If there is not a sufficiency...

I thought it interesting that in the guidelines for the high council of the Church in Doctrine and Covenants 102, verse 23 states:

In case of difficulty respecting doctrine or principle, if there is not a sufficiency written to make the case clear to the minds of the council, the president may inquire and obtain the mind of the Lord by revelation.

The first step is not to ask the Lord to spell out the answer to the problem. The first step is to study EVERYTHING that is written to find if there is sufficient prior revelation to clear up the difficulty of doctrine or principle. Then the president can ask the Lord for additional revelation.

I am reminded of a missionary that was serving in our ward. He said publicly that he was having a hard time because he didn't know that he had ever had a testimony of modern prophets. But when my husband was driving a group of missionaries to the temple, this Elder was reading a Men's Health magazine while the others were studying the Book of Mormon. Something tells me that perhaps this Elder had not studied to find out whether there was a sufficiency written to make clear his questions and doubts before he simply asked for a manifestation from the Lord. And I think we can all be a little guilty of that same rashness in our relationship with our Father.