I.
GENERAL STATEMENTS ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST
1. The spirit of God
speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and
understanding than by personal contact even with Heavenly Beings. Through the
Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibers and sinews of the body so
that it cannot be forgotten. Joseph F. Smith Inst. Oct. 1935
2.
Men ought—above all things in this world—to seek
for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is
no price too high,
no struggle too
severe,
no sacrifice too great, if out of it all we
enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Bruce R. McConkie, A
New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 253
3.
President Boyd K. Packer has counseled us that often when we
receive guidance from the Holy Ghost, we get directions without explanation. Neal A.
Maxwell, The Promise of Discipleship,
p. 99
- God does not have to justify all his ways for the puny mind of
man. If a man gets in tune with the Lord, he will know that God's course
of action is right, even though he may not know all the reasons why. Pres. Benson 10-1967
5.
There is no doubt, if a person lives according to the revelations given
to God’s people, he may have the Spirit of the Lord to signify to him His will,
and to guide and to direct him in the discharge of his duties, in his temporal
as well as his spiritual exercises. I am
satisfied, however, that in this respect, we live far beneath our privileges.
Brigham
Young, Journal of Discourses, p. 32
6.
There are two parts to your nature—your temporal
body born of mortal parents, and your immortal spirit within. You are a son or
daughter of God. Physically you can see
with eyes and hear with ears and touch and feel and learn. Through your
intellect, you learn most of what you know about the world in which we live.
But if you learn by reason only, you will never understand the Spirit and how
it works—regardless of how much you learn about other things. Your spirit learns in a different way than
does your intellect. Boyd K. Packer, “Personal
Revelation” Ensign, Nov 1994
- On one occasion in a meeting I heard
President Marion G. Romney say, "I always know when I am speaking
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost because I always learn something
from what I've said. Boyd K. Packer, Teach Ye Diligently, p.357
- Rather than take notes, pay attention
to the impressions you receive as we consider a most sacred topic. If all
that you know after tonight is what you hear, then you will have missed
the meaning of this discussion. Boyd
K Packer – CES Devotional, Nov. 6, 2011
- "The best counsel for us to give
young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they
are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So if we are wise, we will
encourage, praise, and exemplify everything which invites the
companionship of the Holy Ghost." Henry
B. Eyring, "Help Them on Their
Way Home," Ensign, May 2010, 25
“We should study things
out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us.
Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not
receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, Oct. 1994
11.
Baptism by immersion symbolizes the death
and burial of the man of sin; and the coming forth out of the water, the
resurrection to a newness of spiritual life. After baptism, hands are laid upon
the head of the baptized believer, and he is blessed to receive the Holy Ghost.
Thus does the one baptized receive the promise or gift of the Holy Ghost, or
the privilege of being brought back into the presence of one of the Godhead; by
obedience and through his faithfulness, one so blessed might receive the
guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost in his daily walks and talks, even as
Adam walked and talked in the Garden of Eden with God, his Heavenly Father. To
receive such guidance and such direction from the Holy Ghost is to be
spiritually reborn. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, Chapter 4
II.
DIFFERENT METHODS THE SPIRIT COMMUNICATES
A. THOUGHTS
1. A person may profit by
noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when
you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of
ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon;
that is, those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God,
will come to pass; and thus by learning [to recognize] the Spirit of God and
understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you
become perfect in Christ Jesus." TPJS, p. 151
2. "When
there comes to you things that your mind does not know, when you have a sudden
thought that comes to your mind, if you will learn to give heed to these things
that come from the Lord, you will learn to walk by the spirit of
revelation" (Harold B. Lee, in Conference Report, Mexico City Area
Conference 1972, p. 49).
B. A FEELING OF LIGHT or DARK:
1) The
Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Truth. You feel peace, hope, and joy when it speaks
to your heart and mind that something is true. Almost always I have also felt a sensation of light. Any feeling I
may have had of darkness is dispelled. And the desire to do right grows. Gifts of the
Spirit for Hard Times, Elder Henry B. Eyring CES Fireside 9/10/2006
2) It can come as positive or
negative feelings about how to act. Dallin H. Oaks
2)
As
the elevator doors quietly opened, there stood President Joseph Fielding Smith.
There was a moment of surprise in seeing him, since his office is on a lower
floor. As I saw him framed in the doorway, there fell upon me a powerful
witness—there stands the prophet of God. That
sweet voice of Spirit that is akin to light, that has something to do with pure
intelligence, affirmed to me that this was the prophet of God. Elder Boyd
K. Packer Gen Con April 1971
C. IN YOUR
MIND & HEART:
1) “In that revelation the
Lord defined revelation: I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by
the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
[I love the combination there of both mind and heart. God will teach us in a
reasonable way and in a revelatory way--mind and heart combined, by the Holy
Ghost.] Jeffrey R. Holland "Cast
Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" BYU, 2 March 1999
2) “An impression to the mind
is very specific. Detailed words can be
heard or felt and written as though the instruction were being dictated. A communication to the heart is a more
general impression. The Lord often
begins by giving impressions. Where
there is a recognition of their importance and they are obeyed, one gains more
capacity to receive more detailed instruction to the mind. An impression to the heart, if followed, is fortified by a more
specific instruction to the mind.”
--Richard G. Scott, BYU Symposium 1998
3)
The Savior defines two separate ways:
"I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy
Ghost." Answers to the mind and heart are messages from the Holy Ghost to
our spirits. For me, response to the mind is very specific, like dictated
words, while response to the heart is generalized, like a feeling to pray
more.” Elder Richard G. Scott “Using the Supernal
Gift of Prayer” Ensign, May 2007
D. FEELINGS or FEELING OF PEACE:
1). It is not unusual for one
to have received the gift and not really know it.
I fear this supernal gift
is being obscured by programs and activities and schedules and so many
meetings. There are so many places to go, so many things to do in this noisy
world. We can be too busy to pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit. The
voice of the Spirit is a still, small voice—a voice that is felt rather than
heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought put into
your heart. Boyd K. Packer,
Apr. 2000
2) “The Spirit does not get
our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It
caresses so gently, that if we are preoccupied, we may not feel it at all.” Boyd K. Packer, Candle of
the Lord, Ensign. Jan. 83
2) “That voice of
inspiration is so quiet and still that it can be explained away. It is easy to be disobedient to that
voice. It often takes great courage to
follow it. But to Latter-day Saints it
is a clear signal.” Boyd K Packer Let Not Your Heart be Troubled, p.
232
3) “Answers from the Lord come
quietly—ever so quietly. In fact, few hear his answers audibly with their ears.
We must be listening so carefully or we will never recognize them. Most
answers from the Lord are felt in our heart as a warm comfortable expression,
or they may come as thoughts to our mind. They come to those who are prepared
and who are patient” H.
Burke Peterson, Ens. Jan 1974
4)
" You must study it out in your mind;
then . . . ask me if it be right, and if it is
right . . . your bosom shall
burn . . . ; therefore, you shall feel that it is
right." Then the answer comes as a feeling
with an accompanying conviction. Oliver Cowdery was taught another way in
which positive answers come: "Did I not speak peace to your mind
concerning the matter?"12
The feeling of peace is the most common
confirming witness that I personally experience. When I have been very
concerned about an important matter, struggling to resolve it without success,
I continued those efforts in faith. Later, an all-pervading peace has come,
settling my concerns, as He has promised. Elder Richard
G. Scott “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer” Ensign, May 2007
5) “When
confronted with a problem I prayerfully weigh in my mind alternative solutions
and come to a conclusion as to which of them is best. Then in prayer I submit
to the Lord my problem, tell him I desire to make the right choice, what is, in
my judgment, the right course. Then I ask him if I have made the right decision
to give me the burning in my bosom that He promised Oliver Cowdery. When
enlightenment and peace come into my mind, I know the Lord is saying yes.
If I have a ‘stupor of thought,’ I know he is saying no, and I try again,
following the same procedure. I repeat: I know when and how the Lord answers my prayers
by the way I feel” Marion G. Romney, New
Era, Oct. 1975, 34–35
6) It is so simple and so precise that we often pass it by,
thinking that it is just our own idea or a passing thought, not
revelation. Joseph B. Wirthlin, Finding Peace in our Lives,
174
7) For many it is hard to accept as revelation those numerous
ones in Moses' time, in Joseph's time, and in our own year--those revelations
which come to prophets as deep, unassailable impressions settling down on the
prophet's mind and heart as dew from heaven or as the dawn dissipates the
darkness of night. Expecting the
spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed
communication. Spencer W.
Kimball, Ensign, May 1977
8) “Most often what we have chosen to do is right. He [Heavenly Father] will confirm the
correctness of our choices His way. That
confirmation generally comes through packets of help found along the way. We discover them by being spiritually
sensitive. They are like notes from a
loving Father as evidence of His approval.
If, in trust, we begin something which is not right, He will let us know
before we have gone too far. We sense
that help by recognizing troubled or uneasy feelings.” Richard
G. Scott, Nov. 89
9) “One of the most challenging things that General Authorities are asked
to do is to choose a new stake presidency.
The series of interviews with the priesthood leadership of the stake
allows the potential candidates to “pass before” the presiding authorities. As they do so, thoughts and feelings begin to
come to them. Rarely are these thoughts
and feelings dramatic or remarkable.
They are almost always very
gentle and very subtle, almost like a whisper. Sometimes they come when the person first
enters the room. A very quiet feeling comes
that he could be the one. Other times it
is something the person say that
triggers a feeling of rightness.
Occasionally, feelings may come from simply hearing the name of a person
the authorities have not yet met. It is
no more than a fleeting feeling
that this name could be significant.
Later, when that person comes in, they
have a feeling of peace about him. When the interviews have been
completed, the two authorities close the door and spend time together reviewing
their experience. They look inward, reviewing the feelings they
have had or thoughts that have come to them. Eventually the two
brethren come to a consensus. At that
point they pray. When the prayers are
finished, they briefly sit, quietly looking
inward, searching their heart and listening for that still small voice of
confirmation. It has been a little surprising to me how
often the Lord sends what I call a “confirmation” or a “second witness”. Gerald N. Lund, Hearing the Voice of the
Lord, 54-58
E. BURNING IN THE BOSOM:
1)
“What
does a “burning in the bosom” mean? Does it need to be a feeling of caloric
heat, like the burning produced by combustion? If that is the meaning, I have
never had a burning in the bosom. Surely,
the word “burning” in this scripture signifies a feeling of comfort and
serenity. That is the witness many receive. That is the way revelation
works.” Dallin H. Oaks, “Teaching and Learning by the
Spirit”, Ens. Mar. 97
2) “But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it
out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I
will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel
that it is right” (D&C 9:7–8; emphasis added).
3) “This may be one of the most important and most
misunderstood teachings in all the Doctrine and Covenants. The teachings of the
Spirit often come as feelings. That fact is of the utmost importance, yet some
misunderstand what it means. I know of persons who think they have never had a
witness from the Holy Ghost because they have never felt their bosom “burn
within” them. The burning of the bosom, I suggest, is not a feeling of caloric
heat like combustion but a feeling of peace and warmth and serenity and
goodness.” –Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “In His Own Time, In His Own Way.”
2) “His word will come into my mind through my
thoughts, accompanied by a feeling in the region of my bosom. It is a feeling which cannot be described, but the
nearest word we have is “burn” or “burning.” Accompanying this
always is a feeling of peace.” S. Dilworth Young, “The Still Small Voice,” Ensign, May 1976
3) “But, behold, I say
unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it
be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within
you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” This burning in the bosom is
not purely a physical sensation. It is
more like a warm light shining within your being. Describing the promptings from the Holy Ghost
to one who has not had them is very difficult. Such promptings are personal and
strictly private! Boyd K. Packer, “Personal
Revelation” Ensign, Nov 1994
F. VOICE IN YOUR MIND
Just
as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m
not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.” --Pres. Henry B. Eyring, 2007 “O Remember, Remember”
Now
I know, my brothers and sisters and friends, and bear witness to the fact that
revelation from the Lord comes through the spoken word, by personal visitation,
by messengers from the Lord, through dreams, and by way of visions, and by the
voice of the Lord coming into one’s mind. Most often, however, revelation comes
to us by means of the still, small voice. Marion G.
Romney, “Prayer and Revelation,” Ensign, May 1978, 48
Another way by which we receive revelation was spoken of by the
prophet Enos. He pens this very significant statement in his record in the Book
of Mormon: “And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of
the Lord came into my mind. …” [Enos 1:10.]
In other words, sometimes we hear the voice of the Lord coming
into our minds, and when it comes, the impressions are just as strong as though
He were sounding a trumpet in our ear. …
In a story in the Book of Mormon, Nephi upbraids his brothers,
calling them to repentance, and gives voice to the same thought when he says:
“… and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling,
that ye could not feel his words. …” (1 Nephi 17:45.)
Thus the Lord, by revelation, brings thoughts into our minds as
though a voice were speaking.
G. STUPOR OF THOUGHT
Answers to the mind and heart are messages from the Holy
Ghost to our spirits. For me, response to the mind is very specific, like
dictated words, while response to the heart is generalized, like a feeling to
pray more.10 Then the Lord clarifies, "But if
[what you propose] be not right you . . . shall have a stupor of thought."11
That, for me, is an unsettling, discomforting feeling. Elder Richard
G. Scott “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer” Ensign, May 2007
H. LINE UPON LINE – Incremental
“Put difficult questions in the back of your minds and
go about your lives. Ponder and pray quietly and persistently about them. The
answer may not come as a lightning bolt. It may come as a little inspiration
here and a little there, ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ (D&C 98:12).
Some answers will come from reading the scriptures, some from hearing speakers.
And, occasionally, when it is important, some will come by very direct and
powerful inspiration” Elder Boyd K. Packer “Prayers
and Answers,” Ensign, Nov. 1979
“Many of us typically
assume we will receive an answer
or a prompting to our earnest prayers and pleadings.
And we also frequently expect that such an answer or a prompting will come
immediately and all at once. Thus, we tend to
believe the Lord will give us A BIG ANSWER QUICKLY AND ALL AT ONE TIME. However, the
pattern repeatedly described in the scriptures suggests we receive ‘line upon
line, precept upon precept,’ or in other words, many
small answers over a period of time. Recognizing and understanding
this pattern is an important key to obtaining inspiration and help from the
Holy Ghost.” Elder David A. Bednar,
“Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept,” New Era, Sept. 2010
