connection with their teaching of the people. They have the right, the power, and authority to declare the mind and will of God to his people, subject to the over-all power and authority of the President of the Church. Others of the General Authorities are not given this special spiritual endowment and authority covering their teaching; they have a resulting limitation, and the resulting limitation upon their power and authority in teaching applies to every other officer and member of the Church, for none of them is spiritually endowed as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Furthermore, as just indicated, the President of the Church has a further and special spiritual endowment in this respect, for he is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator for the whole Church."  In other words, "The Lord maketh such things known unto us (The First presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), but ye need not inquire of the Lord for He maketh no such things known unto you. Now sit down, be quiet, and follow the damn prophet!  oops, I mean our beloved prophet."  We hear this sort of thing so much that even when we try to shake off the chains of unbelief we still fall into this trap on a subconscious level.  Only the church's elite are allowed to receive revelation and if you think you did then you are obviously getting it from the wrong source.  At least this is what they want us to think.  But who are we to tell God who he can and can't give certain spiritual gifts to?  If God wants to He can call and make anyone worthy a prophet, or seer, or revelator.  Does being sustained automatically give you those gifts?  No, it only gives you the responsibility to seek them out.

We hear this idea so often that we start to believe it.  It's most typical form is the admonition to follow the prophet instead of following the Spirit and the direct revelation we can receive from God for ourselves.  I remember a time when being taught to confirm the truth of things taught was a normal occurrence.  Now that seems to have faded from our teaching with a huge emphasis on following the prophet replacing it.  As I've been trying to increase my relationship with God, and remove all the unbelief I thought this was the first thing to go.  It has to go to make room for the belief in personal revelation.  But as I was discussing with some friends a frustration I have about not knowing what to do with my Sundays as a family to make it a better day of worship, one person talked about having the Lord guide what we should do.  And the first thought that came to my mind was that the Lord wouldn't tell me, and that I couldn't get the guidance I wanted from Him.  Then I had a huge epiphany.  "Oh my goodness!  I am Laman and Lemuel!  I've had this idea drilled into me so much I've come to believe like they did that, 'The Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.' (1 Nephi 15:9)"  When reading the scriptures it becomes clear that the reason God didn't talk to Laman and Lemuel is because they never humbled themselves to ask.  Each of Lehi's sons could have had Nephi's vision for themselves but Nephi was the only one who asked for it. 

For every step forward I make I have to fight off an old paradigm that has kept me in spiritual bondage and has been inhibiting my progress.  This deeply ingrained belief that the most God will ever guide me is through vague feelings and never a more direct revelation has held me back on many occasions.  Everyone has every right to receive revelation and in ways that are more than just feelings. Anyone who tells you they are between you and the Lord is seeking to put you into spiritual bondage under them.  If God is the leader let us each be led directly by Him!  The ONLY middle man in your salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.  He is the middle man because He did the work.  He paid for your sins after He lived a perfect life.  And praise be to the Father for sending Him.  We each have a spiritual mission in this life to fulfill, and if we continue to believe that we can't get our own revelation for our own life we will never come to a place that God can teach us what it is and how to fulfill it.  Now awake and arise from the dust.  Shake off the chains which have you bound.  Fear not but be believing.  Whatever heartaches you have to bare will bring you that much closer to the Savior who carried the ultimate heartache, even the sins of the world.  And He will be your comfort as you bare yours.