The Holy Ghost

This is based on a conference talk by Robert D. Hales which was given on April 3^rd, 2016, in the Salt Lake City Conference Centre.

In order to understand what the Holy Ghost is and signifies, we need to also understand what the Light of Christ is. Elder Hales made a point of discussing this.

The Light of Christ is something that everyone has. It’s that feeling that you get that helps you to distinguish right from wrong. For those that follow the feeling and do the right thing, blessings are received. Those that do not follow the feeling and insist on doing the wrong thing, drown out the feeling until they don’t recognize it any more.

The Holy Ghost, on the other hand, is something that is entirely different from the Light of Christ. It is a personage of spirit and is the third member of the godhead, with our Heavenly Father being the first member, and Jesus Christ being the second member. The Holy Ghost has definite sacred responsibilities and it is one in purpose with the Father and the Son.

The scriptures teach us that the Holy Ghost is meant to be a companion. One of the prerequisites that is needed for this companionship is baptism by the restored priesthood authority. When John the Baptist performed the ordinance of baptism for Jesus Christ, he held the priesthood necessary for this work to be authentic. He also baptised Christ in the Jordan River and it would have been done by emersion. Why by emersion? You ask. Would you be willing to stand in the middle of a river just to have a few drops of water sprinkled on your head? Could you possibly fathom that the planet on which we live also went through a baptism of water? The scriptures tell us that the whole world was submerged in water with only Noah, his family, and the animals that were with him surviving that event. Heavenly Father has promised us that the earth will never again be submerged with water again. If we are to have the baptism that is required of the planet, we need to do it properly and be submerged under the waters of baptism.

The scriptures go on to say that, when Christ came up out of the river after baptism, the Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. This was the confirmation that Heavenly Father gave to Christ that the ordinance was accepted. When we are confirmed members of the Church, this is the time that we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost, not to visit from time to time, but to be a companion based on our worthiness. In order to keep our worthiness intact, there are four things that are needed:

·       We need to always remember the Saviour.

·       We need to keep His commandments.

·       We need to repent of our sins.

·       We need to take the Sacrament worthily on the Sabbath Day.

The next question is why should we do these things? What do we gain from following these directions?

One of the answers is that we will receive personal revelation regarding personal decisions. We can ask for the guidance in our lives regarding our education, what our mission in life should be, what kind of career choices should we make, who should we marry, how should we help our children to become strong and worthy members of society, and where should we live. Many people will think that you shouldn’t ask for guidance in these matters. They think that after all, God is too busy to be bothered with us. That is far from the truth. Heavenly Father wants you to have your agency, so the counsel is to study it out in your mind according to Gospel principles, make your decision, then take it to Heavenly Father in prayer to get the confirmation that these are the choices that will help you during your time on earth. Heavenly Father wants you to learn to make the best choice possible and then confirm that it is the best.

The Holy Ghost helps us in many other ways as well. The Holy Ghost teaches of Jesus Christ and God the Father, as well as the peaceable things of the Kingdom of Heaven. He causes us to have hope, to do good, and to judge righteously. He makes sure that every man and woman has a gift that will profit not only themselves, but the people around them.

The Holy Ghost gives us knowledge and helps to bring all things to remembrance. Now, this does not mean that we don’t need to study for ourselves. We are to study as if we won’t be getting any help, and after we have done everything that we can, and we still have a problem with something, the Holy Ghost will then whisper to us what we need to do or remember. We can’t go wrong with this method. We have to remember, though, to give credit where credit is due. Otherwise, we can be guilty of the sin of pride and telling falsehoods.

There are two more things that the Holy Spirit can do for us. Through the Holy Ghost, we can be sanctified and receive a remission of our sins. The other thing that we can know is that the Holy Ghost is the Comforter that Jesus Christ promised to His disciples.

The Holy Ghost is not given to us as a means to control us. Far from it. We are not to go for direction about every little decision that has to be made, such as what will be for breakfast or what clothing shall I wear. Instead, the Holy Ghost will make gentle communications of matters of consequence.

How do I feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost? Everyone feels the promptings from the Spirit differently, and in different intensities according to the individual needs and circumstances. I have felt the Spirit when it was important that I act on certain matters, more urgently when necessary, but when I had time to study it out in my mind, softly and like pure inspiration.

Some people are of the opinion that they can receive inspiration for matters that they no responsibility for, such as the President of the Church. Only the President of the Church can have revelations regarding the Church and the world. If you are in a particular calling, you can receive revelation for that calling. You can also receive revelation regarding your family.

All of the above has been discussed under the basis that you have no opposition. We all know that life is not that perfect. The Adversary will try to influence you to make you do the opposite of what was discussed. He LOVES to create confusion. However, if we follow the principles of this discussion, we can keep from being deceived. Here are five ways that we can do this:

·       We can remain faithful in obeying the commandments.

·       We can keep our covenants.

·       Through the Holy Ghost, we will be able to discern false prophets who teach for doctrine the commandments of men.

·       We can remember that we do not receive revelations for others.

·       We can remember that all of us may be tempted to let our personal desires over come the guidance of the Holy Ghost

In James 1 verse 5, we read: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”. This means that, if we don’t understand something, we can pray about it and ask for the understanding necessary. The Holy Ghost will then give us guidance which we should follow through on. This is what was done when the Gospel was restored. This is what the Prophet and the Twelve do when there is a decision to be made. If men of this level of righteousness can do so, why can’t we? The Holy Ghost is the medium that Heavenly Father accomplishes His work and His work is our families and our religious obligations.

I would like to end this discussion with Elder Hale’s own words:

“To my own posterity and all within the sound of my voice, I offer my testimony of the personal revelation and constant flow of daily guidance, caution, encouragement, strength, spiritual cleansing, comfort, and peace that have come to our family through the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost, we experience ‘the multitude of [Christ’s] tender mercies and miracles that do not cease.”