Best Books: Hearing the Voice of The Lord, by Gerald N. Lund

Readers of Latter-day Saint novels will no doubt recognize the name of Gerald N. Lund, best known for his Work and the Glory series. He’s a qualified student of early Latter-day Saint history and has applied his knowledge to the novel-writing process several times. He was also a seventy until a few years ago having served in the Europe Area West Presidency.

During my mission to Spain, Elder Lund and his wife visited the missionaries and held a conference wherein he equipped us to answer fundamental doctrinal questions on a deeper level. I still look through my notes from this conference from time to time, reflecting on everything from pre-mortality to the Plan of Salvation.

The most beneficial segments were his teachings on revelation, how it works, how it doesn’t work, and how we can all receive it in our personal lives. In the age of abundant access to information via the internet, social media followings, and highly proliferated false doctrine, the ability to distinguish between the Spirit and the world is more necessary than ever.

The hardcover edition is 350 pages in length, consisting of thirty chapters with titles like:

• “What is revelation and why is it so important?”
• “How does the Lord speak to us?”
• “How does revelation typically come?”
• “Is there false revelation?”
• “Increasing my ability to receive and recognize revelation”
• “We cannot live on borrowed light.”

Commonly addressed topics such as stewardship and authority are also expounded upon so the entirety of the subject is accessible in the cover of one tome. Given the breadth of Elder Lund’s experience in the Lord’s service, he has plenty of anecdotes (including the really good cringe from his days as a single’s ward bishop) to illustrate the various components of personal revelation.

I classify this book among those that I would recommend to newcomers to the Gospel, recent converts, or curious students who need a resource for learning the kinds of things that lifelong members pickup through osmosis in the Church.

If you have the Deseret Bookshelf app (which I also recommend, as the monthly subscription fee gives you access to ebooks and audiobooks alike), check out this and other books on revelation by Gerald N. Lund. Happy reading, and Godspeed.

Supplemental Reading:

• “Two Lines of Communication” -Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2010
• “The Holy Ghost as Your Companion” -President Henry B. Eyring, October 2015
• “Opening Our Hearts” -Elder Gerald N. Lund, April 2008

Graham Bradley is a trucker, novelist, and illustrator. He served a mission in Barcelona, Spain, from 2003-2005.