Introduction

Joseph said,

A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God. (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 154.)

Publicly available knowledge is insufficient to save. Rather, there is a discrete portion of knowledge that every person must obtain through individual revelation before they can be saved. Assuming that the general commandments are sufficient to save is a common error. It is not enough to simply follow the general commandments. What is publicly available is not sufficient to become like Jesus is. The Pharisees argued against Jesus’ teachings because they “ha[d] the law for [their] salvation.” He told his disciples to:

Say unto them, Ask of God; ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened. And then said his disciples unto him, They will say unto us, We ourselves are righteous, and need not that any man should teach us. God, we know, heard Moses and some of the prophets; but us he will not hear. And they will say, We have the law for our salvation, and that is sufficient for us. Then Jesus answered, and said unto his disciples, Thus shall ye say unto them, What man among you, having a son, and he shall be standing out, and shall say, Father, open thy house that I may come in and sup with thee, will not say, Come in, my son; for mine is thine, and thine is mine? (JST Matthew 7:12-17.)

The purpose of what is publicly available is not to make someone like Jesus, but to bring them to the gate of personal revelation available through the Holy Ghost.

...For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive. And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:17-20.)

It is the “unspeakable” teachings¹ revealed through the Holy Ghost that bring an individual to be like Jesus. Revelation through the Holy Ghost is the way appointed to take a man from his fallen state to the point where he receives the promise of eternal life. Nephi taught that this path is to “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3.) He said these words—those that tell us what to do to come back to his presence in this life—come through the Holy Ghost: “if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:5.)

Jesus taught quite plainly, particularly in the book of John, that a direct, real relationship with him was required for eternal life. The pinnacle of eternal knowledge comes as a face to face relationship with God himself. As John put it, this knowledge is one and the same as eternal life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) As Nephi, Joseph, and other prophets have taught, the way we come up to this experience is by following the words of God given to the individual by the Holy Ghost.

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. (2 Nephi 32:6.)

This path will lead a man to a face-to-face encounter with Christ, redeeming him from the fall.² This experience of meeting Christ “in the flesh” is called the Second Comforter. What greater thing could Heavenly Father reveal to an individual than his son Jesus Christ? Some believe in the existence of this ordinance, but consider it to be either reserved for those of particular church office or otherwise unnecessary. This experience is not a voyeuristic endeavor, but a requirement to attain exaltation.³

The possession of knowledge provided through revelation is not optional. It is the means by which a fallen man obtains eternal life. Although others who have attained more can show us the path they travelled to get to where they are, one man’s salvation is insufficient to save another man.⁴ Just as the Holy Ghost can only lead us to the point where Christ himself must teach us, the teachings and witnesses of men can only lead us to the point where the Holy Ghost can teach us. Remaining forever in dependence to another man for spiritual knowledge can never yield eternal life. Joseph taught that it is not sufficient for us to merely believe the expression of others' knowledge. He said,

Search the scriptures...and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to his glory nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another. You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any room for speculation. No; for when men receive their instruction from Him that made them, they know how He will save... (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 5.)

Because all gospel progress relies upon one's ability to receive individual revelation, a correct understanding of revelation through the Holy Ghost is the single most important bit of knowledge to obtain in the gospel. As the conduit through which all knowledge is received, a misunderstanding of what revelation is, how it is received, by whom it is received, or upon what topics it can be received can damn a person more immediately than anything else.