Knowing His Voice

"And the Lord passed by, and a great strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).

One of the most important aspects of knowing the Lord is knowing his voice.  We have a tendency to assume that the most glorious, powerful being in the universe would speak to us in such a way, but he does not.  Elijah learned that he speaks to us in a "still small voice."  The nephites in the Book of Mormon who heard the voice of the Lord described it saying, "it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice, nevertheless and not withstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the very center insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn" (3 Nephi 11:3).  Great blessing await those that will hear the voice of the Lord.  The blessings of Abraham came because "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge" (Genesis 26:5).  Conversely we are taught, "whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me" (Doctrine & Covenants 84:52).

How then do we become acquainted with the voice of the Lord?  First we must listen with our heart rather than with our ears. When Nephi admonished his brothers for not listening to the voice of the Lord he bemoaned, "ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words" (1 Nephi 17:45). The Lord's voice is felt more than it is heard.  Our hearts must first be turned to him and our minds must be single to his.  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).

Once our heart and mind is attuned to the Lord, we must then acquaint ourselves with his words.  It has been said that when we pray, we talk to God; when we read the scriptures, we hear his answers.  "Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high.  They can become the key to open the channel to our communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ" (Richard G. Scott, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles).  As we immerse ourselves in the scriptures, God's word seeps deep within our soul; we feel his voice speak to us.  The Lord has declared, "these words are not of men, nor of man, but of me; wherefore ye shall testify they are of me and not of man; for it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them; wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words (Doctrine & Covenants 18:34-36).