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How do I receive personal revelation?


Prepare yourself spiritually





Henry B. Eyring, “Where Is the Pavilion?Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 72–75




Revelation,True to the Faith (2004), 140–44



Share experiences


Introduce the doctrine

Choose from these ideas, or think of your own, to introduce this week’s lesson:

  • Ask the young women to read or sing all three verses of “Let the Holy Spirit Guide” (Hymns, no. 143) and look for words that describe how the Holy Ghost speaks to us. What are some other words the young women can think of that describe how the Holy Ghost communicates with us?
  • Write on the board “I know I am receiving personal revelation when __________.” Ask the young women how they would complete this sentence. Invite them to continue to ponder this statement during the lesson and look for additional answers.

Learn together

Each of the activities below will help the young women understand how to receive personal revelation. Following the inspiration of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best for your class:

  • Ask the young women if they know what a pavilion is and what its purpose is. Invite the young women to read D&C 121:1–4, in which Joseph Smith describes feeling separated from God by a “pavilion” or covering (encourage them to read the section heading also to gain historical context). In these verses, what does the pavilion represent? Invite the young women to read President Henry B. Eyring’s stories about receiving revelation regarding his profession (in his talk “Where Is the Pavilion?”), and ask them to list things that might create a pavilion between us and God and ways we can remove that pavilion. Are there other things they can think of to add to their lists? Invite them to ponder what they will do to improve their communication with Heavenly Father.
  • Write on the board the scripture references suggested in this outline. Ask each young woman to read one of them and identify what it teaches about how the Holy Ghost can communicate with us. Have the young women write what they find on the board next to the reference. Invite them to share any experiences they have had in which the Holy Ghost has spoken to them in one of these ways.
  • Make a copy of the chart on pages 96–97 of Preach My Gospel for each young woman. Invite her to review the chart and its descriptions of how the Holy Ghost communicates with us. Invite the young women to write about a time when they have experienced any of the feelings, thoughts, or impressions described in the chart. Invite a few of them to share what they wrote with the rest of the class.
  • Invite the young women to read the section titled “Patterns of Revelation” from Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “The Spirit of Revelation” or watch the video “Patterns of Light: The Spirit of Revelation.” Ask them to identify phrases or sentences that explain how the Holy Ghost communicates with us. Why is it important for the young women to understand how the Holy Ghost communicates? How can He help with important decisions we must make? Invite the young women to list some important decisions they will need to make in the next few years. With permission from the bishop, invite exemplary women from the ward to share how they have sought personal revelation to make similar decisions.
  • Show the video “Hearing His Voice,” and ask the young women to look for things the youth in this video did to prepare themselves to receive personal revelation. What are some other ways we can prepare ourselves? (see 3 Nephi 17:2–3; D&C 9:7–8). Encourage the young women to accept the challenge that the youth in the video accepted, and invite them to share their experiences in a future class.


Live what we are learning


  • Complete Choice and Accountability value experience 5 in Personal Progress.
  • Write down specific spiritual promptings or impressions they receive throughout the week and act on them. They could record in their journal what happened when they followed the promptings and what blessings they received.