Joseph Smith had been conducting a revealed revision of the Bible since 1831, and in January 1832 he and Sidney Rigdon came to St John 5:29. This verse, simply stated, teaches that the righteous will go to heaven and the wicked will go to hell; a simple bifurcation of God’s children based on whether they were good or bad during their life on earth.
I am sure it has something to do with my Mormon upbringing, but I always thought that the idea that God’s children could be split down the middle, and all the medium to Mother-Theresa-good people would go to heaven together and all the just-shy-of-medium to really evil would burn in hell forever seemed simplistic and unfair. Additionally, it didn’t fit with the Savior’s own words that “in my Father’s house, there are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you." (St John 14:2.)
Apparently I was in good company because Joseph Smith thought this simple division of heaven and hell lacking as well. He wrote that "it appeared self evident that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘heaven” as intended for the Saints’ eternal home must include more kingdoms than one." (History of the Church, 1:245.)
The revelation that followed, and is written in Doctrine & Covenants 76 is a great example of the principle Nephi sought to teach his brothers in 1 Nephi 15:8. When Laman and Lemuel ask Nephi to explain what a portion of their father's vision meant, Nephi responded, "did ye inquire of the Lord?" When they answered no, he chastised them saying "how is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord;" a suggestion that "knock and it shall be opened unto you, seek and ye shall find," is not just a recommendation, but a commandment from God.
I will admit that, having received a witness from the Holy Ghost that some fundamental aspects of the restored gospel are true, I often simply accept other teachings and aspects as a given truth without asking in prayer for a witness of the truth of it. That appears to be counter to the commandments of God. And, perhaps it applies not only to us as individuals, but to the church as a whole as well. The revelation extending priesthood ordination to all worthy males regardless of race may be an example of that. The new introduction to Official Declaration 2 at the end of the Doctrine & Covenants states that there is no actual doctrinal foundation for not ordaining black men to the priesthood, but it was a practice in the early days of the church that became accepted as doctrine. What a blessing that President Kimball asked and received revelation to end the practice. I don't believe he was the first to so ask (for a great account of President David O'McKay's struggle with the issue regarding priesthood ordination, see this fantastic book), and I won't attempt to speculate why the practice remained in place so long. However, perhaps it illustrates that the commandment to inquire of the Lord is no small thing and has large implications for us individually and collectively.
That all said, Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon and the Bible is a great example to us of how, if we obey the commandment to inquire of the Lord, we can be blessed with revelation. The prophet had a question about St John 5:29, and he received an answer in the form of D&C 76, changing the fundamental way we understand life after death and God's desire to bless his children as opposed to traditional teachings that he will punishing large numbers of his children in lakes of fire and brimstone.* So, what do you need to inquire of the Lord about?
*Note, for a great description of D&C 76 in a historical setting and how the Three Degrees of Glory fit in with traditional and non-traditional Christianity, see chapter 10 "Exaltation" in Richard Bushman's "Rough Stone Rolling."
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