Mormon Quotes

Revelation

Brigham Young
I am not a visionary man, neither am I given much to prophesying. When I want any of that done I call on brother Heber—he is my Prophet, he loves to prophesy, and I love to hear him.
Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:132
Brigham Young
How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter‑day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me ‑ namely that Adam is our father and God ‑ I do not know, I do not inquire, I care nothing about it. Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for him, and after it was made he and his companions came here. He brought one of his wives with him, and she was called Eve, because she was the first woman upon the earth. Our Father Adam is the man who stands at the gate and holds the keys of everlasting life and salvation to all his children who have or who ever will come upon the earth. I have been found fault with by the ministers of religion because I have said that they were ignorant. But I could not find any man on the earth who cold tell me this, although it is one of the simplest things in the world, until I met and talked with Joseph Smith.
Brigham Young, Deseret News, v. 22, no. 308, June 8, 1873
Brigham Young
When Joseph received the revelation that we have in our possession concerning the [baptism of the] dead, the subject was opened to him, not in full but in part... Then women were baptized for men and men for women, & c.
Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 16:165
Brigham Young
The president of the priests has a right to the Urim and Thummim, which gives revelation.
Brigham Young, History of the Church, v. 7, p. 285
Brigham Young
You have been both to Jerusalem and Zion, and seen both. I have not seen either, for I have never been in Jackson County. Now it is a pleasant thing to think of and to know where the Garden of Eden was. Did you ever think of it? I do not think many do, for in Jackson County was the Garden of Eden. Joseph has declared this, and I am as much bound to believe that as to believe that Joseph was a prophet of God.
Brigham Young, Journal History, March 15, 1857
Joseph Smith
Take away the Book of Mormon and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none.
Joseph Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church
Joseph Smith
All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful. By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it.
Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 296
Joseph Smith
To our great grief, however, we soon found that Satan had been lying in wait to deceive,... Brother Hiram Page had in his possession a certain stone, by which he obtained certain "revelations" ... all of which were entirely at variance with the order of God's house, ... the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery, were believing much in the things set forth by this stone, we thought best to inquire of the Lord concerning so important a matter ...
Joseph Smith, History of the Church, by Joseph Smith, vol. 1, pp.109‑10
Joseph Smith
The people of the Lord... have already commenced to gather together to Zion, which is in the state of Missouri; therefore I declare unto you the warning which the Lord has commanded me to declare unto this generation,.... '[T]he hour of His judgment is come.'... Flee to Zion, before the overflowing scourge overtake you, for there are now those living upon the earth whose eyes shall not be closed in death until they see all these things, which I have spoken, fulfilled.
Joseph Smith, History of the Church, v. 1, pp. 315‑316
Joseph Smith
Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines -- Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter. Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same. For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory. ... if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood ... Then shall they be gods, because they have no end ... to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. ... God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises. ... Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it. ... Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. David also received many
Joseph Smith, Doctrine and Covenants 132:1-4, 19, 20, 24, 34, 35, 38, 39, 52, 60-62
Joseph Smith
I insert fac‑similes of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook... I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and that he received his Kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.
Joseph Smith, Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., History of the Church, v. 5, p. 372
Joseph Smith
I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and Kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You don't comprehend it... It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America -- it will fill the world... It will fill the Rocky Mountains.
Joseph Smith, Conference Report
Joseph Smith
The word of the Lord came to me last night that ... whatever we may suffer during this captivity, not one of our lives shall be taken.
Joseph Smith, Dona Hill, Joseph Smith: The First Mormon, Doubleday and Company, Garden City, New York, 1977, p. 244
Wilford Woodruff
We will not end the practice of plural marriage until the coming of the Son of Man.
Wilford Woodruff, Journal of John Henry Smith, 21 May 1888, LDS Church Archives
Wilford Woodruff
Brother Cannon said there was a learned Doctor that wanted to be baptized.... He [the doctor] is satisfied that the doctrine of the plurality of God and that Adam is our Father is a true doctrine revealed from God to Joseph and Brigham. For this same doctrine is taught in some of the old Jewish records which have never been in print and I know Joseph Smtih nor Brigham Young have had access to, and the Lord has revealed this doctrine unto them or they could not have taught it. President Young said if all that God had revealed was in fine print it would more than fill this room but very little is written or printed which the Lord has revealed.
Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Wilford Woodruff, Sept. 4, 1860
Joseph F. Smith
Well, I can say this: That if I live as I should in the line of my duties, I am susceptible, I think, of the impressions of the Spirit of the Lord upon my mind at any time, just as any good Methodist or any other good church member might be. And so far as that is concerned, I say yes; I have had impressions of the Spirit upon my mind very frequently, but they are not in the sense revelations. ...I have never pretended to nor do I profess to have received revelations.
Joseph F. Smith, Reed Smoot hearings
George Albert Smith
I am not disposed to question the discrepancies on the question of doctrine; if we live faithful all will become clear to us. We cannot become united only as we get united in understanding. When I first heard the doctrine of Adam being our Father and God, I was favorably impressed ‑ enjoyed, and hailed it as a new revelation. It appeared reasonable to me, as the Father of our spirits that he should introduce us here. And what we do not see is only evidence that we have not the light necessary.
George Albert Smith, Minutes of the School of Prophets, pp. 37‑42, June 8, 1868
Joseph Fielding Smith
It is not the authorities of the Church who have placed a restriction on him [the black man] regarding the holding of the Priesthood. It was not the Prophet Joseph Smith.... It was the Lord!
Joseph Fielding Smith, The Glory of Mormonism, 1963, p. 154
Spencer W. Kimball
It went on for some time as I was searching for this, because I wanted to be sure. We held a meeting of the Council of the Twelve [Apostles] in the temple on the regular day. We considered this very seriously and thoughtfully and prayerfully. I asked the Twelve not to go home when the time came. I said, 'Now would you be willing to remain in the temple with us?' And they were. I offered the final prayer and told the Lord if it wasn't right, if He didn't want this change to come in the Church that I would be true to it the rest of my life, and I'd fight the world against it if that's what He wanted. We had this special prayer circle, then I knew the time had come. I had a great deal to fight, of course, myself largely, because I had grown up with this thought that Negroes should not have the priesthood and I was prepared to go all the rest of my life till my death and fight for it and defend it as it was. But this revelation and assurance came to me so clearly that there was no question about it.
Spencer W. Kimball, Deseret News, Jan. 6, 1979
Gordon B. Hinckley
Let me say first that we have a great body of revelation, the vast majority of which came from the prophet Joseph Smith. We don't need much revelation. We need to pay more attention to the revelation we've already received. Now, if a problem should arise on which we don't have an answer, we pray about it, we may fast about it, and it comes. Quietly. Usually no voice of any kind, but just a perception in the mind.
Gordon B. Hinckley, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday Interview, April 13, 1997, by Don Lattin
Bruce R. McConkie
The Lord could have sent messengers from the other side to deliver it, but he did not. He gave the revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost.... I cannot describe in words what happened; I can only say that it happened and that it can be known and understood only by the feeling that can come into the heart of man. You cannot describe a testimony to someone.
Bruce R. McConkie, "All Are Alike Unto God," speech, p. 2‑3
Orson Pratt
The great, powerful and populous city of New York, that may be considered one of the greatest cities of the world, will in a few years become a mass of ruins. The people will wonder while gazing on the ruins that cost hundreds of millions to build, what has become of its inhabitants, Their houses will be there, but they will be left desolate. So saith the Lord God.
Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 12:244
Eliza Roxcy Snow
When Brigham Young proclaimed to the nations that Adam was our Father and God, and Eve, his partner, the Mother of a world‑both in a mortal and celestial sense ‑‑ he made the most important revelation ever oracled to the race since the days of Adam himself. This grand patriarchal revelation is the very key‑stone of the 'New Creation' of the heavens and the earth. It gives new meaning to the whole system of theology.
Eliza Roxcy Snow, Women of Mormondom, p. 196
Heber C. Kimball
The Lord told me that Jesus Christ was the son of Adam.
Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Heber C. Kimball, v. 20, p. 17; also, Deseret News, March 11, 1857
Dallin H. Oaks
It's not the pattern of the Lord to give reasons. We can put reasons to commandments. When we do we're on our own. Some people put reasons to [the ban] and they turned out to be spectacularly wrong. There is a lesson in that.... The lesson I've drawn from that, I decided a long time ago that I had faith in the command and I had no faith in the reasons that had been suggested for it... I'm referring to reasons given by general authorities and reasons elaborated upon [those reasons] by others. The whole set of reasons seemed to me to be unnecessary risk taking... Let's [not] make the mistake that's been made in the past, here and in other areas, trying to put reasons to revelation. The reasons turn out to be man-made to a great extent. The revelations are what we sustain as the will of the Lord and that's where safety lies.
Dallin H. Oaks, Interview with Associated Press
John A. Widtsoe
Latter-day Saints know, through modern revelation, that the Garden of Eden was on the North American continent and that Adam and Eve began their conquest of the earth in the upper part of what is now the state of Missouri. It seems very probable that the children of our first earthly parents moved down along the fertile, pleasant lands of the Mississippi valley."
John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, three volumes in one, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft 1960, p. 127
William Clayton
I have seen 6 brass plates ... covered with ancient characters of language containing from 30 to 40 on each side of the plates. Prest. J. [Joseph Smith, Jr.] has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found and he was a descendent of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh King of Egypt, and that he received his Kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.
William Clayton, William Clayton's Journal, May 1, 1843, as quoted in Trials of Discipleship, p. 117
B. H. Roberts
Now, most historians, Mormon or not, who work with the sources, accept as fact Joseph Smith's career as village magician. Too many of his closest friends and family admitted as much, and some of Joseph's own revelations support the contention.
B. H. Roberts, Mormon historian, Treasure‑seeking Then and Now, Sunstone, v. 11, September 1987, p. 5
Thomas Ferguson
After many years of careful study, the real importance of Book of Mormon archaeology has dawned on me. It will take but a moment to explain. The Book of Mormon is the only revelation from God in the history of the world that can possibly be tested by scientific physical evidence.... To find the city of Jericho is merely to confirm a point in history. To find the city of Zarahemla is to confirm a point in history but it is also to confirm, through tangible physical evidence, divine revelation to the modern world through Joseph Smith, Moroni, and the Urim and Thummim. Thus, Book of Mormon history is revelation that can be tested by archaeology.
Thomas Ferguson, Thomas Ferguson to the First Presidency, April 10, 1953, Ferguson Collection, BYU
Stanley P. Kimball
The time has come to admit that the Kinderhook plate incident of 1843 was a light‑hearted, heavy‑handed, frontier‑style prank, or 'joke' as the perpetrators themselves called it.
Stanley P. Kimball, Stanley P. Kimball, Mormon scholar, The Mormon Association Newsletter, June 1981
LeGrand Richards
Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it's hard to get leaders that don't have Negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It's going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising money to build that temple. If we don't change, then they can't even use it. Well, Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it.
LeGrand Richards, Interview with Wesley P. Walters and Chris Vlachos, August 16, 1978
Charles L. Walker
Upon seeing Brigham Young for the first time and while yet some distance away the Prophet Joseph stopped his chopping on a beech log, straightened up, studied Brigham for a moment, then remarked: 'There comes the greatest man who ever lived to teach the identity of God to the world, and he will yet lead this people.'
Charles L. Walker, The Diary of Charles L. Walker, Sept. 1832, p. 134
John L. Lund
Those who would try to pressure the Prophet to give the Negroes the Priesthood do not understand the plan of God nor the order of heaven. Revelation is the expressed will of God to man. Revelation is not man's will expressed to God. All the social, political, and governmental pressure in the world is not going to change what God has decreed to be.
John L. Lund, The Church and the Negro, p. 109
Donald Ira French
The revelation that the church is talking about with respect to the Negro and the priesthood should have been sought 50 years ago — not now when we are forced into looking for one. Even if a revelation should come now, we have compromised our position because it looks as if we have been forced into seeking it, which will be true.
Donald Ira French, Time Magazine, Nov. 1, 1963
Eugene Wagner
Was this change of doctrine really a revelation from the Lord, or did the church leaders act on their own? Why don't they publish that revelation and let the Lord speak in his own words? All we saw was a statement of the First Presidency, and that is not how a revelation looks. "When God speaks the revelation starts with the words: 'Thus sayeth the Lord....' It seems when the Lord decides to change a doctrine of such great importance he will talk himself to the people of his church. If such a revelation cannot be presented to the members it is obvious that the First Presidency acted on its own, most likely under fear of public pressure to avoid problems of serious consequences and to maintain peace and popularity with the world.
Eugene Wagner, Salt Lake Tribune, June 24, 1978, Letter to Editor
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