Skip to main content

How to Invite the Spirit Into Our Daily Lives

lds.org
Part 2 of the talk I gave in stake conference on Saturday, October 17. As with my previous talk, I used an outline, so this isn't word for word.

You have probably seen the above photo of Jesus knocking on a door with no handle. The Holy Ghost works the same way. We have to let him in. That's why one person may say they didn't feel the Spirit and another may say they did although they were at the same sacrament meeting or other spiritual event.

The first part of inviting the Spirit is creating an environment in which he can dwell. We do this by keeping the commandments and always remembering Christ, as said in the sacrament prayers (Moroni 4:5, D&C 20:77). Elder Bednar expressed the connection between gospel living and having the Spirit: “Everything the Savior’s gospel teaches us to do and become is intended to bless us with the companionship of the Holy Ghost” (Increase in Learning, p. 49). One of the ways we can tell if the gospel is working for us (see President Uchtdorf's talk) is if we have an increased companionship of the Holy Ghost.

 Another way to create an inviting environment is to imitate a place in which the Spirit resides, most notably the temple. In fact, the home is the only place that has been compared to the temple in sacredness. That doesn't mean you have to dress in white all the time, but there are certain practices from the temple you should adopt in your home. For example, we're supposed to talk quietly and reverently in the temple. We should do so at home. Yelling brings the Spirit of contention, which is of the devil (3 Nephi 11:29). 

 Perhaps you are doing all that you're supposed to but still don't feel the Holy Ghost present in your life. First, you may need to make your spiritual experiences more meaningful and go outside your comfort zone. Sometimes we can get into a routine of going through the motions and checking things off our spiritual to-do list to avoid guilt without actually making the most of these activities.

 Second, we learn from the scriptures that in order to receive the Spirit we need to have meekness and lowliness of heart (Moroni 8:26) and charity and virtue (D&C121:45–46). President Eyring said that when we show a willingness to obey the promptings of the Spirit, we will receive them more. The Holy Ghost isn't going to help us if we don't want his help, if we're not actually going to be receptive to his counsel and follow through. We need to be humble and, like the Savior, say, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). President Eyring promised that as we then obey those promptings and record them to show we value them, we will get more and more impressions until we have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

 This was enlightening information for me. I have made a lot of changes in my life to stay closer to the Spirit, but haven't felt like it's made much of a difference. Perhaps you missionaries can relate, as you've given up everything worldly right now. I was trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, and I realized I still have a lot of pride and doubt to get rid of first before I'm going to receive inspiration. This doesn't mean I should stop doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but that my actions need to be coupled with sincere feelings and desires in order to invite the Holy Ghost.

 Elder Quentin L. Cook wrote on his Facebook page, 
Some people wonder if their faith is strong enough to have miracles and spiritual experiences in their lives. I would counsel you to not let your doubts hold you back. 
To those who struggle with doubts, I would tell you to put your doubts in the corner and allow the Savior to strengthen you over time. Exercise your faith, do the things you should do, and the challenges to your faith will be solved. Don’t ever let your doubts override your faith.
Part 1
Part 3
Part 4 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mormon Messages

 ldsmediatalk.com  On the Church Web site, at the bottom of the home page and on the right sidebar, are featured videos called Mormon Messages. They are short clips from General Conference talks with music, photos, and background videos added to them. My favorite is the one entitled " Prayer ." Mormon Messages is a great way to share short and uplifting stories, testimonies, and counsel with family and friends, whether they are LDS or not. Above the featured video on the Church Web site is a toolbar allowing you to post the video or link on various social networking sites, such as Facebook. Mormon Messages also has a channel on YouTube, with videos in Spanish, to which you can subscribe. Share the light! Sharing Time: Which Mormon Message is your favorite?
3 comments
Read more

"Far above Rubies"

Certain TV shows and previews reminded me of a quote from Sister Margaret Nagauld : "Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." We need to be classy women--women with manners, discipline, integrity, virtue, sincerity, and charity. Sister Nagauld isn't the only one to have said this: 1. "It is, unfortunately, all too easy to illustrate the confusion and distortion of womanhood in contemporary society. Immodest, immoral, intemperate women jam the airwaves, monopolize magazines, and slink across movie screens—all while being celebrated by the world...
5 comments
Read more

Put Down the Gavel

My friend posted on her blog an article about being a single LDS woman . Both ladies made many good points I will not reiterate here. Instead, I would like to discuss the motivation behind these posts: judgment. And judgment applies to all situations, not just to being single. In fact, once one of these women gets married, the judgment won't stop. The next nosy question she will be asked is, "When are you going to have children?" Then, "When are you going to have another child?" Then either, "Why aren't you going to have more?" or "Don't you think you have enough?" Then there will be comments and questions about her parenting choices and so on. Elder Neil L. Andersen shared this example in his October 2011 general conference talk : President J. Scott Dorius of the Peru Lima West Mission told me their story. He said: “Becky and I were married for 25 years without being able to have [or adopt] children. We moved several times...
4 comments
Read more