Recognizing The Holy Ghost

I sat forward riveted to the chair while my young women’s president taught us about Light and Truth.

I remember finding our surroundings ironic. We sat in the darkest room in the building—the windowless classroom on the stage.

But, light and truth burst onto the stage of my mind in a way I’d never before experienced!  

She stopped and said, “I feel the Holy Ghost in this room as I’m teaching you. Girls, the most important thing you can learn right now in your life is how the Holy Ghost speaks to you.”

She described the impact, and necessity, of the Holy Ghost on our conversion and how we could never even know if the Book of Mormon was true without recognizing the Holy Ghost’s answers to our prayers.

Then, it seemed like she put aside part of her lesson and asked us to identify how the Holy Ghost speaks to us.

I experienced that young women’s class years ago, but still remember where I sat, who was there, what I learned, and how I felt.  

I took previous experiences with the Holy Ghost for granted. I had read, prayed for, and received an answer about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I felt the Church was true. I felt peace, or excitement, or testimony, or warnings, but kind of put them all on a cluttered mental shelf.

Sister Call challenged my fairly lazy and rudimentary relationship with the Holy Ghost. She said to remain faithful, we had to know truth for ourselves and recognize light. She promised that we could find truth and that Deity would speak to us, but the pilgrimage was inherently our responsibility.

How Does the Holy Ghost Speak to You?

Do you know how the Holy Ghost speaks to you?

Do you get a calm, peaceful reassurance when you pray or do ideas flood your mind? Do you feel His blanketing comfort or bright flashes of intuition? Do you experience the burning bosom? Do you hear a voice or just feel the words? Does His warning voice penetrate your mind?

The Lord promises to communicate “after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24).  He will speak to us in ways we can understand. But, we still have to actually recognize the still, small voice.

I don’t really feel a burning in my bosom, but do feel uncontrollable excitement and joy (and tears. I’m a cryer). I feel words like a ticker screen across my forehead. I suddenly see a concept.

When praying for answers from scriptural examples, I’ve had exceptional results from “pot-luck” scriptures—where I randomly let my scriptures fall open and read the verse that sticks out to me.

And sometimes, I don’t feel anything particularly descriptive at all.

There were times in my life when I assumed I had the Holy Ghost’s companionship, when I obviously didn’t. Times when I tried to process life while feeling angry, judgmental or judged, confrontational, and grouchy which are not conducive to the Holy Ghost’s quiet promptings.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit Adapts Itself

This quote by Parley P. Pratt is my favorite about the Holy Ghost. It describes His divine impact on us physically and spiritually.

“An intelligent being, in the image of God, possesses every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection, of will, wisdom, love, power and gift, which is possessed by God Himself.

But these are possessed by man, in his rudimental state, in a subordinate sense of the word. Or, in other words, these attributes are in embryo; and are to be gradually developed. They resemble a bud — a germ, which gradually develops into bloom, and then, by progress, produces the mature fruit, after its own kind.

The gift of the Holy Spirit adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.

In the presence of such persons, one feels to enjoy the light of their countenances, as the genial rays of a sunbeam. Their very atmosphere diffuses a thrill, a warm glow of pure gladness and sympathy, to the heart and nerves of others who have kindred feelings, or sympathy of spirit. No matter if the parties are stranger, entirely unknown to each other in person or character; no matter if they have never spoken to each other, each will be apt to remark in his own mind, and perhaps exclaim, when referring to the interview – “O what an atmosphere encircles that stranger! How my heart thrilled with pure and holy feelings in his presence! What confidence and sympathy he inspired! His countenance and spirit gave me more assurance, than a thousand written recommendations, or introductory letters.” Such is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and such are its operations, when received through the lawful channel—the divine, eternal Priesthood” (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology.)

This view of the all-encompassing nature of the Holy Ghost fills my soul with all sorts of creative hopes for the future.  

I am not a perfect disciple of Christ. I fail at many things I probably could have improved by now. But because I took my teacher’s challenge to intentionally identify the Holy Ghost’s influence in my life, then as I’ve traversed life’s challenges, suffered tempestuous darkness, and searched for additional light and truth, my foundational faith remained firm.

And I’ve discovered that anything is possible with the Holy Ghost at our side!