How I Got My Splits and Personal Revelation
In his most recent talk this past April, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, Pres. Nelson said,
Physically, my family is not flexible. As a dancer, this was always a challenge. I would watch girls around me doing the splits or lifting their foot to their head. I was always envious of their flexibility. I stretched and stretched and stretched and only saw minimal improvement. It was painful and frustrating to feel like I wasn't improving at all. I was in junior high school when my ballet teacher finally cracked the whip. I think it was a combination of her being frustrated with our lack of flexibility along with her seeing how much we wanted to improve. She outlined a series of stretching exercises that we did everyday. Some of the stretches I knew, some were new and different. They challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone. She lit a fire under us, and it wasn't long after that I got my splits down and my flexibility overall improved immensely!
I moved dance studios and things got more serious. By that point I knew my body and my teachers told me my flexibility needed to improve even more if I was going to get anywhere. I knew that if I didn't keep up my stretching I would lose the flexibility I had worked so hard to earn. So, I spent 40-60 minutes stretching after my 3 hour dance rehearsals EVERY DAY! I was a freshman/junior in high school so I could easily have spent that time on homework. But it was worth it to me. Because of that, my flexibility improved even further.
Five/six years later and I still do the splits almost every day and I spend considerable amounts of time stretching every day, because I know if I don't, I will lose my hard earned flexibility. What does this have to do with personal revelation? There are several principles from my experience that have provided me with clarity on how to stretch my ability to receive personal revelation.
1. Sometimes you have to change things up:
Just as I wasn't seeing progress until my teacher changed up the stretching exercises, sometimes we become stagnant when we do the same things over and over again. Maybe our scripture study has become a go-through-the-motions activity. Maybe prayer has become repetitious. Maybe fasting has become all about skipping meals instead of coming closer to Christ. Sometimes it's good to mix things up and get a fresh view on our habits. To be honest, I've always struggled with studying the scriptures. Not long ago I realized a real lack of scripture study in my life. I lacked even the desire to read or study. So, I decided to read the Bible, front to back. Because of this change I now look forward to reading the scriptures because I've never read the Bible all the way through and the stories have become new and exciting to me. And because my scriptures are already open, I figure I might as well study the Book of Mormon while I'm there.
Maybe changing things up for you looks like studying the scriptures differently, fasting with a purpose, saying prayers of gratitude, or praying only for others. Whatever it might be, try tweaking your regular routine. It may provide you with the extra push needed to be more in tune with the Spirit.
2. Constant Consistency
Keeping my flexibility and even improving it has required constant consistency. I wouldn't still be able to do the splits if I didn't work on it everyday. I believe the same goes for personal revelation. We can't read the scriptures on Sunday and expect to be good for the rest of the week. In order to hear and act on personal revelation, we need to constantly and consistently work on hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
3. It takes time
It took years for me to get to where I am now flexibility wise. The same goes for my ability to hear personal revelation. We can't expect to receive answers and guidance if we don't take the time to listen and council with the Lord. Maybe that requires some extra time on our knees in silence or more time pondering in the temple. Sometimes the Lord waits to give us specific revelation until the right time. Just as Joseph Smith didn't receive the gold plates until he was old enough and ready, sometimes we don't receive answers until we're ready or the time is right. Be patient.
4. It requires going beyond our comfort zone
I hated this about stretching. I remember in Jazz class my dance teacher making us do "super splits". We would put our front leg on a folded up mat so our leg was at an incline. It was literally torture. Seriously. I almost cried every time. I remember my teacher urging us to push past our comfort zone (as I glared at her!). When it comes to personal revelation, sometimes we have to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Maybe it's uncomfortable to sit in silence and ponder, or maybe you don't feel comfortable following the prompting you receive. As we continue to stretch and reach out of that comfort zone, the Lord will bless us with even more revelation because He will know He can trust us with it.
"I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation".The prophet has asked us to improve our ability to receive personal revelation. But how do we do that? How do we stretch ourselves to receive more revelation?
Physically, my family is not flexible. As a dancer, this was always a challenge. I would watch girls around me doing the splits or lifting their foot to their head. I was always envious of their flexibility. I stretched and stretched and stretched and only saw minimal improvement. It was painful and frustrating to feel like I wasn't improving at all. I was in junior high school when my ballet teacher finally cracked the whip. I think it was a combination of her being frustrated with our lack of flexibility along with her seeing how much we wanted to improve. She outlined a series of stretching exercises that we did everyday. Some of the stretches I knew, some were new and different. They challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone. She lit a fire under us, and it wasn't long after that I got my splits down and my flexibility overall improved immensely! 1. Sometimes you have to change things up:
Just as I wasn't seeing progress until my teacher changed up the stretching exercises, sometimes we become stagnant when we do the same things over and over again. Maybe our scripture study has become a go-through-the-motions activity. Maybe prayer has become repetitious. Maybe fasting has become all about skipping meals instead of coming closer to Christ. Sometimes it's good to mix things up and get a fresh view on our habits. To be honest, I've always struggled with studying the scriptures. Not long ago I realized a real lack of scripture study in my life. I lacked even the desire to read or study. So, I decided to read the Bible, front to back. Because of this change I now look forward to reading the scriptures because I've never read the Bible all the way through and the stories have become new and exciting to me. And because my scriptures are already open, I figure I might as well study the Book of Mormon while I'm there.
Maybe changing things up for you looks like studying the scriptures differently, fasting with a purpose, saying prayers of gratitude, or praying only for others. Whatever it might be, try tweaking your regular routine. It may provide you with the extra push needed to be more in tune with the Spirit.
2. Constant Consistency
Keeping my flexibility and even improving it has required constant consistency. I wouldn't still be able to do the splits if I didn't work on it everyday. I believe the same goes for personal revelation. We can't read the scriptures on Sunday and expect to be good for the rest of the week. In order to hear and act on personal revelation, we need to constantly and consistently work on hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
3. It takes time
It took years for me to get to where I am now flexibility wise. The same goes for my ability to hear personal revelation. We can't expect to receive answers and guidance if we don't take the time to listen and council with the Lord. Maybe that requires some extra time on our knees in silence or more time pondering in the temple. Sometimes the Lord waits to give us specific revelation until the right time. Just as Joseph Smith didn't receive the gold plates until he was old enough and ready, sometimes we don't receive answers until we're ready or the time is right. Be patient.
4. It requires going beyond our comfort zone
I hated this about stretching. I remember in Jazz class my dance teacher making us do "super splits". We would put our front leg on a folded up mat so our leg was at an incline. It was literally torture. Seriously. I almost cried every time. I remember my teacher urging us to push past our comfort zone (as I glared at her!). When it comes to personal revelation, sometimes we have to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Maybe it's uncomfortable to sit in silence and ponder, or maybe you don't feel comfortable following the prompting you receive. As we continue to stretch and reach out of that comfort zone, the Lord will bless us with even more revelation because He will know He can trust us with it.
"Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!”
-Pres. Nelson
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