Pattern of Revelation | 1 Nephi 10:17-19

Lehi spake by the power of the Holy Ghost because he had faith in Christ. Nephi also saw and learned the interpretation on the vision by the Holy Ghost because he desired it and sought after it diligently. This pattern of gaining knowledge and revelation (mysteries of God) is an eternal principle available to all, no matter what time period, for God is the same throughout all time.

The first thing to come to mind when reading about this pattern of revelation is a math equation. I know what you're thinking, but humor me—my mind thrives on logic. So, the variables are revelation (R), the Holy Ghost (HG), desire (D), seek (S), and faith (F). R and HG are God-given; whereas, D, S, and F are determined by the individual seeking revelation. HG is a constant and is absolutely necessary in achieving any results. D is the preparation or motivating factor and is often a gift from God. S is the action or work involved in receiving revelation. F is the focus of revelation and must be centered on Christ.

Here it is:

R = (HG)(D + S + F)

However, there is a problem because James said, "Faith without works is dead." Mathematically, you could show this relationship with something like this:

(F)(0) = 0

The inverse would also be true, works without faith is dead:

(0)(S) = 0

So, how about this:

R = (HG)(D + (F)(S))

What about D—should it also be multiplied with F and S? Alma said, "Experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe." So, D needs to remain independent.

R = (HG)(0.00001 + (0)(0))

Even if desire is minuscule, it still would produce a small amount of revelation and enough to feed back into faith and desire to enlarge the next production of revelation.

The point of this exercise is the components and their relationships with each other and the end results. The "revelation equation" is not quite the perfect analogy, it has some flaws:

1.	The D, S, and F components of the equation are not distinct and separate but overlap each other.
2.	It would be very hard to come up with exact quantitative values and proportions for the components.
3.	The equation over simplifies the relationship between the Holy Ghost and my part. No amount of desire, seeking and faith can directly produce revelation—it is purely a gift from God, given through the Spirit.

The first two could potentially be overcome with more analysis and a lifelong study of the scriptures, but the last flaw would be a bit harder to overcome. A light switch or dimmer switch could be a more appropriate analogy to show the relationship between my efforts and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost—or electricity—and a light bulb is always there ready to enlighten but I have to allow it to enlighten my mind by turning on the switch. Elder Bednar uses this analogy and the ever increasing light of a sunrise to illustrate this in his talk "The Spirit of Revelation."