I Know

While reading this blog, you may notice that I occasionally use the phrase "I know..." when I start talking about about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How can I say "I know" when I am just one person, not acclaimed in the world as a great scholar or philosopher? How can I say "I know" when there are people that aggressively attack what I say is true or insist that I can't know? How can I say "I know" in the face of opposition, temptation, and apathy where even not saying anything would be not just easy, but comfortable? I say that I know because of one simple word that stands for a wonderful concept: "revelation."

When I say revelation, I am not referring to a dream or a vision. I have never been visited by a heavenly messenger, heard a mysterious voice, predicted something that happened, or any of the things that are often thought of when revelation is talked about. Instead, I went through a gentler, gradual form of revelation that has grown into a testimony strong enough to support me saying I know when I might have no other support. I shared some details of this conversion previously, but I want to emphasize the power that the gradual, slow, common revelation has had on me and that every person can experience it as well.

This man speaks truth. Be sure to tune into General Conference!

During the April 2011 General Conference, President Uchtdorf gave a talk on a similar principle. In it he compares revelation gained all at once, such as Paul's (then Saul) conversion on the road to Damascus, to those rare moments where everything makes sense. He then goes on to say that this kind of revelation is rare, and instead the more common way to receive insights and guidance from heaven is gradual. We should not wait to improve our lives just because we haven't had that single moment of clarity. I can say "I know that The Book of Mormon is true" because of my actions based on the slow, steady, life-changing kind of revelation.