23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men.
This is a strong testimony of John the Revelator and his description of the latter days. It is also a confirmation of the clarity that was originally found in the Bible. I believe that Heavenly Father wants all of His children to succeed. So in most cases His instructions to us are clear, or as clear as we are able to understand. The Savior taught in parables not to clarify His doctrine for everyone, but to hide it from those who are not ready for it (see Matthew 13:10–17). In some cases He hid his doctrine because the people didn’t want it (see Isaiah 6:9–10; Jacob 4:14). But in the case of John writing the book of Revelation, God’s meaning was clear and easy to understand. Now, however, it’s not so clear. That could be due to problems in translation (and certainly the JST makes it more clear), but it also could be due to cultural differences. Many of the symbols John used may have been more common or clear to him and the people of his time than they are to us simply because they understood symbols differently. They understood expressions differently than we do. Having said that, I am convinced that we can understand these revelations by the spirit of revelation. In fact it’s not only our privilege, but our responsibility to do so.
- 1 Nephi 13:20 (20–24)
- 1 Nephi 13:28 (28–32)
- Ether 4:16
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