Will God Reveal His Will to You or Me?

            My Come, Follow Me lesson for this week took me to Numbers 11-14; 20-24 where the children of Israel were still wandering in the wilderness. The lesson manual introduced the lesson in this way:

Even on foot, it wouldn’t normally take 40 years to travel from the wilderness of Sinai to the promised land in Canaan. But that’s how long the children of Israel needed, not to cover the geographical distance but to cover the spiritual distance: the distance between who they were and who the Lord needed them to become s His covenant people.

The book of Numbers describes some of what happened during those 40 years, including lessons the children of Israel needed to learn before entering the promised land. They learned about being faithful to the Lord’s chosen servants (see Numbers 12). They learned about trusting the Lord’s power, even when the future seems hopeless (see Numbers 13-14). And they learned that being faithless or untrusting brings spiritual harm, but they could repent and look to the Savior for healing (see Numbers 21:4-9).

We’re all like the Israelites in some ways. We all know what it’s like to be in a spiritual wilderness, and the same lessons they learned can help us prepare to enter our own promised land: eternal life with our Heavenly Father.

            As usual, there are numerous principles taught in the block of scripture. I feel prompted to write about this principle: “Revelation is available to all but God guides His Church through His prophet” (Numbers 11:11-17, 24-29; 12).

            The children of Israel grew tired of eating manna every day, and they lusted for the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic that “did eat in Egypt freely” (Numbers 11:5). Moses heard the people complaining in their tents, and he was displeased. Moses went to the Lord and said the following to Him:

11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?

12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?

13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.

14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. (Numbers 11:11-15).

            The Lord told Moses to choose seventy men who were leaders from among the children of Israel and bring them to the tabernacle of the congregation. There the Lord met with the men and gave them counsel.

24 ¶ And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.

25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel (Number 11:24-30).

            The Lord took of the spirit that was upon Moses and gave it to the seventy elders “and they prophesied” (verse 25). In addition, two men that stayed in the camp and was not among the elders also prophesied. When Joshua expressed his concern about the two men prophesying, Moses replied with the wish that all the Israelites were prophets.

Moses showed his greatness in his answer to Joshua. Some leaders would be threatened if subordinates had the same gifts and abilities, but Moses was not threatened. He wanted every single Israelite to share the same power as he had – the power to receive revelation. What does it mean to be a prophet? It means that God reveals His will to that person. Anyone to whom God speaks is a prophet.

President Russell M. Nelson taught, “Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! … Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know” (“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 95). 

            Was Moses still the prophet when seventy-two other men could also receive revelation? Yes. God can reveal His will to each of His children for themselves and for their specific responsibilities, but He reveals His will for all His children to the prophet. Even though all baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the gift of the Holy Ghost and can receive revelation, they do not speak for the Church. We sustained fifteen men as prophets, seers, and revelators, but only the senior apostle, the President of the Church, receives revelation for the entire Church.