The Voice of the Spirit Part 1

the lord needs selfless men who put the welfare of others ahead of their own he needs men who intentionally work to hear the voice of the spirit with clarity said president lorenzo snow this is the grand privilege of every latter-day saint that it is our right to have the manifestations of the spirit every day of our lives end of quote one of the things the spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as president of the church is how willing the lord is to reveal his mind and will the privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of god to his children through the manifestations of the holy ghost the lord will assist us in all our righteous pursuits imagine the miracle of it whatever our church calling we can pray to our heavenly father and receive guidance and direction be warned about dangers and distractions and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own if we will truly receive the holy ghost and learn to discern and understand his promptings we will be guided in matters large and small brothers and sisters how can we become the men and women the christ-like servants the lord needs us to be how can we find answers to questions that perplex us if joseph smith's transcended experience in the sacred grove teaches us anything it is that the heavens are open and that god speaks to his children the prophet joseph smith set a pattern for us to follow in resolving our questions drawn to the promise of james that if we lack wisdom we may ask of god the boy joseph took his question directly to heavenly father he sought personal revelation and his seeking opened this last dispensation in like manner what will your seeking open for you what wisdom do you lack what do you feel an urgent need to know or understand follow the example of the prophet joseph find a quiet place where you can regularly go humble yourself before god pour out your heart to your heavenly father turn to him for answers and for comfort pray in the name of jesus christ about your concerns your fears your weaknesses yes the very longings of your heart and then listen write the thoughts that come to your mind record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take as you repeat this process day after day month after month year after year you will grow into the principle of revelation does god really want to speak to you yes i urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation for the lord has promised that if thou shalt seek thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation knowledge upon knowledge that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things that which bringeth joy that which bringeth life eternal well there's so much more that your father in heaven wants you to know as elder neal a maxwell taught to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear it is clear that the father and the son are giving away the secrets of the universe nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity exact obedience earnest seeking daily feasting on the words of christ in the book of mormon and regular time committed to temple and family history work well to be sure there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed but i promise that as you continue to be obedient expressing gratitude for every blessing the lord gives you and as you patiently honor the lord's timetable you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek every blessing the lord has for you even miracles will follow that is what personal revelation will do for you if we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth we must learn to receive revelation our savior and redeemer jesus christ will perform some of his mightiest works between now and when he comes again we will see miraculous indications that god the father and his son jesus christ preside over this church in majesty and glory but in coming days it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding directing and comforting and constant influence of the holy ghost my beloved brothers and sisters i plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation let this easter sunday be a defining moment in your life choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the holy ghost and hear the voice of the spirit more frequently and more clearly with moroni i exhort you on this easter sabbath to come unto christ and lay hold upon every good gift beginning with the gift of the holy ghost which gift can and will change your life the way to receive revelation from god has not changed from the days of adam and eve it has been the same for all called servants of the lord from the beginning to the present day it is the same for you and for me it is always done by exercising faith i know from experience that answers will come to fit your needs and your spiritual preparation if you need an answer that is important to your eternal welfare or that of others the answer is more likely to come yet even then you may receive as did joseph smith the answers to be patient if your faith in jesus christ has led to a heart softened through the effects of his atonement you will be more able to feel the whisperings of the spirit in answer to your prayers my personal experience is that the still small voice which is real is clear and discernible in my mind when i feel an internal quiet and submission to the lord's will to me the clearest answers to my questions that have ever come of when i came to the place of saying i only want what you want not what i want that feeling of humility can be best described as not my will but thine be done the process of revelation is why you will hear speakers teach as you have in this conference what is called the doctrine of christ revelation comes to us in proportion to the degree to which we have sought to take the doctrine of christ into our hearts and implement it in our lives through our participation in the church we learn to recognize and act on the promptings of the holy spirit we develop the disposition of reaching out in compassion and kindness to others this is an effort of a lifetime and it requires practice through sincere and humble prayer to our heavenly father we learn to recognize the voice of the holy spirit too many allow themselves to almost live online with their smart devices and screams and screens illuminating their faces day and night and earplugs in their ears blocking out the still small voice of the spirit if we do not find time to unplug we may miss the opportunities to hear the voice of him who said be still and know that i am god more precious memory or a picture of the events of that day more important is the memory of the holy ghost touching our hearts and its continuing affirmation of truth more precious than seeing with our eyes or remembering words spoken and read is recalling the feelings that accompanied the quiet voice of the spirit rarely i have felt it exactly as the travelers on the road to emmaus did as a soft but clear burning in the heart more often it is a feeling of light and quiet assurance we have the private priceless promise of the holy ghost as a companion and we also have true directions on how to claim that gift these words are said by the lord's authorized servant with his hands on our head receive the holy ghost at that moment you and i have the assurance he will be sent but our obligation is to choose to open our hearts to receive the ministration of the spirit over a lifetime i bear my personal witness that the father is at this moment aware of you your feelings and the spiritual and temple needs of everyone around you i bear testimony that the father and the son are sending the holy ghost to all who have that gift and ask for that blessing and seek to be worthy of it neither the father nor the son nor the holy ghost force themselves into our lives we are free to choose the lord has said to all behold i stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door i will come into him and will sup with him and he with me to him that overcometh will i grant to sit with me in my throne even as i also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith i pray with all my heart that you will hear the voice of the spirit which is sent to you so generously and i pray that you will open your hearts always to receive him if you ask with real intent and with faith in jesus christ for inspiration you will receive it in the lord's way and in his time my dear associates in the work of the lord i implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the book of mormon each day as we do so we will be in a position to hear the voice of the spirit to resist temptation overcome doubt and fear and to receive heaven's help in our lives the holy ghost binds us to the lord by divine assignment he inspires testifies teaches and prompts us to walk in the light of the lord we have the sacred responsibility to learn to recognize his influence in our lives and respond the holy ghost accompanies those that are strict to remember the lord their god from day to day as the lord counseled we must lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better for this for the spirit of the lord doth not dwell in unholy temples we must always try to obey god's laws study the scriptures pray attend the temple and live true to the 13th article of faith being honest true chaste benevolent virtuous and doing good to all men we must recognize the spirit when it comes my experience has been that the spirit most often communicates as a feeling you feel it in words that are familiar to you that make sense to you that prompt you consider the response of the nephites as they listen to the lord pray for them and the multitude did hear and do bear record and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed they felt in the in their hearts the words of his prayer now the voice of the holy spirit is still and small in the old testament elijah contends with the priests of baal the priests expected the voice of baal to come down as thunder and light their sacrifice with fire but there was no voice and there was no fire on a later occasion elijah prayed and behold the lord passed by and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and break in pieces the rocks before the lord but the lord was not in the wind and after the wind an earthquake but the lord was not in the earthquake and after the earthquake of fire but the lord was not in the fire and after the fire a still small voice do you know that voice president monson has taught quote as we pursue the journey of life let us learn the language of the spirit end quote the spirit speaks words that we feel these feelings are gentle a nudge to act to do something to say something to respond in a certain way if we are casual or complacent in our worship drawn off and desensitized by worldly pursuits we find ourselves diminished in our ability to feel nephi said to layman and lemieux ye have heard his voice from time to time and he has spoken unto you in a still small voice but ye were past feeling that ye could not feel the words we must act on the first prompting remember the words of nephi i was led by the spirit not knowing beforehand the things which i should do nevertheless he said i went forth and so must we we must be confident in our first promptings sometimes we rationalize we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts when we begin to second guess even third guess our feelings and we all have we are dismissing the spirit we are questioning divine counsel the prophet joseph smith said and i quote if you will listen to the first promptings you will get it right nine times out of ten first promptings are pure inspiration from heaven when they confirm or testify to us we need to recognize them for what they are and never let them slip past so often it is the spirit inspiring us to reach out to someone in need family and friends in particular thus the still small voice which whispers through and pierceth all things points us to opportunities to teach the gospel to bear testimony of the restoration and jesus christ to offer support and concern and to rescue one of god's precious children the lord knows the needs of all his children and he know who he knows who is prepared to help if we let the lord know in our morning prayers that we are ready he will call on us to respond if we respond he will call on us time and time again and we will find ourselves on what president monson calls the lord's errand we will become spiritual first responders bringing help from on high if we pay attention to the promptings that come to us we will grow in the spirit of revelation and receive more and more spirit driven insight and direction the lord has said put your trust in that spirit which leadeth to do good may we take seriously the lord's call to be of good cheer for i will lead you along he leads us by the holy ghost may we live close to the spirit acting upon our first promptings knowing they come from god in our efforts to help our loved ones experience the voice of the spirit and the vast eternal and profound beauty of the gospel of jesus christ telling them to listen harder may not be the most helpful way perhaps better advice for anyone who wants to increase faith is to listen differently the apostle paul encourages us to seek the voice that speaks to our spirit not just to our ears he taught the person without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of god but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the spirit perhaps the single greatest thing i learned from reading the book of mormon is that the voice of the spirit comes as a feeling rather than a sound you will learn as i have learned to listen for that voice that is felt rather than heard nephi scolded his older brother saying you have seen an angel and he's faken you yea he has you have heard his boy from time to time he's spoken to you in a still small voice but you're past the feeling that you could not feel his words some critics have said that these verses are in error because you hear words you do not feel them but if you know anything at all about spiritual communication you know that the best word to describe what takes place is the word feeling the gift of the holy ghost if you consent will guide and protect you and even correct your actions is the spiritual spiritual voice that comes into your mind as a thought or a feeling but into your heart the prophet even said the voice of the lord came into my mind and the lord told oliver cowdy behold i will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the holy ghost which will come upon you it is not expected that you go through life without making mistakes but you'll not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the spirit the promise applies to all members of the church listen to the voice of the spirit and you will not be led astray i say again that youth today are being raised in enemy territory with a declining standard morality but as a servant of the lord i promise you you'll be protected and sealed from the attacks of the adversary if you will heed the promptings that comes from the holy ghost revelation is communication from god to his children on the earth and one of the great blessings associated with the gift and constant companionship of the holy ghost the prophet joseph smith taught quote the holy ghost is a revelator and no man can receive the holy ghost without receiving revelations close quote the spirit of revelation is available to every person who receives by proper priesthood authority the saving ordinances of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost and who is acting in faith to fulfill the priesthood injunction to receive the holy ghost this blessing is not restricted to the presiding authorities of the church rather it belongs to and should be operative in the life of every man woman and child who reaches the age of accountability and enters into sacred covenants sincere desire and worthiness invite the spirit of revelation into our lives joseph smith and oliver cowdery gained valuable experience with the spirit of revelation as they translated the book of mormon these brethren learned they could receive whatever knowledge was necessary to complete their work if they asked in faith with an honest heart believing they would receive and over time they increasingly understood the spirit of revelation typically functions as thoughts and feelings that come into our minds and hearts by the power of the holy ghost as the lord instructed them now behold this is the spirit of revelation therefore this is thy gift apply unto it i emphasize the phrase apply unto it in relation to the spirit of revelation in the scriptures the influence of the holy ghost frequently is described as a still small voice and a voice of perfect mildness because the spirit whispers to us gently and delicately it is easy to understand why we should shun inappropriate media pornography and harmful addictive substances and behaviors these tools of the adversary can impair and eventually destroy our capacity to recognize and respond to the subtle messages from god delivered by the power of his spirit each of us should consider seriously and ponder prayerfully how we can reject the devil's enticements and righteously apply unto it even the spirit of revelation in our personal lives and families revelations are conveyed in a variety of ways including for example dreams visions conversations with heavenly messengers and inspiration some revelations are received immediately and intensely some are recognized gradually and subtly most frequently revelation comes in small increments over time and is granted according to our desire worthiness and preparation such communications from heavenly father gradually and gently distill upon our souls as the dues from heaven this pattern of revelation tends to be more common than rare and is evident in the experiences of nephi as he tried several different approaches before successfully obtaining the plates of brass from laban ultimately nephi was led by the spirit to jerusalem not knowing beforehand the things which he should do and he did not learn how to build a ship of curious workmanship all at one time rather he was shown by the lord from time to time after what manner he should work the timbers of the ship both the history of the church and our personal lives are replete with examples of the lord's pattern for receiving revelation line upon line precept upon precept for example the fundamental truths of the restored gospel were not delivered to the prophet joseph smith all at once in the sacred grove these priceless treasures were revealed as circumstances warranted and as the timing was right president joseph f smith explained how this pattern of revelation occurred in his life quote as a boy i would frequently ask the lord to show me some marvelous thing in order that i might receive a testimony but the lord withheld marbles from me and showed me the truth line upon line until he made me to know the truth from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet and until doubt and fear had been absolutely purged from me he did not have to send an angel from the heavens to do this nor did he have to speak with the trump of an angel by the whisperings of the still small voice of the spirit of the living god he gave to me the testimony i possess and by this principle and power he will give to all the children of men a knowledge of the truth that will stay with them and it will make them to know the truth as god knows it and to do the will of the father as christ does it and no amount of marvelous manifestations will ever accomplish this close quote we as members of the church tend to emphasize marvelous and dramatic spiritual manifestation so much that we may fail to appreciate and even overlook the customary pattern by which the holy ghost accomplishes his work the very simpleness of the way of receiving small and incremental spiritual impressions may cause us to look beyond the mark as you appropriately seek for and apply unto the spirit of revelation i promise you will walk in the light of the lord sometimes the spirit of revelation will operate immediately and intensely other times subtly and gradually and often so delicately you may not even consciously recognize it but regardless of the pattern whereby this blessing is received the light it provides will illuminate and enlarge your soul enlighten your understanding and direct and protect you and your family i declare my apostolic witness that the father and the son live the spirit of revelation is real and can and does function in our individual lives and in the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints all youth will be more likely to make and keep covenants if they learn how to recognize the presence of the voice of the spirit teach your daughters about the things of the spirit point them to the scriptures give them experiences that will help them cherish the blessings of priesthood power in their lives through keeping covenants they will learn to hear the voice of the lord and receive personal revelation god will hear truly hear and answer their prayers

Channel: Witnesses of Christ

Views: 64,397

Keywords: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Id: VXVx9d99b4o

Length: 32min 3sec (1923 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 17 2022