The Gospel As Absolute Truth & Revelation

I had an interesting experience lately. I had the opportunity to attend a Christmas choir concert in a church. Wonderful performance. Before the performance began, I took the time to peruse the Bible that was on the back of the pew in front of me. Reading passages here and there caused me to reflect on the gospel during the duration of the performance. I thought about the church I was in, it being of a different denomination than I attend, and thought about the different views people have on Christianity and the gospel as a whole. Many thoughts came to mind during the concert and I enjoyed writing them down and thinking about them. I wish to share my thoughts here in an organized fashion and hope to elicit a desire of understanding and deeper thought of what the gospel of Jesus Christ is about.

First, I wish to take the position that the gospel of Jesus Christ is an absolute truth - specifically, the principles and laws contained therein; meaning, it is unchanging and cannot be compromised. God has mentioned repeatedly that He is the same and does not change ¹. If this be the case, and his gospel comes from Him, then the nature of the gospel would also be unchanging, therefore absolute. Our own personal views on any aspect of the gospel cannot change or alter this fact, despite what we may believe. One who has not traveled to Germany may well believe that such a place does not exist. Does that mean he is right, because that is his conviction? No. The fact remains, regardless, that Germany does exist. It is an absolute truth and it cannot be refuted. So is it with the principles and laws contained in the gospel. The gospel as a whole is absolute truth, meaning everything within it is to be defined as such also.

If the gospel of Jesus Christ is absolute truth, then why would it be important for us to know that? To answer the question, I want to give you something basic - a simple absolute truth: water. Water in it's most basic form is H₂O. If you take away any element of this formula, then you no longer have water. In order for water to be water, you must have the precise amount of Hydrogen and the precise amount of Oxygen; otherwise, you have a completely different substance. The same holds true with laws of the gospel. In order for us to be joint heirs ² with our Savior, Jesus Christ, we must do specific things to accomplish that. If we are to be able to stand in the presence of the Lord, we must do certain things ³. The principle here is a form of the law of harvest: if we are to obtain something, we must do certain things to obtain it. In order for us to progress and come unto our Savior and ultimately our Father in Heaven, we must do certain things, those things contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, false perceptions hinder our ability to progress and grow closer to our Father and our Savior. Our progression will be limited, because we lack the knowledge of what we need to do in order to propel us closer toward becoming an heir with God. This is why it is important to understand that the gospel is an absolute truth. Once we understand this, we realize there are specific principles and laws pertaining to the gospel that will allow us to apply the Lord's atonement and grace to salvation.

How is this to be done? How are we to know what those principles and laws are? A simple answer might be to read the Bible or scriptures. However, there are literally thousands of sects in Christendom professing to interpret the meaning of the scriptures correctly, with each sect having a slightly different view than the other. My proposal is that we go to the source. The scriptures are not the source of all truth (though I have often heard many claim them to be). God is. The scriptures are but one way of communicating that truth, or in other words, the gospel. So how then do we go to the Source? Perhaps at this time, we cannot physically go to Him, but we can communicate with Him. That way of communication is called revelation, defined by a dictionary as "God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures...an instance of such communication or disclosure" ⁴. Revelation comes by several ways, such as prophets, scriptures (which are, more specifically, revelations prophets of old have received), prayer, the Holy Ghost, manifestations, visions, and so forth. We can all receive personal revelation, meaning we can have personal communication with God, our Father. However, it is important to note a few things regarding revelation:

1. Revelation comes by authority from a member of the Godhead (which consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost).
2. As we strive to exercise faith, repent of our sins, make covenants through ordinances with God and keep them, have the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and are obedient to the commandments of God, we increase our ability to receive and understand revelation.
3. When we act on revelation (meaning, we apply it in our lives and do it), we may receive greater revelations.

Now, as previously mentioned, God is the source of all truth. With this in mind, and God is endless and eternal ⁵, then it must be so with revelation. There is no end to revelation. It is not limited - or, in other words, it can be limited only as far as we are ready to receive it. If this is true - and I say that it is - then we have not received all of God's word. Think about it. Technology is still advancing. There are still things that have yet to be discovered and invented. And when something is invented, there are always new improvements and spin-offs of the original invention. The same principle holds true with revelation. There is still much to be revealed to us by our Father in Heaven! We still have much to learn if we are to be His heirs.

Heavenly Father wants us to receive revelation for ourselves. I have shown you earlier that He does. So why does He want us to receive revelation? What is in it for Him? I wish to answer that question with a scenario. Picture yourself on your death bed. What do you think you will have hoped to have accomplished in your life? Someone once said, "No one on his deathbed ever said 'I wish I had spent more time on my business.'"⁶ Most likely, you'll be thinking about relationships with family, friends, and those you've associated with - those you love. Happiness is to be found in loving others and being loved. We learn from Moses that it "is [God's] work and [His] glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."⁷ He does His work because He loves us. He desires that we be happy and receive a fullness of joy, which comes through gaining eternal life. In order for us to obtain eternal life, we must know "the only true God, and Jesus Christ"⁸, which comes by revelation (They will reveal Themselves unto us ⁹). Therefore, eternal life comes by revelation, and God wants us to have eternal life. This is why He wants us to receive revelation for ourselves.

In closing, I wish to add a few personal thoughts. There are many things I don't know. I am still in my twenties and am aware that there are many people in the world who have much more knowledge and wisdom than I have, and perhaps may ever have in this life. However, there are a few things that I do know for myself. God is our Father. He loves us. He loves me. He wants us to be happy and wants us to know who He is. We can pray to Him, in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we can receive answers from Him. We will receive answers, when we have faith that He is there and that He hears us. I know because of several experiences in my own life.

It is with this knowledge that I ask you not to criticize, put down, or accuse me of saying anything you might think is false. I'm sure there are many who may throw out scriptures and beliefs to try and prove me wrong. If that would be the case, then the question still remains: "If there is truth out there to be found, which of us is right?" That is why I submit that we go to the Source. If we have faith to get an answer, we will get one. If we don't have faith, then our prayer is in vain. ¹⁰


Footnotes:
1. Malachi 3:6 (3 Nephi 24:6); Hebrews 13:8; Moroni 8:18; Mormon 9:9; D&C 20:12, 17
2. Romans 8:17
3. Psalms 24:3-5
4. Random House Webster's College Dictionary. 1999 by Random House, Inc. Page 1127.

^{A side note to the word revelation: in the bible it corresponds with the word apocalypse, which comes from the Greek word apokalyptein, literally meaning "uncovering". The word apocalypse was "developed in English from earlier Apokalypsis (name of the last book of the New Testament, usually called Revelation), probably about 1200, in The Ormulum." (Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, copyright 1998 The H.W. Wilson Company, page 42)}

5. Moses 4:4; Daniel 9:3-4; Enos 1:4; John 17; 3 Nephi 17:15-18; Joseph Smith - History 1:14-17; D&C 121:6
6. Matthew 7:7; James 1:5
5. Psalm 90:2; 1Timothy 1:17; 1 Nephi 10:19; Moroni 7:22; D&C 19:10
6. Ralph Keyes. The Quote Verifier. New York: Ralph Keyes, 2006.
7. Moses 1:39
8. John 17:3
9. John 14:16-18, 21, 23; also, compare with Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 150-151.
10. Matthew 7:7; James 1:5-6