As I was preparing for this talk, my week was awful! But some really amazing moments and accomplishments occurred within this week. There were many ups and downs, but through it all I was able to identify moments that I had the constant companionship and others that I did not. In those moments that I did not, I cried out to the Lord, pleading for it, because with my eyes focused up, I knew what I was looking for...and what I was missing.
SUNDAY TALK-THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST
Several years after Joseph Smith was martyred, his spirit visited Brigham Young and he gave this as his instruction. “Tell the people to be humble and faithful and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful adn not turn away the small still voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the bretheren to keep their heartsopen to conviction so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to recieve it. They can tell the sirit of the Lord from all other spirits. It will shisper peace and joy to their souls, and it will take malice, hatred, envying, strife, and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness, and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord, they will go right.” He came back from the dead to talk to the new prophet of the church. He had limited time and could have chosen to speak on anything. Instead, this is what he spoke of...Its extremely important. It was important then and it is important now!
My talk today is on the gift of the Holy Ghost. To begin I’d like to share the story of my own confirmation. There was a miscommunication and specific people were not asked to confirm me. So when the time came, they asked any worthy melchezidic priesthood holders, who wished to participate, to come up. There were 12-14 men. I was a bit overwhelmed so I counted afterwards. They had to move the chair as twelve men blocked out all light as they crowed around me in a tight circle. I was thankful just then that my parents weren't there because, while I understood the significance...or at least I thought I did..., this would just lend credence to the cult argument. And finally, as all were in place, a trembling 20 year old boy placed his hands upon my head and uttered the words, "Receive the Holy Ghost."
To quote Elder Bednar's talk, Receive the Holy Ghost,
These four words, Recieve the Holy Ghost-are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a priesthood injunction-an authoritative admonition to act and not simply be acted upon. The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because the hands are placed upon our heads and these four important words are spoken.
I know that I did not have a full understanding of what the Holy Ghost was or the glorious gift that I was to receive. I took a step forward, blindly. First Nephi 4:6 says, "And I was lead by the spirit, not knowing before hand the things which I should do." It seems as if Nephi was a very faithful man and confident as he goes forward. However, if you take 1Nephi 4:6 and add the first four words of seven it becomes apparent that he was just like us, scared. "And I was led by the spirit, not knowing before hand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth." Its like he's saying, "The Spirit told me to go, but not how and there are a million things going on, but i'm going. I'm going."
I had an experience very similar to this. Part of the Holy Ghost is a revelator. And it is wonderful to have this guide in your life.
It's like having a compass in your chest. However, sometimes it can be hard, when your will is east and the Lord's is west. Upon receiving Revelation it is our responsibility to act upon those revelations...whatever they may be...however blindly we stumble upon the path. That can be a very difficult thing to do. I received the prompting to move to Utah last July, however I hid from it, like a scared child under a desk. This January and February when i really started to act on the prompting to move out west I literally said to the Lord many times, "I get it already, I'm going." The prompting from the Holy Ghost was so urgent that it was on my mind all the time. I did not go west when the Lord said west. I readied my mind and eventually I turned my will to his...even so much as to say, If Utah is right, block my path to Idaho, however, if Idaho is right...I’ll go where you want me to go. Because it is our responsibility to follow promptings once we are given them, the Lord only gives us promptings he has faith we will follow...if for no other reason than it came from the Lord. However, some of us take longer to listen than others. But throughout the many months that it took me to listen, The Holy Ghost never left my side. The patience it must have taken is incredible. But he was my companion and is today and will always be so long as I invite him into my life.
In His talk, Elder Bednar discusses three things that we need to do to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost: 1. A sincere desire to receive the Holy Ghost, 2. appropriately invite the Holy Ghost into our lives, and 3. faithfully obey God's commandments.
Beginning with sincere desire, Elder Bednar said, "Do we likewise remember to pray earnestly and consistently for that which we should most desire, even the Holy Ghost? Or do we become distracted by the cares of the world and the routine of daily living and take for granted or even neglect this most valuable of all gifts?" Each and every morning I pray for the holy ghost to be within me. That I may have his spirit to be with me throughout the day. I can feel when I don't have the spirit within me and close my eyes and ask again for the spirit to be within me and I apologize most often for my anger or sorrow.
Late November last year, I got in a fight with my mom. It was over something stupid. In fact, as we drove away my sister said, "I don't know why your angry, she doesn't get it." I don't remember what it was about. As we were driving away, my mom yelled at me, "Don't make me regret what I've been telling everyone lately. You have become so mature in the last six months, don't change that." Later I realized that I had received the holy ghost six months before that point. It was a humbling experience and I felt awful and quickly apologized to my mom.
The second piece to his talk is to appropriately invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. This can be done through prayer, scripture study, worshipping, serving, obeying...as well as any other righteous work. All of these are done to full fill the mandate to receive the Holy Ghost. I don't' know if all of us go throughout our daily lives striving to be acceptable to have the third member of the God head dwell within us? But that is what it is! How amazing is that? And, on top of that...It is the basis of our religion. How does president Monson receive revelation? How does President Peterson receive revelation? How do you? It is all as a witness from the Holy Ghost. You have the same connection to God that President Monson does! You can't reveal things for the church but just as importantly, you can receive revelation for your own life and for your family! This is an amazing gift that we have been given.
I was supposed to teach with the sister missionaries this week. It was very hard because they did not call me. I was completely depressed all week. As I was preparing my talk I saw opportunities for growth everywhere and this was one place. I had a productive week, but a lonely week. On saturday I talked to them and said, "why didn't you call me?" Sister Nardoni said, "You know why we didn't call you? Because I figured you are always serving other people and maybe the Lord wanted you to serve yourself." It was a humbling experience. I realized that the joy I find in service is because the Holy Ghost is dwelling within me. It is the constant companionship and that joy, while it may be selfish, is a gift from the Holy Ghost and the Lord. I had an amazing week, it was hard, but Sister Nardoni was right...and I got a lot done, including several versions of this talk.
Sometimes, appropriately inviting the Holy Ghost into our lives comes as a choice to reach out, other times it is our only option. As a convert, I did not fully recognize the Holy Ghost until I felt completely alone. Last summer Elder Barker was sent up to Wisconsin in Early July and just two weeks later Elder Jones was sent home to have surgery, they were not only the missionaries that taught me but also at the time, the only people I completely trusted within the church. I felt alone. I was here, but I still felt as if I were walking on eggshells. Inappropriate or not, they were my life line in the church. My only friends in my family ward, they lived outside the singles ward drama and I felt that I could trust them. When they left I truly had to begin to trust not only those around me but the spirit. I felt lost, as if I were walking into the dark. I knew so little, and felt as if I tripped with
every step I took. It was hard because through all of it, I could not call my best friends crying. They were gone. I had to rely on the spirit for my reason for going to church more than ever and my comfort alone. I prayed before every church event to have the Holy Ghost within me so the
evening would not end in offense. I had to invite the Holy Ghost in, to rely on him, to trust him, to show me the way to go and teach me how to be...I had no one else I trusted with the task. I was bitter because I was leading a righteous life, and did not understand why this was happening but more importantly why others did not see that within me. Why did they not know of my purity? Why did they not know of my scripture study? Why
did they not know me? However, the Lord provides answers in mysterious ways. Soon after they left, I had the biggest trial of my faith, yet I was lifted up and strengthened beyond belief. I learned to trust....to let people see the holy Ghost within me and I was challenged to see the holy ghost within others. I was carried when I did not have the strength to keep going and gained some of my best friends. When I cried to the Lord and said, I was broken and did not have the strength to fix myself, The Holy Ghost sent others into my life to lift me. And yes he works through trials, but to quote the movie, The Testaments, "Perhaps faith isn't' faith, until it's been tried." This very rough time in my life is the basis for my trust in the church and companionship of the Holy Ghost. Those two months of their absence were the two most influential months >in my Church life. It was in those two months that I truly came to know the Holy Ghost!
When Elder Jones came back into the area, he stood smiling, looking at me. I asked him why he was smiling. And he said, "You look so beautiful. Its amazing what a difference the spirit can make" Even at times when I felt like all others failed, the Holy Ghost was there because throughout it all, I invited, begged, pleaded, and cried unto him.
As I was trying to write this talk, I was terribly nervous and decided to re-read my first and only talk I’ve ever given at a baptism, two weeks after min. I took this from that talk. The movie Homeward Bound is about two dogs and a cat who are dropped at a farm while their family goes on vacation. They believe something is wrong because the family does not return and so begin on their perilous journey home. Upon starting the journey, the eldest and wisest dog, Shadow said, “Something doesn't smell right. They've been gone too long. Far too long! Much longer than they've ever been!” and the young naïve pup,
Chance says, “Wake up and smell the kibble. They dumped us!” Shadow responded, “No! Not Peter!” Shadow had extreme faith in his constant companion, Peter. Throughout the film Shadow never lost sight of Peter and returning home. Through all the porcupines, dog pounds, mountain lion attacks, and failing support of his traveling buddies, he never lost faith. Chance stated at one point early on, “Shadow was loyal, Shadow was faithful... Shadow was a chump.” Often times on this journey people will try to drag you down. Things within your life will become difficult, but if you trust God and hold fast to the faith that your constant companion, the Holy spirit, will never leave you, and follow God’s plan for you, you will complete your passes over the mojuntain lions, porcupines, and railroad tracks of your life. Oh how much I was to learn.
More recently I have begun to feel His presence so clearly in the scriptures. At a doctors appointment recently, I was very
nervous. I pulled out my book of mormon from my purse and flipped to the first scripture under the comfort reference. 2 Nephi 8:12 begins with, “I am He; I am he that comforteth you.” I re-read that line two or three times and it was all i needed to know. He is here for me and loves me. And my soul was at peace. Again a few days later I was very scared about my health again and a sister missionary told me to flip to John 16:33 which states, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” And at that moment the holy ghost spoke peace unto my soul. Why fret about the cares of this world? God has overcome the world. And the spirit will guide and protect me. I have nothing to fear. I have often been asked on my errands with the sisters, what is the gift of the holy ghost in your life? And my biggest thing is always joy. How much joy he brings. I can see him most clearly as a guide and teacher and
hear him as a revelator. But I feel him in my soul as joy and peace.
The Lord has an instant connection to us in the Holy Ghost. But he wants us to cry to him. To sincerely pray. To humble ourselves and say, “I can’t do this alone, I need your help.” Help for both our spiritual and temporal lives. To protect our flocks and house holds. To help us prosper and to be joyful. To find answers from him in the still small voice, scriptures, and others. And to remember that it is often in our lowest points, that the Holy Ghost sustains and often carries us through until our feet can touch the ground once more.
The final step in having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is to faithfully obey not only the commandments in the
scriptures, but of the prophet and any guidance or revelation you receive personally. Some of the commandments are black and white, in fact most. Following the commandments allows us to be worthy to have the Holy Ghost dwell within us. But also, following the commandments, serving others, scripture study...these activities invite the holy ghost and in turn bring us copious amounts of Joy. That joy makes us want to seek it more, which makes it easier to keep the commandments. However, because of my own life experiences, what struck me most in this heading is that we faithfully obey. Going forward in Faith, not knowing the things which you should do, is one of the hardest things the Lord asks of us....However, “fundamentally, all gospel teachings and activities are centered on coming unto Christ by receiving the Holy Ghost in our lives.” Its everything and the blessings and instruction from the Holy Ghost, make the step into the dark worth the risk. “For God has not given us the spirit of Fear, but of hope and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
In closing I’d like to share a story. A few weeks ago on a
Saturday night, I finished up at work and headed home with little time to change, eat, and get gas. That night was the Saturday evening session for conference. It was icy, very very icy, however, my car barely slipped so I didn’t notice much. I was going to stop for subway out by the stake center and get gas along the way there. I had just enough to get to my usual station along route 83. But I didn’t know where a subway was out there, so rather than chance I would have to eat something that would make me sick, I stopped by my house. And instead of continuing to the gas station along the way, i stopped by my house. It put me about 15 minutes behind, but not 15 minutes late. I still had the 45 minutes it should take to get there. I set out and got stuck behind someone going half the speed limit for 7 miles. When I finally rounded the road and it went to two lanes I breathed a sigh of relief until I saw the bridge. All traffic was stopped. As we squeezed four lanes into two across a bridge, i saw firemen preparing to go over the side of the bridge with harnesses and a smashed car and kids looking under the car. I should have been there when that happened. As i crossed the bridge, I reached a light. After that light was the gas station I was supposed to stop at about 3 blocks down. The road was closed due to another accident. I was re routed down archer...7 miles through the forest preserve with no gas station. I never would have made it. Then going down archer turned at 104th and again at 55th...I had no idea where I was going and I couldn’t find the address for the stake center. I desperately called people trying to find someone to direct me...no one answered. I was panicked. Then a light, I saw 83 N. I got on...and my heart sank once more...Bumper to bumper traffic. However, I finally got ahold of someone...A missionary, who served in Naperville the last five months of his mission and is now home. He stayed on the phone with me for 45 minutes guiding me and listening to me cry and complain in frustration...and say, I know the Lord protected me, but... over and over as I passed four more accidents. I got to stake conference at 730. At the end, President peterson quoted someone saying something along the lines of, “How many car accidents have I avoided because the Holy Ghost has diverted my path? How many dangerous diseases have I come into contact with but not succumb to because the guiding hand of the Lord went first. How many blessings have I received that I know nothing about?” Listening to that, it truly hit me how blessed and protected and guided I had been that night! We are not often fortunate enough to see blessings of the Holy Ghost like the ones that occurred that night. They are often hidden from our view. But rest assured we are protected, guided, taught, and comforted every day.
I testify that If we allow the Holy Ghost to come into our lives, live worthy to receive his counsel and blessings, and follow his
instructions...our lives will never look the same. There is much to think about but nothing to worry about when the Holy Ghost is in your life. He will never leave you and never forsake you! He will teach you Charity. He will guide and protect you through the storms of life. I testify that he teaches us through the scriptures and through our living prophet on the earth today. I testify that he is a revelator and if you live a worthy life and keep the commandments your life will not be left to chance. I testify, most of all, that he is comforter. Cry to him to protect you. Cry to him in your times of need and he will never fail you. I leave this the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I wanted to give anyone an opportunity to see this talk. It was my first sacrament meeting talk from today. I did not stick to this talk much at all. I had much prepared, however, I allowed the HOly Ghost to speak through me and I'm told it was awesome. Funny enough, I was panicked until the hymn came, then i was at peace, until thirty seconds after my talk. I told sister worlton about it and she said, that when you prepare well for a talk and the spirit is built up within you that it bursts forth. Afterwards, a bit of the spirit leaves you because you don't need quite as much anymore. It may not be much you lose, but you can feel it. It was an amazing experience. And I am so greatful. Remember, when the holy ghost is within you, it is as obvious and distracting as my cat pencil case on the podium. You can't look away and at times it is all you can see. It is the most powerful testimony you can give, is to allow the holy ghost to shine through you!
meaningful and influential in my life. I feel like i'm on the right path. Everything works and I have become so passionate about scouts. I met some of my best friends. I became so close with them. I learned to love sleeping outside (I'm currently havingproblems sleeping inside and past 5:30). I did polar bear in the mornings...a frigid 5:30 am dip in a 45 degree river and reciting the scout oath and law.
There are so many stories and memories that I can hardly recount them. The biggest things I've learned are:
