Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin on opening the spiritual windows of revelation

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008) served as a Seventy from 1976 to 1986, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1986 until his passing in 2008 at age 91.

"If we configure our hearts and minds properly with faith, disciplined obedience, prayer, and scripture study, we can access the network of divine and eternal truths. We can receive the teachings and counsel of God’s prophet, opening to us knowledge and revelation from our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

"The Lord counsels us to become skilled in using these spiritual windows so we can seek and receive personal revelation for ourselves and our families. When the storms of life leave us confused, the windows of revelation can guide us safely home to our Heavenly Father....

"To open the windows of heaven, we must conform our will to God’s will. Diligent, enduring obedience to God’s laws is the key that opens the windows of heaven. Obedience enables us to be receptive to the mind and will of the Lord. 'The Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient' (D&C 64:34) are those who receive the blessings of revelation through the open windows of heaven."

- Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Windows of Light and Truth," General Conference October 1995
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We are blessed in our time to have living prophets and seers who can help reveal God's will to us, based on the current needs and challenges of the world we live in. But Elder Wirthlin reminds us that each of us can personally "open the windows of heaven" in our life, enabling spiritual counsel to also flow directly to us. The process begins as we "configure our hearts and minds properly with faith, disciplined obedience, prayer, and scripture study," and heed the counsel that comes through the living prophets, to set the foundation. That word "configure" is especially interesting; through the actions of our habits and choices, we are in a very real way preparing our hearts and minds for the things that will follow.

Once the foundation is established and configured, we can build on it personally:

It's comforting to know we have help in navigating "the storms of life" that will come to each of us. The great key comes in humble, whole-hearted obedience that "enables us to be receptive to the mind and will of the Lord."

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2018)