Keeping Spiritual and Sacred Records

When we keep the commandments, seek humbly for divine guidance, and follow it, our lives become more than we could have imagined. We are blessed with answers to prayer, personal revelation to guide us, evidences that the Spirit is with us in the form of fruits of the Spirit. As we continue to grow spiritually, we will be blessed with spiritual gifts which allow us to be instruments in the hands of God to bless others.

Spiritual progression is not an easy path but oh is it ever rewarding! The experiences we have along the way not only are instructive to us, but they can bless the lives of others too.

Journaling is one way to record the experiences of our lives. Through writing regularly, we can begin to see more clearly the cause and effect relationships of the things that happen to us. When we are struggling, we can go back and read our journals to refresh our memory of the good things that God has done for us and remember how to strengthen and exercise our faith to overcome present challenges.

Another way to keep a record is to compile a spiritual autobiography. Consider making a chronological list of the spiritual experiences you have had, and then write in detail about each one. Soon you will have a record of the spiritual journey you have taken which you can also draw upon for strength and insight when you need it.

I have found in my life that often I am awakened in the night about 3am. At first I thought these incidents were just evidence of insomnia. But as they continued, I was blessed to meet another woman, Jennifer Anderson, who was having the same thing happen. She encouraged me to consider what was on my mind when I awakened in these wee hours of the morning. Then she asked me a powerful question. Was it possible that it was God that was waking me up because He had a message for me? She then showed me a special journal that God had prompted her to design for recording her middle-of-the-night experiences.

The next time I awakened in the middle of the night, I laid in the dark and just let myself consider what was on my mind at that moment. I found that if I prayed about that topic, that the Spirit would speak to my mind and my heart and give me further understanding.

Sometimes the message was the answer to a prayer I had offered. Sometimes it was a prompting to do something or to stop doing something. And still other times, it was a message of peace and hope that strengthened my faith and my resolve to continue keeping the commandments and following the path I was on.

I obtained a “3am with God” journal for myself, and found that by recording these experiences as they were happening, that I was blessed to be better able to remember the divine instruction I was receiving.

Some of the things you might want to consider recording include:

• Prayers and the answers you receive
• Spiritual insights you gain while reading the scriptures
• Impressions that come through the Spirit
• Significant or symbolic dreams
• Visions that come
• Spiritual gifts you discover and develop and the experiences you have when using them
• Visitations from those who have passed on
• Priesthood blessings you have received
• Insights about your patriarchal blessing
• Understanding that comes as you study the words of apostles and prophets

You might wonder, as I did, whether it is appropriate to record a certain event or experience. This is always a good question.

Some years ago while serving as the secretary to the president of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, I was fortunate to gain some insight into the different kinds of spiritual experiences we have. Although at the time this information came to me to help me properly preserve written spiritual experiences that temple patrons were having and sharing with the temple, the counsel is applicable to us in our personal lives as well.

Basically, there are three types of spiritual experiences that happen in the temple. They are:

• Special experiences
• Spiritual experiences
• Sacred experiences

Special experiences are things like receiving an answer to prayer, “coincidentally” bumping into someone you haven’t seen in awhile, or being the temple as a family.

Spiritual experiences happen less frequently than special experiences. Spiritual experiences in the temple would include but not be limited to encounters with those who have already passed on such as deceased ancestors or family members.

Sacred experiences are rare. These would include any visitation from a past prophet or from a member of the Godhead.

As I received instruction about these three kinds of experiences, I learned that the first two types of experiences (special and spiritual) should be recorded and preserved. If such experiences were turned into the temple, they were kept as part of the temple’s history, but they were not made available to patrons unless an authorized history of the temple was compiled and approved for distribution.

In the case of sacred experiences, they were considered so sacred that they were not even kept on site. Instead, they were forwarded to Church Headquarters and archived there in a special collection that was not open for research.

You may remember that the prophet Nephi in the Book of Mormon was commanded by God to keep two sets of records. In one, he recorded the history and the doings of his people. In the other was the spiritual history of his people.

I have found it beneficial to keep the special, spiritual, and sacred experiences of my life separate like Nephi did. The more I record, the more frequently such experiences happen. So for me, my “small plates” are the day-to-day happenings of my life while my “large plates” are the spiritual and sacred record of my life.

Some things I have experienced have been so sacred that I have not recorded them, but rather, asked the Lord to help me remember them. These are things I don’t share with others. I hold them sacred.

Spiritual and special experiences are those I do record. And when directed by the Spirit, I may share them with others in one way or another.

I hope you will consider recording the Special, Spiritual, and Sacred experiences of your life. You will find special helps on this page. And you can also seek and receive revelation that will help you know specifically what details to record.

These records are important. They are for you, but they are also for your close family members. If you have ever read a spiritual experience one of your grandparents or other ancestors has had, you will know the profound impact that these stories can have. Please do for your own family and descendants what your ancestors have (or haven’t) done — by writing down the meaningful and spiritual experiences of your life. These testimonies are the most precious inheritance we can bequeath.