This is based on the talk “Promptings of the Spirit” given by Elder Gary E. Stevenson.
Part 1
Why we are given the Spirit, the gift of the Holy Ghost
The gift of the Holy Ghost is a spiritual gift given by loving Heavenly Parents to their children when they make the covenant of baptism in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
It is a gift given to teach, direct, guide, and comfort us as we journey through mortality and back to our Heavenly home.
President Nelson said in his talk “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives”, “..in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
We are the children of a very loving Heavenly Father. He knew we needed to come and gain a body. Each of us, to become more like Him, needed to journey through mortality. He also knew it would be a hard, trying journey, filled with heartache and joy.
As with any loving parent, He wants us to be able to reach Him. To be able to ask for help, comfort, and counsel. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the way that we are able to do this. It is the express purpose of this member of the godhead.
The scriptures speak extensively of the Holy Ghost and his purpose. In Ether 12:41 it states, “And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.”
The Holy Ghost is how we obtain our testimony of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. The Holy Ghost bears witness of Him and His divinity to us.
John 14:26 tells us more of what the Holy Ghost does for us, it says, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
From this verse we learn that He is a comforter and a teacher. More than merely teaching, He also brings to our remembrance things which we have already learned or known and things that He has testified to us of in the past. I learned the truth of this when I was in college. I would study hard and ask that it be brought to my remembrance when I needed it, whether that was during a test or simply completing an assignment. The Holy Ghost never failed to bring to my remembrance the things that I needed.
We learn in 3 Nephi 27:20, that the Holy Ghost sanctifies us. “ Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”
The Holy Ghost sanctifies us as we receive it and follow it. Indeed, in 1 Nephi 4:6, we are taught that we should be led by the Holy Ghost. Oftentimes in my life I have been told by the Holy Ghost to do something that I did not know how to accomplish. I have had to start where I am and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost and follow where it leads me. This blog is one of those instances.
As we journey through mortality, with the Holy Ghost as our guide we can be taught, born witness to, remember, led and sanctified. I testify that this is true. I have experienced it time after time in my life and I know that you can experience it in your life as well. In the next part I will talk about how we receive the Holy Ghost.
