Asking For What is Right

It is easy to ask “why” when we run into a roadblock or an obstacle. It is hard to answer the question “why” because of how many factors contribute to how I got to that obstacle and the way that it is blocking me when others would toss a glance back at it while passing by undeterred.

I began taking a perscription drug that had some very noticeable results. My (low) blood sugar levels were improved to the point that I was not having trouble making it to my next meal. When I asked my naturopathic doctor who has prescribed other herbal remedies for hormonal issues whether this drug would cause problems for me if taken in conjunction with these other remedies, she paused because her opinion on perscription drugs is that they work against the body by forcing it to do something rather than assisting it in solving the problem on it’s own. She used muscle testing to ask my body if this perscription drug was good for me or harming me and she got no answer. Her response to the lack of an answer was that we were asking the wrong question.

I, along with two other moms, teach a class to teens about how to discover scientific truth. One of my co-teachers asks me after she does her part if she taught it the way that I wanted. I always reply that she is free to teach her part how she feels best and that I don’t have specific requirements for how she does her part. Maybe she is trying to ask me if I liked her presentation. Maybe she is asking if her part aligned with the goals for the class. However, the way that she asks for feedback doesn’t give her either answer.

In a revelation recorded for some elders of the early church, the Lord says, “Let there be a craft made, or bought, as seemeth you good, it mattereth not unto me, and take your journey speedily for the place which is called St. Louis.” (D&C 60:5) This is an example of a time when the Lord did not give specific instructions about how to complete a task he had assigned them to do. “If I do not know know the will of my Father, and what he requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in life or in regard to my own course, or that of my friends, my family, my children, or those that I preside over, and get no answer from him, and then do the very best that my judgment will teach me, he is bound to own and honor that transaction, and he will do so to all intents and purposes.” (Brigham Young)

In asking questions we must “balance our experience and agency with the wisdom of heaven.” (Joseph F McConkie) It doesn’t speak much to our intelligence if we ask the Lord a question that we already know the answer to but would rather have a different answer. It’s like asking your mom if you can have a cookie before you eat lunch. I don’t have to know your mom personally, yet if your mom has an interest in your nutrition, I can predict she’s going to say “no.” Now kids may not be reasonably expected to put high priority on their nutrition, but God is going to expect you to do your homework. “Good inspiration is based upon good information.” (Russell M Nelson)

“To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!” (Neal A Maxwell)

“What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will ‘grow into the principle of revelation.’ (as taught by Joseph Smith)…

Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, (2 Nephi 32:3) and regular time committed to temple and family history work.” (Russell M Nelson)

If all those variables listed above are kept constant and still the answer does not come, we must come back to whether we have asked the right question or asked for what is right. The Savior promised, “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” (3 Nephi 18:20) The qualifying phrase, “which is right,” puts the responsibility upon me, the asker, to get at the question from the right angle.

My father is currently dying of cancer. If the right question is not, “Why is he dying?” then maybe the right angle is, “What can I do with the time I have remaining to communicate to him my love.”

In writing this, I have assumed that you, the reader, would recognize an answer from a divine source if you asked a question. Let’s spend some time on this topic. I could tell you how it feels to me when I receive an answer. I think rather than ask, “What does an answer feel like?” I should consider, “How do I recognize an answer when it comes?”

First, you have to notice a problem and develop a question (even if it’s not the right question). Then you have to have the heart to go to great lengths to find the answer. That means that first you must hope that there is an answer and that you can find it. Then you will have to get information from a lot of sources about the question you have. It may be that between sources, you will begin to see patterns emerge. You must notice these patterns if you hope to recognize the answer when it comes. There will be a period of time where you are just pondering the information that you have and following your instincts about whether you need more information and where to get it. Setting goals is a proactive way to solve a problem and may be part of solving the problem that you have articulated. If the question isn’t right, you will have ideas on how to change the question to ask for “what is right.” You will have plenty of time. Sometimes, when asking the Lord for answers and balancing that with our own experience, we feel that we have been given too much time. I have sometimes felt impatient with this process. I must emphasize the humility that Joseph Smith demonstrated when he went before the Lord to ask his question. Along the way, the answer will come, whether directly or in the process of discovery. God often answers question line upon line. That means that He may choose to only give a partial answer with the intent to add to it as we continue to search for more.

“But behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right” (D&C 9:8).

When you feel that you have found the right answer, it is not a flippant feeling. It is a sense that after testing all the theories, looking for all the clues, putting together all the patterns and considering all angles of the question, finally one solution is standing out as the right one. The right answer feels right because it makes sense (usually) and if it doesn’t make sense, there is a strong spiritual direction that going against logic is the answer. The latter is not the rule. Generally, both your mind and your heart will be united on the solution to implement.

Sources:

McConkie, Joseph Fielding. Brigham Young University devotional, 12 Dec 2006. For full text, speeches.byu.edu.

Maxwell, Neal A. “Meek and Lowly” Brigham Young University devotional, 21 Oct 1986. speeches.byu.edu

Nelson, Russell M. “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives.” April 2018 General Conference. Published in Ensign, May 2018.

Smith, Joseph. Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. Chapter 10: “Prayer and Personal Revelation.”

Young, Brigham. Journal of Discourses, Volume 3.