Personalizing the Holy Ghost

Last month, I was asked yet again to speak on the Holy Ghost at an investigator baptism on February 11. It would be the third time, in addition to numerous church talks on the same subject. Also, the baptism was of the parents and oldest children of a family, so I had to consider the varying ages. I was trying to think of what I could say that I hadn't already said to make it more meaningful. It then came to me that I should share how the Holy Ghost can help each family member specifically. I found scripture verses for the Spirit's role relevant to each person.

Family member: second oldest daughter
Trial: bullying issues at school
Spirit's relevant role: Comforting us
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, John 14: 16-18

Family member: oldest daughter
Trial: boy problems
Spirit's relevant role: Helping us feel God's love
Scripture: 1 John 3:16, Romans 5:5

Family member: mother
Trial: parenting
Spirit's relevant role: Revealing to us everything we need to do
Scripture: 2 Nephi 32:5

Family member: father
Trial: being the priesthood leader of the family
Spirit's relevant role: Being our constant companion as we stay worthy of his presence
Scripture: D&C 121: 36-37

I ended by sharing how they could tell if the Spirit was active in their lives (Galatians 5:22-23).

I received more compliments on this talk than any other I have given on the Holy Ghost. It confirmed to me the importance of personalizing the gospel.

Sharing Time: In what way has the Holy Ghost played a significant role in your life?

Comments

Anonymous said…

I think personalizing anything is the key to effectiveness. Thank you for the reminder and so glad it was a success!

March 25, 2017 at 10:33 AM

Callings

lds.org The Church runs on volunteered time and service, organized through callings. We choose to accept or reject these callings when Church leaders extend them to us. When we are faced with this choice we must remember the following: Church leaders truly are inspired from heaven. They know where we need to serve. We must not doubt them even if it is difficult not to. There are many reasons why a certain calling is right for us. Most obvious, we have the necessary qualities and skills for that position or, conversely, we need to develop the needed qualities and skills. Other reasons may not even be related to the calling. In my case, I needed to meet a certain person, who shared the same calling. We have since become close friends and blessings in each other's lives. When we magnify our callings, everyone benefits. We grow and the ward grows; we learn and the ward learns; we love and the ward loves us back. Every calling in the ward is important. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 e...

Pray Always

Last week I shared powerful scriptures to remember when faced with temptation. However, the devil is very powerful as well. We need a lot more tools than just a scripture to defeat him. The most powerful tool available to us is prayer. Brigham Young said, “Prayer keeps a man from sin. Sin keeps a man from prayer.” Prayer keeps a man from sin The Lord admonishes throughout the scriptures to pray always to avoid sin: “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38) “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work” (D&C 10:5) “Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation” (D&C 20:33) “Pray always, lest ye enter into temptation and lose your reward” (D&C 31:12) “Pray always that you enter not into temptation, that you may abide the day of his coming, whether in lif...

See No Evil

I love watching movies! At home on the couch, at the theater, with friends, with family, in sickness or in health--it's all fun! But risky as well. Risky, that is, to my spirituality if I am not careful with what I choose to view. During high school, I used my best friend and a newspaper column as movie screeners. Then a former seminary teacher introduced me to a great Web site and a friend showed me another one. Both are free with a list of movies from about 15 years ago to current releases. [Click on the name for the link to the site.] Screenit : This Web site gives a short and full summary of the movie plot and the content, divided into categories. I like this site because it is very explicit: I know what language is in the movie and how many times it occurs. Note: In order to review movies before the release date, you must become a member. Kids in Mind : This site is similar to screenit, but somewhat less extensive (especially in the movie summary and language departmen...

Brightening My Light

Search This Blog