Through listening to Mormon Stories Podcast I have heard numerous accounts of people seeking guidance from God but receiving little or nothing.  It was clear to me why and I wanted to hear John explain what had gone wrong.  But his role, understandably, was to offer a sympathetic ear, not to offer solutions or suggestions.  But I kept thinking how the mistakes made in seeking help from the divine could be easily remedied if one only understood them.   While I too have struggled at times to get answers from the divine; overall my experience has been somewhat the opposite. Indeed, there were times when I begged the divine to please leave me alone. 

 I use the term ‘divine’ because with a little experience one soon learns that answers from ‘God’ often come from beings in God’s service; not necessarily God Himself.  I group them together under the term: Divine.  Another important point is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a prostitute or a prophet, a president or a pauper; the divine is equally likely to respond.  Their goal is to help us move closer to heaven no matter where we are spiritually.  But conditions must be met and principles obeyed. 

 I realized that my approach has been different than most.  Since I work in science; I think perhaps the best way to approach this problem is to write an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) or recipe for developing a successful communication with the divine. A caveat here should be mentioned: Like calling on a phone, the one on the other end may or may not decide (for their own reasons) to pick up.  But those who do it right and don’t give up, get answered. Continuing with this metaphor; I will first discuss creating a functional phone and then the correct use of the phone.  

So how do I turn myself into an effective listening device? To communicate with the divine, one needs to cultivate a relationship.  This is very much like gardening.  Successful gardening takes patience and constant attention.

Conditioning one’s heart. Some don’ts and then some dos. 1. Don’t seek God to satisfy your pride. No demands. Don’t pursue for visions

1.Share your thoughts and feeling with God like you would with a dear friend or parent.  Invite His input. Expect His input. It’s common to hear the complaint about not being able to reach God when one desperately needs Him; but upon examination there had been little effort made to establish a relationship with Him before the moment of desperate need.  When we include the divine with gratitude for our joys; they will strengthen us with patience through our sorrows.

2. Don’t cage God.  Leave the divine free to answer how and when and where they will. I’ve screwed this up several times. Some examples.  I was once told there was a divine message for me.  Since I was used to getting information directly from my personal guide, I prayed and fasted to open my heart up to receive the answer. No answer came.  So, I asked what was wrong. The response came back: ‘The answer has already been given, go out and find it.’ I asked around and found the information from a friend.     Another example: In April of 1978 a new convert to the LDS Church told me privately that he had prayed about the Blacks and the prohibition of their receiving the priesthood.  He had received the answer that it would end soon.  I thought him naïve.  I was wrong. It ended a couple months later.  God spoke through a donkey to Balaam.  Answers may come from children (Samuel), the weather, a friend, a comment on the radio or any other source; not just religious leaders. Listen inside to your heart.  Don’t confine the divine.

3. Let true principles guide your heart. Spiritual Scams: 1. To follow Jesus you need to listen and follow me. Not true. Religions often do a lot of good and teach truth. They can be great for children and worship. But in the end their primary goal is to self-sustain. 2. Religious leaders often try to guide the unsuspecting away from listening to their inner guidance. I’ve heard leaders teach members to ‘follow your leaders’. Read your scriptures and follow us. This is wrong. The correct principle is to follow first any clear direction from one’s heart. You are the captain of your soul. Listen to leaders; check with the scriptures, yes. Then follow your heart.

4. Don’t predetermine the answer.