Medium of Revelation

• What is the medium of communication between God and man?

One of God’s mediums of communication is the light of Christ, which is perhaps best described in this passage of Doctrine and Covenants 88:

11) And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;

12) Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—

13) The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

In the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 31 we read how God gives light (the light of Christ) to the understanding:

3) For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.

Merrill J. Bateman, former president of BYU, gave a devotional at BYU in August 2000 entitled Learning in the Light of Truth in which he described the light of Christ like this:

There is another form of light not often studied by physicists–light in the spiritual dimension. … [We] are privileged to know about, access, and benefit from a more refined light that emanates from Christ. It, too, is the source of life–eternal life. This light, the Light of Christ, is the source of truth. In speaking to Joseph Smith, the Savior said:

For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. [D&C 84:45–46]

The visible spectrum of light has a spiritual counterpart. The spiritual spectrum relates to various levels of intelligence, beginning with animal instinct and moving to more refined forms of light and truth. These gradations include man’s reasoning ability and conscience, the light that comes through the Holy Ghost prior to baptism, and the light one receives through the gift of the Holy Ghost after entering the Lord’s kingdom. Finally, a fullness of light is received when one has proven worthy of the Second Comforter and receives the “more sure word of prophecy” (2 Pet. 1:19; D&C 131:5). (The spiritual spectrum of light is based on statements by Parley P. Pratt in Key to the Science of Theology, 9th ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1965], 46–47; and Charles W. Penrose, JD 26:21–22.)

In 1884 President Charles W. Penrose, citing section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants, stated that the physical and spiritual spectrums of light are related and belong to one continuum. Speaking of the Light of Christ, the Spirit of God, he said:

It is the light and the life of all things. It is the light and the life of man. It is the life of the animal creation. It is the life of the vegetable creation. It is in the earth . . . ; it is in the stars . . . ; it is in the moon . . . : it is in the sun, and is the light of the sun, and the power by which it was made; and these grosser particles of light that illuminate the heavens and enable us to behold the works of nature, are from that same Spirit which enlightens our minds and unfolds the things of God. As that light comes forth from the sun, so the light of God comes to us. [Charles W. Penrose, JD 26:21] (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/merrill-j-bateman_learning-light-truth/)

In Lectures on Faith, Lecture Fifth- The Godhead, we learn that the Holy Spirit, which could also be called the light of Christ, is the mind, wisdom, power, glory and fullness that the Father and the Son both possess, and that this spirit is shared with man:

2) There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things—by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space—They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fulness: The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made, or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or, rather, man was formed after his likeness, and in his image;—he is also the express image and likeness of the personage of the Father: possessing all the fulness of the Father, or, the same fulness with the Father; being begotten of him, and was ordained from before the foundation of the world to be a propitiation for the sins of all those who should believe on his name, and is called the Son because of the flesh—and descended in suffering below that which man can suffer, or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. But notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin: Showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin. And also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God, may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins. And he being the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fulness of the glory of the Father—possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one, or in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things: by whom all things were created and made, that were created and made: and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one: The Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power and fulness: Filling all in all—the Son being filled with the fulness of the Mind, glory and power, or, in other words, the Spirit, glory and power of the Father—possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom: sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father—a Mediator for man—being filled with the fulness of the Mind of the Father, or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father: which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments: and all those who keep his commandments shall grow up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being transformed into the same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all: being filled with the fulness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one.

God also communicates to us by sending angels to deliver messages and to impart spiritual power and blessings. In an article published in the Ensign, Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy stated:

Other personal manifestations [of angels] have been so quiet that those who received them were unaware of the angelic presence. The ministry of these unseen angels is among the most sublime forms of interaction between heaven and earth, powerfully expressing God’s concern for us and bestowing tangible assurance and spiritual sustenance upon those in great need.

The veil between heaven and earth usually hides the angels from our sight. Yet often in the early stages of our spiritual development, we may experience unmistakable contact with the angels of the unseen world. These experiences may move our sense of belief to a sure sense of knowledge, as we exclaim with Alma, “O then, is not this real?” And Alma replies to us, “Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible.” (Alma 32:35; italics added.) (https://www.lds.org/ensign/1992/04/when-do-the-angels-come.p1?lang=eng)

David A. Edwards, who works for Church magazines, wrote an article published in the Ensign entitled Angels We Have Heard on High in which he explained:

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has given us a succinct explanation of what angels do:

“From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has used angels as His emissaries in conveying love and concern for His children. …

“Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. But seen or unseen they are always near. Sometimes their assignments are very grand and have significance for the whole world. Sometimes the messages are more private. Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times. …

“… I testify that angels are still sent to help us, even as they were sent to help Adam and Eve, to help the prophets, and indeed to help the Savior of the world Himself. … Such ministrations will be to the righteous until the end of time.”

Because “angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 32:3), it’s possible that when we perceive the voice of the Spirit in our lives, it may be the result of angelic ministration. Of course, the Holy Ghost can and does speak directly to us and can dwell in our hearts (see D&C 8:2), but it seems that angels always deliver their messages through the medium of the Spirit, whether they are unseen and speaking in a “still small voice” or standing before our eyes and speaking with a “voice of thunder” (1 Nephi 17:45). In fact, even the actual beholding of angels is a spiritual gift (see Moroni 10:14).

Also, it’s clear from the scriptures that the important thing about the ministering of angels isn’t really that we see or hear them with our natural senses but that we heed their messages as we humbly receive them in the intended way—with hearts that are softened so that we can “feel [their] words” through the Spirit (1 Nephi 17:45), by which God can reveal things “to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all.” (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/12/angels-we-have-heard?lang=eng)

After doing a lot of research on the ministering of angels, Donald W. Parry gave a talk at a BYU devotional explaining his findings entitled Angels, Chariots and the Lord of Hosts, given on July 31, 2012. That talk can be accessed at this link - https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/donald-w-parry_angels-chariots-and-the-lord-of-hosts/.

Here are some scriptures that teach about how angels are a source of communication between God and man – Moroni 7:25 and 30, 2 Nephi 32:3, and Alma 32:23.