The Voice of God
“…whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” D&C 1:38
“And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.” - D&C 84:52
His sheep hear his voice. They come when they are called, and he numbers them with the elect and chosen. What then is the sound of his voice that they hear? It is nothing less than the sound of the spirit which is only heard by those who have ears to hear. The Spirit or Holy Ghost is the voice of the Lord. This is pointed out so well in the scriptures, but we don’t seem to understand it
“35. 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;
36. Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words.” - D&C 18:35-36
“Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.” - D&C 88: 66
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I who speak even by the voice of my Spirit, even Alpha and Omega, your Lord and your God—” - D&C 75:1
“Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will concerning your brethren in the land of Zion, many of whom are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth.” - D&C 97:1
“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;” - D&C 18:35
It is important to understand that when you hear the spirit speak to you, you are hearing the voice of the Lord to you. There is only one other authority higher than the Holy Ghost in your life. It supersedes all other external authorities, doctrines, beliefs, programs protocols, leaders and systems. It is God speaking to you directly.
The Voice of God can come to us in many ways. It may come both as internal impressions or insights from unseen angels, it may come as we listen to a living prophet, missionary or even a young child. But it always brings with it peace!
Whenever we feel the witness of the spirit, we hear the voice of God. When we speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, we speak with the voice of God.
“3. And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
4. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
5. Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.” - D&C 68:3-5
Although he was speaking of missionaries called to be his “Servants”, this same principle applies to all who speak by the power of the Holy Ghost whether they be men, women, children or angels. The Voice of the Lord is the same no matter who is the conduit. We can actually speak for God as if God were speaking directly to others if we speak the words given to us by the Holy Ghost.
“38. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.
39. For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen.” – D&C 1:38-39
Speaking for God by the power of the Holy Ghost is limited only by your ability to speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is not limited by any other criteria including; age, race, gender, social status or position/calling in, (or even out of), the church. If God gives it to you by the Holy Ghost to give to others by the Holy Ghost, then God you have authority and power given to you from God to be His mouth piece. It is God speaking through you as His prophet. God is the authority by which it is given and not man.
The Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is Faith, Repentance, Baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost which tells us all things, (2Ne. 32:5-6). It is therefore very important that we learn all things from God via the Holy Ghost and not from men. We are taught this multiple times throughout the scriptures. One such instance is a recorded prayer from the prophet Nephi who prayed,
“O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” – 2 Ne. 4:34
As we listen to others, we can place our trust in the arm of the spirit by following the promptings of the spirit that only come from within us. This is in stark contrast to placing our trust in men which is the arm of flesh.
“And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.” – D&C 11:12
There is a great realization that comes from understanding how the spirit will move both the speaker and the listener. By doing such, both are edified together.
The Voice of the Lord is a spiritual voice NOT a physical voice. This wonderful exchange allows us to learn from others and still rely on the arm of the spirit and not the arm of flesh.
This voice is also that which calls to the elect. They who know the sound of the Lords voice, come when he calls. These are his sheep, and his people.
“52. And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
53. And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.” – D&C 84:52-53“Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.” - Alma 5:38
All the scriptures point to a single conclusion. If you want to come to God, you must follow His voice above all other voices.
“And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.” - D&C 84:47