The Holy Ghost

Lately, the Lord is teaching me a lot about the Holy Ghost and just how crucial a role He plays in our lives.

I often think about that dream Brigham Young had shortly after he became the second president and prophet of our church in this dispensation.  It's the dream where Joseph Smith appeared to him.  The one thing he told Brigham Young to tell the people, that he said was the most important thing, was to get and keep the Holy Ghost and that if we did that we would be led aright.

One of my favorite talks of all times has become "The Way" by Lawrence Corbridge.  In that talk Elder Crobridge says,  "Nothing in this life is of greater worth than the supernal gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the source of joy, peace, knowledge, strength, love, and every other good thing. [and I say what more could we want?!]  With the Atonement, it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak. With the priesthood, it is the power by which marriages and families are sealed together eternally.  It is the power by which the Lord makes Himself manifest unto those who believe in Him.  Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that."

I wondered what could be more supernal than the Savior's Atonement.  I am coming to realize the Holy Ghost is our access to the Atonement.  In the article I mentioned in my last post by Larry Barkdull he talks about how it is the work of the Holy Ghost and the Savior to refine us.  The gift of the Holy Ghost is referred to also as the "baptism by fire."  We must all go through the refiner's fire to be sanctified and purified in order to return to the presence of God.

Today I read, again, Elder David A. Bednar's talk from the November 2007 Ensign (conference talk) called "Clean Hands and a Pure Heart."  Elder Bednar said it is possible to have clean hands but not a pure heart.  I was concerned by this thought.  But as I studied it today I saw a new analogy I had not seen before.  Elder Bednar recounts the story of Christ visiting the people of the American Continent shortly after His resurrection.  He teaches them the basics of repentance, and then coming unto Him through baptism and the Holy Ghost.  Then he has them, one by one, come to Him and feel the prints in his hands and feet and thrust their hands into His sides.  This is intimately coming to know the Savior and understanding just what it is that He did for us, with His Atonement, His death, and His resurrection.

Elder Bednar suggests that clean hands represents the repentance of sin and putting off the natural man through Christ's atonement.  Having a pure heart is to accept the Savior's strengthening and sustaining powers to help us become even better than we could on our own.  So no matter how many good works we do, they will not be enough to help us be sanctified enough to come unto Him without accepting His enabling powers...without actually obtaining a one on one relationship to Him, without personally feeling those prints in his hands and feet and side, symbolically, of course.

As Elder Corbridge put it, "No institution, plan, program, or system ever conceived by men has access to the redeeming and transforming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, while the Lord’s invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by everyone, not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make us able too."

When I understood it, I thought Hallelujah!!  Who would NOT want Christ's enabling power?!  Who would not be humble enough to accept that?!  The only way we cannot, would be to not pursue it.  To not see it.  I guess it's like the parable of the Ten Virgins.  They were all somewhat pure, right?  They were Virgins after all.  They were all waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, but only half were fully prepared to meet Him.  What did the others lack?

Elder Bednar suggests this:
"Some who hear or read this message may think the spiritual progress I am describing is not attainable in their lives. We may believe these truths apply to others but not to us.
We will not attain a state of perfection in this life, but we can and should press forward with faith in Christ along the strait and narrow path and make steady progress toward our eternal destiny. The Lord’s pattern for spiritual development is “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30). Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take.  Preparing to walk guiltless before God is one of the primary purposes of mortality and the pursuit of a lifetime; it does not result from sporadic spurts of intense spiritual activity.
I witness that the Savior will strengthen and assist us to make sustained, paced progress."

So we can't just "ride along" as members.  We have to work and pay the price for the highest level of discipleship, not just by good works alone, but drawing near to Christ.  The only way I know to do this is through study and prayer, pondering, always remembering Him, striving hard to get and keep the Holy Ghost with us, which can be done as we worthily and with much thought, partake of the Sacrament each week, and any and all other thing that will help us be near Him and learn of Him, like attending the temple as well as our meetings at Church, keeping the Sabbath Day holy which keeps us unspotted from the world, accepting and magnifying our callings, and repenting, forgiving, serving others, and sharing our testimony of Him as often as we can.  It sounds like a lot.  It is.  But to be pure in heart is to accept the Savior's enabling power so it is possible...like Elder Bednar said, "Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take."  This is putting oil in our lamps and preparing us for the Savior's return. 

The Holy Ghost is our key and our guide to do it...to the enabling power of the Savior's Atonement.

The Holy Ghost filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence through prayer until the end shall come.

The Holy Ghost fills us with light and truth.

The Holy Ghost cleanses, heals and purifies the soul.

The Holy Ghost is the only source that enables us to have the charity that we must have, because without charity we are also nothing.

"With the Atonement it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak....Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives.  Everything depends on that." (repeated again from Elder Corbridge, which phrase I could never tire of hearing!)

The Holy Ghost is a true friend.

It is the plainest and simplest things that edify us the most if taught by the Spirit of God.

There are so many wonderful things said about the Holy Ghost.  I wish I had them all in front of me so I could add them all in, but then this post would be way too long.  So I'll only add from memory part of a quote from Parley P. Pratt where he said the Holy Ghost can even give you beauty in your physical appearance.  I have seen this beauty in those who have His image in their countenance.  Sheri Dew said, "No amount of time in front of the mirror will make you as attractive as having the Holy Ghost with you."

The Holy Ghost is truly a supernal gift of great worth!!

 I have heard the Holy Ghost likened to a radio station before....like a fine frequency that you have to really work at to get the frequency.  And that sometimes you have to listen very carefully to hear it.

Since the Law of Attraction is to be the master of one's thoughts; since it is about creating one's life by virtue of the images in your mind; since it is the power to attract what you think about the most; since it is likened unto a magnetic power emitted by your thoughts and the attraction of your thoughts is to cause that which you are thinking of to come closer (whether good or bad); since they have likened it unto one infinite power...calling that the Universe...and although also saying it could be referred to as God, but they don't want to rule out those who don't believe in God and just want to believe in a higher power...which are the natural laws of the universe...

And, most importantly, the one that likens it to the Holy Ghost is likening it unto a frequency--"a thought is a frequency just like a radio frequency puts out a voice and a TV frequency puts out an image and a voice; we can measure those thoughts by thinking it over and over again...if you're imagining what it looks like, you're emitting that frequency on a consistent basis.  You are a human transmission tower, more powerful than TV.  Your transmission creates your life and your world through your thoughts."

As members of the church we are admonished to control our thoughts.  Boyd K. Packer likened our thoughts unto a performance being acted out on a stage.  Sometimes bad thoughts come onto our stage and it's our job to get them off by replacing them with good thoughts...a scripture we have memorized, singing a hymn in our mind, or whatever works for us. 

As I've mentioned before, positive thoughts come of the spirit and of God.  Negative thoughts come from Satan.  It's hard to keep the Holy Ghost with us if we are on a negative frequency.  Likewise, when we tune into the positive frequency Satan flees.  He can't stand to be around any good or wholesome thing.  (yeah for that!)

What I have learned is that keeping on the positive frequency keeps the Holy Ghost with me more frequently, and as I have the Holy Ghost with me more frequently I invite (or attract or magnetize) more positive thoughts and feelings and I find it easier to be grateful, easier to have charity, easier to endure any hard circumstances in my life, and so on.  It is a much better frequency to be on, no doubt about it!

I absolutely LOVE this Mormon Messages video:  "Voice of the Spirit" with James E. Faust.