Do you like gifts? I do! It's fun to receive them, and I really enjoy giving them. I received my favorite gift, just three days after my eighth birthday, and I know many of you here have received this same wonderful gift. This gift is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Today I'd like to share some thoughts on what the Holy Ghost can do for us, or ways he can help us. As well as what we can do to invite his presence to be with us always.
In Mark 1:9-11 it says, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, received this gift when he lived on the earth, and he offers it to all who will follow him and be baptized into his church. As a mother, it is the gift I want my children to receive in their lives more than any other thing. I remember talking to a friend once, whose oldest child was about to turn eight. She said she thought that eight was just too young to make a lifelong decision to commit to being baptized. I shared with her my thoughts that there is no greater gift she can give her children, than to allow them to choose to be baptized, so if they did choose it, they could receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide them throughout their lives.
Elder Robert D. Hales said, “The right to His constant companionship is among the greatest gifts we can receive in mortality, for by the light of His promptings and His cleansing power, we can be led back into the presence of God.”
The bible dictionary defines the Holy Ghost as, "The third member of the Godhead and a personage of Spirit, not possessing a body of flesh and bones. The Holy Ghost has been manifest in every dispensation of the gospel since the beginning, being first made known to Adam. The Holy Ghost is manifested to men on the earth both as the power of the Holy Ghost and as the gift of the Holy Ghost. The power can come upon one before baptism and is the convincing witness that the gospel is true. By the power of the Holy Ghost a person receives a testimony of Jesus Christ and of His work and the work of His servants upon the earth. The gift can come only after proper and authorized baptism and is conferred by the laying on of hands. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to have, whenever one is worthy, the companionship of the Holy Ghost. For those who receive this gift, the Holy Ghost acts as a cleansing agent to purify them and sanctify them from all sin. Thus it is often spoken of as “fire”. Other names that sometimes refer to the Holy Ghost are the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, and Comforter."
So what are some of the things the Holy Ghost can do for us?
2 Nephi 32:5 says, "For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do."
ALL things, that is amazing! I understand better when I have specific examples, so here are a few.
President Boyd K. Packer taught, “The gift of the Holy Ghost if you consent will guide and protect you and even correct your actions. It is a spiritual voice that comes into your mind as a thought or a feeling put into your heart.”
I love the phrase, “If you consent.” The Holy Ghost won’t force himself upon us, but if we consent, if we invite him, if we choose to keep Heavenly Father’s commandments, and always remember His son, Jesus Christ, we are consenting to have the Holy Ghost with us.
President Packer mentioned three specific jobs of the Holy Ghost-
1. TO GUIDE US, yes please, I want help in making correct choices.
2. TO PROTECT US, yes please, the world can be a scary place. I would love divine protection.
3. TO CORRECT OUR ACTIONS, yes please, I make many mistakes, but to be taught that they are mistakes, and to learn from them to do better next time, what a wonderful way to learn.
President Packer also mentioned two ways the Holy Ghost can speak to us, as a thought in our minds, or a feeling in our hearts. This made me think of family members and friends who have shared with me that they don’t think they’ve ever felt the Holy Ghost speak to them. I think the Holy Ghost has spoken to them, they just haven’t realized it. I'll share more thoughts on recognizing and hearing the Holy Ghost later.
We have a book entitled, 52 Weeks of Family Night, by Tamara Baggett. In it, she says, “After we are baptized and confirmed as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if we are worthy we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost just as Jesus did. The Holy Ghost will be our companion and comforter. He will give us guidance and direction in our lives. He is our guardian of peace and happiness. He can warn us of danger and can help to keep us from making mistakes. He will help us to be happy."
I think this paragraph shares nine different ways the Holy Ghost can help us. I particularly like that he guards our peace and happiness. I had never thought of him as being my guardian before, but I really like that sentiment.
President Russell M. Nelson shared some ways we can repent that I also think are ways the Holy Ghost can help us. He said, “When Jesus asks you and me to repent, he is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our spouses, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.”
So if we ask for help, the Holy Ghost can help us to love better, think better, serve better, spend our time better, treat our spouses better, teach our children better, and care for our bodies better. In anything and everything we are seeking to improve, the Holy Ghost can offer us inspiration to accomplish our goals.
And President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Involve the Lord in your plans and seek His help as you go forward with your efforts.”
I think this means not only should we seek help in repenting and improving, but also for his guidance with our dreams and desires for our lives, so that we can become our best selves.
The Holy Ghost also is a testifier of truth. President Henry B. Eyring said, "Of all the things of which he testifies, the most precious for us is that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of God."
In John 15:26, the Savior promised, “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”
The Holy Ghost has testified of this truth to my soul. I know that God is our Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus Christ is my beloved brother and my Savior. I want the Holy Ghost to be my constant companion.
Since President Russell M. Nelson has been the prophet of the church, there has been one teaching of his that I have heard recounted over the pulpit at General Conference by apostles and general auxiliary leaders more than any other prophetic teaching. It is, "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
I'll admit that when I first heard him speak this, it caused a bit of worry in me. What if I don't have the constant influence of the Holy Ghost in my life? After studying more words of prophets and apostles, I am gaining confidence in my capacity to have the Holy Ghost with me constantly.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “None of us will become perfect in a day or a month or a year. We will not accomplish it in a lifetime, but we can begin now, starting with our more obvious weaknesses and gradually converting them into strengths.”
Phew! The pressure is off, these words make me feel that we don’t have to be perfect to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost with us. Yes, we should be working on converting our weaknesses into strengths, but perfection isn’t required.
Elder Takashi Wada said, “I learned that because Heavenly Father knows and loves me, He would speak to me personally, uniquely, and in ways I would understand through the Holy Ghost.”
Unique ways that I would understand. I love that! The Lord wants to speak to us, we should make an effort to recognize the different ways He may be trying to communicate with us.
What if we struggle in trying to recognize those ways? President Dallin H. Oaks taught: “A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices. … Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. …We should study things out in our minds. … Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it. … If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment.”
Sometimes we may do everything we think we can to be guided by the Holy Ghost, but we still may not feel that guidance. We are here on the earth with the veil placed over our eyes. We have to walk this mortal journey by faith, and sometimes I think that means doing our best, making our own choices, even when we don’t feel particular guidance from the Lord.
In addition, Elder Gary E Stevenson taught that we can work at feeling the Holy Ghost and get better at it. He said, “Having the guidance of the Holy Ghost in your life requires spiritual work. This work includes fervent prayer and consistent scripture study. It also includes keeping your covenants and God’s commandments. … It includes worthily partaking of the sacrament each week.” He also offered four guiding principles that may help us in inviting and recognizing the promptings of the Spirit.
They are:
1. Stand in holy places. If you hope to feel the Spirit, be in a place where the Spirit can easily dwell. He mentions the most holy places as being our temples and our homes. He mentions other holy places as our church, seminary, and institute buildings, church history sites, and visitors’ centers. We are so lucky here in France to have this lovely chapel to meet in each week, and to be so close to the temple.
2. Stand with holy people. The Spirit cannot be restrained from attending a gathering of holy people. If you hope to feel the Spirit, be with people with whom the Spirit can easily dwell. He talks about finding good friends with our same values, and being a good friend, and to support each other wherever you are.
3. Testify of holy truths. The Comforter always shares His voice when we testify with our voice. The Spirit bears witness to the speaker and listener alike.
I want to insert more here from the Bible Dictionary, "When a person speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost that same power carries a conviction of the truth unto the heart of the hearer. The Holy Ghost knows all things and can lead one to know of future events."
4. Listen to the holy spirit. Find a quiet place, a holy space where you can seek to receive direction from the Spirit. Becoming more attuned to the language of the Spirit is like learning another language. It is a gradual process that requires diligent, patient effort.
The world doesn't want us to hear the Holy Ghost. It shouts at us through the news, television and movies, music, books and magazines, and the many social media platforms. It is easy to consume things that will offend the Holy Ghost and drive him away. Thankfully, we have also been given the gift of repentance where we can do our best to change and draw closer to the Lord. As we sincerely partake of the sacrament each week, we can remember our promise that we may always have his Spirit to be with us. The Holy Ghost will return to us and we will know the Atonement works.
I'd like to conclude with an experience I had about twenty years ago. I was a leader in young women's and during our ward conference we had a special session for all the youth taught by our stake presidency. We were asked if we would like to speak with angels. I think everyone in the class raised our hands. I think it would be amazing to speak with angels! The teacher then shared that we have something even better than angels to speak to us, we have the Holy Ghost, a member of the Godhead to not just speak to us, but to be our constant companion. I had been baptized for almost 20 years by this point, and had felt the Holy Ghost many times throughout my life, but hearing the gift of the Holy Ghost described this way was very powerful to me.
I testify that when we seek to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion that we are becoming worthy to dwell with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in eternity.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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