[pam]

You will find that I am a big one for little stories concerning particular scriptures. They help me to understand some of the scriptures better. So here is another one concerning D&C 9:8. This concerning experiencing the "burning of the bosom."

Jay Jensen

A number of years ago, in a meeting of returned mission presidents, we reviewed different ways to improve missionaries’ spirituality. One person said, “We need to help all missionaries experience and recognize the ‘burning of the bosom’ taught in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–9.” A member of the First Quorum of the Seventy then shared the following experience:

One of the Quorum of the Twelve came to tour the mission over which the Seventy was presiding. As they drove to the next zone conference, the Apostle turned to him and said, “I wonder if you might have left an impression in the missionaries” minds that has created more problems than you can resolve. As I have traveled throughout the Church, I’ve found relatively few people who have experienced a burning of the bosom. In fact, I’ve had many people tell me that they’ve become frustrated because they have never experienced that feeling even though they have prayed or fasted for long periods of time.

He explained that Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–9 was given in response to the process of translating sacred records. There the burning of the bosom was appropriate. The principle can apply to personal revelation, he said, but more precisely it related to the translation of the Book of Mormon. He counseled the mission president to refer missionaries to other scriptural references about the Holy Ghost. For example, he cited the verse “Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?” (D&C 6:23.)

Over the years, I have tried to learn the different ways in which the Spirit of the Lord works. Surely God does speak from heaven, but he manifests, confirms, or gives direction in a variety of ways. (“Have I Received an Answer from the Spirit?” Ensign, Apr. 1989, 21–22)