Chapter 5: Your Conscience is God’s Voice to You

Your conscience is God’s voice to you

What would you do if, during a conversation with a stranger, you suddenly realized you were speaking with an incognito angel?

This is less far-fetched a scenario than you might imagine. Paul mentioned how, in addition to ministering seen and unseen, angels also minister in disguise as mortal men:

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:2)

What if, during your conversation, you suddenly realized you were speaking with the Creator of the universe?

This is also a less far-fetched scenario than you might imagine. During his mortal ministry, the Lord had a conversation with a woman who didn’t realize that he was the Messiah she believed would come one day. Consider how Jesus replied to the woman’s expressed longing to hear the voice of the Messiah:

25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4)

What would it be like if God spoke to you? What would it be like if it happened more than once? What if it happened on a regular basis? As unbelievable as it may seem, this is exactly the case. In fact, not only has God spoken to you, and not only does he do so regularly, he is doing so all the time. At every moment, in every situation, God is speaking to you.

The reason you haven’t realized this until now is because you have only thought of God’s voice in terms of an audible voice from another (such as when your friend speaks to you) or in terms of an internal voice (such as when you talk to yourself). God also speaks in both of these ways, but under more limited circumstances.

The truth is, God does speak in an audible voice. He does so today as he always did, on the same conditions.¹ However, just as he always has, he tends to speak audibly only with those who first listen to his voice through their conscience.

It is a mistake to believe—as most do—that it would be easier to obey God were he to speak plainly to you. Plainness accelerates the progress of the meek, but it does so at the cost of greater condemnation for the disobedient. As Jesus taught in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, those who are unwilling to hear his voice through more subtle channels are unwilling to hear his voice through plainer channels (see Luke 16:19-31). Subtlety is merciful, as it provides a step higher—albeit at a slower pace—with lesser consequences for disobedience than plainness.

Theophanies do occur, but you need not wait for some theophany— your conscience is God’s voice to you, and he is already speaking to you.

God’s primary voice to you is through your conscience. Your conscience is God’s voice to you. It is just as authoritative, just as right, and just as real as if he were to speak in any other way; the only difference is how readily you ignore it.

God’s voice to all people

Some people think that God’s voice is a rare thing and that he only speaks to special people. These ideas couldn’t be further from the truth.

For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men... (D&C 1:2)

It is through the human conscience that God speaks to all people, all the time:

...hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men... (D&C 133:16)

Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: (D&C 1:11)

God’s voice is not something that only comes to special people. God speaks to all people, everywhere, through their conscience.

The Lord said that he is constantly attempting to communicate with us, and any perceived break in this communication is due to our response:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Through your conscience, God is trying to communicate with you every minute of every day. In all that you experience, God is attempting to speak with you and teach you through your conscience.

The consequences of conscience

If God’s voice comes to you at all times and in all places through your conscience, why doesn’t anyone already know this?

There are consequences that activate whenever God reveals truth to or through any individual. The positive consequences that co-occur with any revelation of truth are the benefits of living according to what is revealed. The negative consequences come when people resist or reject what is revealed. They are equal and opposite in proportion to the benefits of heeding the revealed truth.

In the case of something so powerful as knowing that your conscience is God’s voice to you, there are massive consequences that would significantly hurt people not ready to hear this truth. Having arrived at the end times, it is necessary for these things to be revealed plainly. Accelerated progress is needed to prepare people for what is soon to come.

Knowing that your conscience is God’s voice to you makes you accountable for disobeying a direct revelation from God whenever you disobey your conscience—something that, until reading this, you probably thought only possible for someone who experienced some miraculous theophany. But that is backwards—miraculous manifestations of God tend to come to those who already know and follow his still, small voice, not those who have consistently rebelled against it.

Consider the implications of the threshold of revelation being a lot lower than you probably thought previously. God is speaking to you at all times through your conscience, and you disobey your conscience regularly. You are getting revelations all the time!

Most people wonder why God doesn’t send them angels or speak to them with an audible voice. How could he, when you so regularly and repeatedly ignore his voice to you through your conscience? How could he send more?

Your conscience is your model of God

Your conscience is your model of how God is. The conscience is given to each person by God as a mechanism of characterizing him based on reflections of what you have seen and experienced so far in life. Your idea of God in any moment is comprised of the composite of every ideal human behavior you have witnessed or imagined to that point, subject to your present understanding.

Your model of God is only as good as what you do with it. What kinds of questions do you ask, how often, and what do you do with the answer?

Unfortunately, almost all people treat the conscience as something that only gets their attention when it interrupts the regularly scheduled programming in their mind—much like a compass that stays in a backpack until you are lost. A compass is of little use if you keep it in your pack, and the consequences of doing so can be disastrous.

Most people have not explicitly thought about what their conscience is. They would not be able to say “my conscience is the amalgamation of the best of humanity I’ve ever believed could exist,” although it is. To most, it is merely an implicit, emotional resource that makes them feel guilty when they do less than their best.

Without explicitly understanding what your conscience is, you will not likely make the most of it. You will fail to update it as often as you otherwise would when seeing examples of aspects of human character that exceed what you previously thought possible. You are also unlikely to come to the important conclusion that the perception of an aspect of ideal character in others means it is possible for you to exercise the same.

Your conscience is a guidance system that will show you the way towards God, as far as you presently understand him, as often as you “look” at it. It is your current model of the ideal—not just rules of ideal behavior, but also ideal outcomes and ideal character. It is how he represents to you what he would do in your place, given your degree of understanding of his character. It can show you all things you should do in order to be like how you imagine God to be. In this way, you can use the idealized character portrayed by your conscience to articulate your ideal potential self.

As a model, your conscience can be queried. You can ask yourself questions and, inasmuch as you are deeply honest, God will answer you through your conscience: What could I do better? Am I doing everything I can to get what I say I want? Do I treat people as well as I could? What would make me stronger? Am I doing it? Do I willingly engage in things that make me weaker? Am I doing the best in all I do, all the time?

God’s voice is the voice of improvement

Many people unnecessarily wrestle with how to determine what is right and wrong. God has described that what is from him is good:

11 ...my Spirit...persuadeth men to do good.
12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world. (Ether 4)

It is easy to determine what is good. The answer is “as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.” (Moroni 7:15)

Clearly, any option that is worse than any other option is not good. What is good is what is best. The key to determining what is right is the simple question: what leads to the best outcomes?

What is right is what is best, and what is best is what is right. What is good is what is best. What yields the greatest improvement? What will make you the strongest? The most independent? The wisest? The most honorable? The most capable of helping others?

Improvement as the key to recognizing the voice of God is so plain that it is compared in the scriptures to a compass:

45 For just as surely as this [compass] did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.
46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever. (Alma 37)

Paul understood conscience-driven judgment. Consider these scriptures:

5 ....Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. (Romans 14)

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. (1 Corinthians 10:23)

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

....Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (Romans 12:9)

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4)

Right and wrong are determined through consequence. Guilt is caused by choosing less than your best option. That which makes one feel guilty is wrong. Anything that results in a net degradation or weakening of you or others is wrong. Anything that brings you into its power makes you weaker. Anything that does not serve its intended purpose is necessarily less well-suited than what does.

The conscience will lead to all improvement, incrementally, according to your present understanding.

In scripture, when describing what is good, God intentionally leaves out the details, because everyone’s understanding and circumstances are individual.

You don’t need a perfect understanding of all things to make correct choices. Since our progression is a pathway of successive improvements, you need only know the next step in order to be completely aligned with the path. You don't need to know the exact brightness of the sun to recognize it as much brighter than a candle.

We don't need to perceive the complete value in things in order to progress. We just need to perceive greater value in the next step than in our present state.

Any improvement you can imagine is the precise road from where you are to a better place. All improvement leads to God, and you can't get to God except through all improvement. It is as if we are all climbing a mountain. While there are many paths by which you can ascend, the principle thing is that you ascend, and the defining quality is ascent. So long as you are improving, you are headed upward.

Perception is the invitation

Your perception of possible improvement is both God’s invitation for you to improve and his certification that you are capable of doing so.

We have the tremendous promise in scripture that you can obey any commandment which you can perceive:

...the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. (1 Nephi 3:7)

Put into more general language understandable to someone who isn’t religious, you are capable of every increment of human character you can perceive.

Your realization of what is best is God’s call to you to do it:

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3)

God makes it possible for you to do everything you can imagine he would do in your place.

God’s voice on all topics

God doesn’t just give instructions through the conscience on certain things. He uses this channel to instruct us in all things.

`...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)`

Your conscience is not just an idea of right and wrong. Your conscience is your composite understanding of all things, including the relationship between cause and effect in all things and including your sense of value in all things.

The conscience provides a lens through which the world can be viewed with instructions from God, in much the same way a director’s commentary can be dubbed over a movie. The conscience can turn any situation in life into a rich learning experience with God.

The universal application of the conscience to any situation makes it of greater value than static commandments from God, which are necessarily limited to the circumstances in which they apply.

Static commandments do not cover every situation. They only apply to the specific situation for which they are given. For example, God’s commandment for the male posterity of Abraham to be circumcised on the eighth day of their lives does not prescribe what should be done for all others on the eighth day of their lives, nor does it describe what Abraham’s children should do for the first seven days of life.

Commandments do not cover every degree of understanding. For example, Jesus gave speeches where he reviewed the law of Moses and revealed an improved way of acting for those who had greater understanding (see, for example, Matthew 5:21-47).

Commandments do not tell us all things that we should do. They provide coverage of some things in some situations. How can we know God’s will outside of those situations? Only through our conscience, which provides a flowing channel for guidance specific to any situation in which and any level of understanding with which we find ourselves.

Obtaining and maintaining a clear conscience

A clear conscience is worth any price. It is the key to peace of mind, contentment, and freedom from guilt.

You can have a clear conscience, all the time. It is possible to be completely and permanently free from guilt. Just men made perfect, like Paul, lived in this condition:

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. (Acts 24:16)

Imagine the peace of having a clear conscience:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Imagine the courage you would have in attempting the difficult, knowing that you are in God’s grace:

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1)

Imagine the strength you would have in trials, trusting fully that everything that happens to you is given as a gift from God to propel you towards greater things:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Imagine having an unshakeable confidence that God hears and answers your prayers:

19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. (1 John 3)

These are just some of the blessings of having a clear conscience. The importance of maintaining a clear conscience stretches beyond how you feel in life. It also includes what you perceive of life.

Your conscience is not just the seat of right and wrong, but also the seat of your understanding. The conscience is the window through which you will see the world, and as such it is worth keeping clean. ²

Say what you believe; believe what you say. Do what you believe; believe what you do. Think about what you believe; believe what you think about.

Have the courage to say what you know you believe, even though you know other people do not believe it and will hate you for saying it. Have the courage to do what you believe, even though you know other people will not do it and will hate you for doing it. Have the courage to think what you believe, even though it will require you to challenge old thoughts and rise to new ideas.

Listen to what you say, and don’t say what you don’t like hearing yourself say. Watch what you do, and don’t do what you don’t like seeing yourself do. Pay attention to what you think about, and don’t think about what you don’t like thinking of yourself thinking about.

The price of a clear conscience is to always obey your conscience, all the time. If you haven’t obeyed your conscience, now is the time to start. Just as soon as you start living according to it, you can start having the benefits of doing so.

What happens to your conscience as you obey it

Your conscience is incremental. As you obey your conscience, it grows.

Every choice you make in accordance with your conscience will make the next right choice more obvious:

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18)

As you live according to your understanding, your understanding will grow. As you do what you know, you will know more than you did before.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (D&C 50:24)

Every increment of understanding of and obedience to God’s commandments will improve the capacity of your conscience.

11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith. (D&C 98)

God’s knowledge surpasses any person’s. At any time, it is possible to know more than you do presently. At any time, it is possible to gain an improved understanding of good and evil, based on new or different knowledge than you had before.

Your idea of who Jesus was and is will change over time as you learn more about him. This will change your conscience: your value of things will change, and your consideration of what is good and what is evil will change. If these things don’t change, it is safe to say you aren’t learning more about God.

As you learn more and different commandments from God, your conscience will change—it will expand to broader application and advance to deeper accuracy. When you learn new commandments from God, or learn things that change your previous understanding of his commandments, the model of God provided in the form of your conscience becomes more accurate and comprehends a greater increment of reality:

43 And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. (D&C 84)

The only limit to the growth of your conscience (and your relationship with God) is your willingness to obey what you already have and your effort in obtaining more.

As you do all you can to learn more, and as you live everything you already know, God will arrange the circumstances for you to be taught more.

New ideas will be brought about by your internal reasoning with or without the intervention of external experiences, which are likely to include interaction with other humans. Some of these humans will have a greater understanding of right and wrong than you; some will have a lesser understanding. Of the former, some will be operating under the explicit charge of ministering in the name of Christ, and some will not.

No matter a person’s circumstances, God’s invitations to improvement via the conscience provide the next rung in the ladder to heaven, giving the individual all they need to reach the following rung. Each step in the ladder to heaven consists of the embodiment of an improved and expanded idea of right and wrong.

When you are interested in the truth, you will both perceive and heed your conscience. The Lord said: “...Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (John 18:37) He said: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

Do not underestimate the degree of change that can occur in a person’s character through constant obedience to their conscience. The character of a person can constantly improve to the point of being unrecognizable: the most selfish person can become deeply loving; the greatest fool can become the wisest of people; the most depraved person can transform into a person of tremendous virtue. God is a god of miracles, and he will show anyone who dares to seek and follow him that he has all power to transform men and women into his righteous and noble sons and daughters.

What happens when you turn away from your conscience

When you live in accordance with what you presently understand, you will come to understand more. When you knowingly live out of accord with your present understanding, you will understand less.

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that recive th I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have. (2 Nephi 28:30)

As you disobey your conscience, it attenuates. Every choice you make contrary to your conscience will make it harder to make the next correct choice.

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:19)

God’s light, which actuates your understanding, will not stay with you if you willingly disobey your conscience.

...Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. (Alma 9:13)

Those who disobey God’s voice distance themselves from God. They will gradually lose the knowledge they have, becoming less and less like him:

49 And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.
50 And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.
51 For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.
52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
53 And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now. (D&C 84)

When you do what you believe to be right, your ability to perceive what is right and wrong will improve. When you do what you believe to be wrong, your ability to perceive what is right and wrong will degrade.

And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have. (D&C 60:3)

As you live contrary to your understanding, your understanding will diminish. As you act against what you know, you will know less than you did before, and you will not perceive the loss.

Do not underestimate the degree of change that can occur in a person’s character through seemingly small disobedience to their conscience. The character of a person can quickly degrade to being unrecognizable: the closest friend or family member can become a bitter enemy; the wisest of people can become the greatest of fools; the kindest person can become shockingly violent; the most virtuous can become depraved. In fact, the more noble the person, the more evil they will become through disobedience to God.³