Prayer Initiates Personal Revelation

Shortly after Oliver Cowdery began his labors as scribe while the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the engravings on the gold plates into the Book of Mormon, Oliver wanted a witness from God that the translation was true and that Joseph was a true prophet. Oliver had already received an answer to prayer about the authenticity of the plates and Joseph's mission before he had met the young prophet. Now that he was fully engaged in the work, however, Oliver wanted more divine reassurance. Joseph inquired of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim and received an answer. Jesus Christ, speaking through Joseph, gave Oliver the following promise:

And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift, that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways.
--Doctrine and Covenants 6:11

God is willing to reveal great and marvelous truths to His children. He is not trying to hide anything from anyone. God does not work in secret. To initiate the revelatory process, however, we must inquire of the Lord. In other words, I must ask a question before God gives an answer. If I don't ask, He doesn't speak. God's mysteries don't have to remain mysteries to me, provided I really want to know something. 

I am aware, however, that God is economical. He won't reveal something to me that He has already revealed to ancient or modern prophets and they have written it down for me to study. I must do my homework. If I get to the end of the road in my study and find the answer has not yet been revealed, and if it's important to my salvation for me to know, God will reveal the knowledge I need. But only if I first ask. If I do not invite revelation, God will not force His knowledge upon me.

Humble and Sincere

In March, 1829, while Joseph Smith was working on the translation of the engravings on the gold plates that would be published a year later as the Book of Mormon, Martin Harris, Joseph's friend and benefactor, wanted to see the plates for himself. He had already given Joseph money to support him in the work, and he would soon invest even more money in the printing of the book. Not only did Martin have doubts about the authenticity of Joseph's claim to have gold plates, Martin's wife Lucy was bitterly opposed to her husband's involvement with Joseph. Martin wanted an unassailable witness that he could bear to his accusing wife. Martin asked Joseph to inquire of the Lord whether he (Martin) could be granted a glimpse of the plates.

God's response to Joseph's inquiry is recorded in Section 5 of the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of revelations received primarily by Joseph Smith, and considered scripture by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. God explained to the young prophet what Martin needed to do to receive what he wanted:

Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see.
--Doctrine and Covenants 5:24

The response to Martin was simple. The answer is still simple today to me and anyone who wants an answer to prayer. 

A month later, Martin humbled himself sufficiently, and together with David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery, the Angel Moroni showed Martin the plates of the Book of Mormon, and the voice of God pronounced Joseph's translation true and correct.

Answers to prayer come when we are humble and sincere.

No Greater Witness

Moroni, son of Mormon, has received the compiled history of the Nephite people from his deceased father. Alone and hunted by the enemy that has wiped out the entire Nephite nation, Moroni spends precious time to record a final message to the future readers of the book he is charged to protect. In the remaining space on the gold plates, before he bears his final testimony of Jesus Christ, Moroni engraves these words:

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
--Moroni 10:4-5

If Joseph Smith, the translator of the Book of Mormon, was a fraud, this promise of a witness from God would be the most audacious, outlandish, bold-faced lie ever perpetrated on the public. Joseph was either a lunatic or a prophet. 

The author of these words lays it all on the line. He invites us not to take his word for it nor to rely on the words of any other human. He says we should go to God and put it in His hands. He was confident of the outcome. 

Millions have put this promise to the test and have found it to be true. I have tested the Book of Mormon, and in answer to my sincere prayers, God has told me it is true. What greater witness do I need than from God?

Love Endures by Diligent Prayer

As the war against their enemies raged on, Mormon and his son Moroni became separated for a time, fighting on different fronts. In the midst of fierce battles, Mormon took the time to write a letter to Moroni. Though distance and circumstances separated father and son, Mormon wanted to encourage Moroni to keep the faith and to remain diligent in following Jesus. Mormon reminded his son about the importance of prayer with these words:

And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.
--Moroni 8:26

Praying with diligence is to be steady, persistent and energetic in prayer. Effective prayers are not flashes in the pan. 

Prayer is specifically required to receive and maintain charity, the pure love of Christ. Without diligent, constant, effective, Spirit-guided prayers, Moroni could not have charity, and neither can I. 

Why is the connection between praying and charity so vital? Because charity is based on revelation. Charity is Christ's pure love, exercised according to His will. While I may do some good things of my own free will, the best good is accomplished when I relinquish my will to God and do as He wants instead of as I want. 

I see many circumstances around me that cry out for help, but only God knows what needs to be done in each case. I may see a thirsty man, and since I have two bottles of water in my pack, I think I should give him one. What I don't know, however, is that a person right behind me has a stingy heart and has only one bottle of water, and God has put the thirsty man in that person's path to teach him about sacrifice. So, if I give my water, I have thwarted God's plan and robbed another person of an important lesson. Without the guidance of the Holy Ghost, my altruistic acts may be exactly what God doesn't want. 

Prayer is the means to attune me to the Lord and His will. If I do not talk to God, He will not talk to me. Thus, without prayer, I cannot have true charity.

All Energy of Heart

After the great prophet and historian Mormon was killed following the destruction of his people, his son Moroni inherited the responsibility to finish the record of his father and protect the writings. As Moroni completed his own contributions to his father's book, he included a record of a sermon Mormon had preached before his death. It's amazing that, in the midst of a war, commanding an army faced with annihilation, and surrounded by his own people falling deeper into apostasy and wickedness, Mormon  maintained the spiritual sensitivity to preach a powerful sermon to the few who still followed the Christ. 

Near the close of that sermon on the Christian principles of charity, Mormon exhorted his hearers to pray: 

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.
--Moroni 7:48

To pray with all energy of heart is to pray like nothing else matters. We hold back nothing, put it all on the table, be all in. If we could pray just one prayer, ask for just one blessing, receive just one boon from the hand of the Lord, what would it be? 

Mormon encourages me and all of us to pray for charity. From God's perspective, that is the best gift in mortality, for it encompasses everything else good in life and fits me for soul-changing service. 

The trick is to let the Spirit work on me until I want what God wants. When my desires align with His desires, the energy of my heart will be single with God's mind. Such a prayer will surely penetrate the Lord's heart.