A Journal as Personal Scripture

Learn how keeping a journal can be personal scripture for you.

I gave this talk in the Saturday Evening Session of the May 2012 Provo West Stake Conference. The opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.



How would you describe what the Book of Mormon is to someone unfamiliar with it? I would describe it as follows:

It is scripture. It is an anchor of the true church and the divine mission of the prophet Joseph Smith. It is another testament of Jesus Christ that compliments and supports the Old and New Testaments.

Why do we have the Book of Mormon? What purpose does it serve? From the title page of the Book of Mormon that was written by Moroni not Joseph Smith, we learn it's purpose:

"Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel
what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations"

In 2 Nephi 29, Nephi prophesies that many Gentiles will reject the Book of Mormon. He then goes on to teach why it is so important and expands upon the doctrine that Moroni teaches on the title page. Let's review this starting in verse 7:

"7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? 8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. 9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever. (Open Canon of Scripture) 10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. 11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written. (So from this we learn that all people have the potential to hear the voice of the Lord) 12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel , which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it. 13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews. 14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one . And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever."

Now if I were to ask all of you how you would interpret these versus, my guess is most of you would focus on the fact that at some point in the future we expect to receive other books of scripture from the lost tribes written by other prophets. I think this would be an accurate interpretation. However, I think there is a much broader meaning that applies to all members of the church.

I'll read verse 11 one more time.

"11
For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written."

Does this verse sound like it is only talking about prophets? It says "all men" which we know to mean "all people"--both men, women, and children. So all of us are commanded to write the words which the Lord speaks to us. Now I don't know about any of you but I personally have never had the Lord speak to me in a literal way. However, through the promptings of the Holy Ghost I have had the Lord speak to me in my mind and in my heart.

Three chapters later Nephi teaches us about what members of the church should expect from their relationship with the Holy Ghost in 2 Nephi 32:2-5:

"2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do . 4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark. 5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do."

Ok, so we have now established that each of us should be regularly receiving promptings from the Holy Ghost to guide us in our lives and that we should be writing these promptings down.

We learn from D&C 68:4 the important of these promptings:
"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."

We are entitled to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost not the random infrequent promptings of the Holy Ghost. If we don't obtain this it is as Nephi said: "ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark."

Remember that our revelation can not exceed our stewardship. A bishop can't receive revelation for the stake president. A father can't receive revelation for the bishop but he can receive revelation for himself and his family.

So each of us have the opportunity to receive and record our personal book of scripture that can eventually be read by our children and grandchildren and like the Book of Mormon title page it can show "what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers."

Now I have a confession to make. Since my 2 years as a full-time missionary, I haven't kept a consistent journal for most of 20 years. I wrote my life story at one point and with 13 years of bishopric and stake service I have written several talks that have drawn on my memory of some of my personal experiences. But I still hadn't kept a consistent journal. Now the sad part is I know there are many spiritual experiences over those 20 years that I no longer remember.

As I have spoken from time to time in youth firesides over the years, I have had my children tell me that they have never heard of many of experiences that I shared there before. That is because it is only in that preparation that an important undocumented experience is jarred loose that other wise would have been forgotten.

In October 2007 General Conference, President Eyring shared the following story:
"When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property. He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: 'I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.'
I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.
I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question:
'Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?'
As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done."

Brothers and Sister, more recently I had a similar prompting to that of President Eyring as I was pondering on how I could increase my spirituality and be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. With my busy schedule it hasn't been easy, yet I have started to develop the habit of keeping a daily journal again after all these years. I can tell you what a confirming experience it has been for me and like with President Eyring it has helped me recognize the hand of the Lord more fully in my life.

As I have written I have tried not just to catalog the events of the day but to recognize when I have been prompted by the spirit. I have found that looking for these promptings and having that daily accountability at the end of the day is helping me be a more consistent disciple. If there are times during the day that I have lived below that standard, it also gives me reflection time on how I can make corrections and improve.
If you personally have been struggling to see the hand of the Lord in your life and are having difficultly recognizing the promptings of the Holy Ghost then I would urge to consider a similar remedy.

Two years later in a similar address in the October 2009 General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott explains how this journal writing can lead to enhanced revelation:

He said "had I not responded to the first impressions and recorded them, I would not have received the last, most precious guidance....I believe that you can leave the most precious, personal direction of the Spirit unheard because you do not respond to, record, and apply the first promptings that come to you."

Elder Scott expands upon these concept in an address he gave to BYU students in 2001:

"I will share a principle that, if understood and consistently applied, will bring enormous blessings throughout your life. It is not difficult for me to explain, nor for you to understand. However, it will require of you significant, determined effort to yield its full potential. With it, you can learn vital truths that will bring you greater, enduring happiness and make your life more productive and meaningful:
I will consistently strive to learn by what I hear, see, and feel. I will write down the important things I learn, and I will do them. You can learn vitally important things by what you hear and see and especially by what you feel, as prompted by the Holy Ghost. Most individuals limit their learning primarily to what they hear or what they read. Be wise. Develop the skill of learning by what you see and particularly by what the Holy Ghost prompts you to feel. Consciously seek to learn by what you see and feel, and your capacity to do so will expand through consistent practice. Ask in faith for such help. Live to be worthy of it. Seek to recognize it. Write down in a secure place the important things you learn from the Spirit. You will find that as you write down precious impressions, often more will come. Also, the knowledge you gain will be available throughout your life. Always, day or night, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, seek to recognize and respond to the direction of the Spirit. Express gratitude for the help received and obey it. This practice will reinforce your capacity to learn by the Spirit. It will permit the Lord to guide your life and to enrich the use of every other capacity latent in your being. If I had the power to communicate the importance of the principle just shared, I could end this message now, and you would have received the major benefit from these words. It requires effort and practice to consistently learn by what you see and feel. I suggest that you practice this principle now."

Brothers and Sisters, boys, and girls I will issue to you the same challenge given by Elder Scott:

Will you consistently strive to learn by what you hear, see, and feel?
Will you write down the important things you learn, and will you do them?

If you have a really busy day, perhaps you can just jot down a few key words or short sentences and then maybe take a little more time on a Sunday to more fully document the important experiences of the day. I have done this and it has proved to be effective so far.

As I have applied the promises from these two living apostles related to keeping a daily journal, my sensitivity to the spirit has increased and I have felt closer to my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. It is my hope that by sharing this with you it will help me to keep going and that it may inspire you to do the same if you aren't already doing it.
Copyright © 1999-2016 Brian K. Holman. Any opinions expressed on this site are solely my own and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer, my church, or any other referenced organization.