This talk was about how to judge righteously. Especially interesting to me was the observation that we are often to quick to judge Martha (in the New Testament) because we focus on just one story about her and not the second one.
We live in a world in which many situations require us to make judgments that are often difficult. Yet the Savior gave the commandment to "judge not" our fellowman. How can we do this and still exercise good judgment in a world full of deception and corruption?
Although the Savior asked us not to judge others, He still expects us to use excellent judgment. Maybe the difference between the two is that the first (the commandment to not judge others) is a verb and the second is a noun. Just a thought.
Speaking of judging Martha, Elder Schwitzer said, How often has Martha been misjudged as being a person who cared more for the deeds of doing than for the Spirit? However, her testimony in the trial of her brother's death clearly shows the depth of her understanding.
I offer four guides for developing such judgments in making important decisions.
First, put your own personal standards in alignment with the gospel of Jesus Christ. A person can never be a good judge without the gospel of Jesus Christ as a reference. For the youth the youth these standards are written in the pamphlet "For the Strength of Youth." Perhaps it would be good for us as adults to study and apply this pamphlet to our lives.
Second, listen to the messages of the living prophet. Each general conference and Church magazine contains advice from the prophets which, if applied, will lead us to good judgment. We are left without excuse when we ignore them.
Third, cultivate with the Holy Spirit a relationship of listening. A relationship of listening often requires a quiet environment in which we can take time to ponder and hear the still, small voice. This peaceful environment is both external and internal. Therefore, it is more than shutting off the music of the world or the blare of other media; it is also shutting off the noise of sin that is internal to our soul. This will open the communication with the Spirit, which is so badly needed.
Christ said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14;27) The peace that comes from listening to the Holy Spirit removes the fear of making a poor judgment in life.
Fourth, keep the commandments. The willingness to keep God's commandments opens to us many promised blessings.
Showing posts with label Holy Ghost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Ghost. Show all posts
Elder Richard G. Scott: To Acquire Spiritual Guidance
This was one of the best talks of the entire conference.
Elder Scott starts by asking three questions that outline what he will be talking about:
What can you do to enhance you capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life? What are the principles upon which spiritual communication depends? What are the potential barriers to such communication that you need to avoid?
He quoted President John Taylor being told by the prophet Joseph Smith, "never to arise in the morning without bowing before the Lord, and dedicating myself to him during the day."
The Holy Ghost, he explains, is "a power, beyond your own capability, that a loving Heavenly Father wants you to use consistently for your peace and happiness." Elder Scott then adds this important counsel:
I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit.
Then he delivered this promise powerful promise:
I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.
He then said:
Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is power, or the capacity to do it.
Elder Scott then related two very powerful experiences he had. The first occurred at a priesthood meeting in Mexico City where a humble Mexican priesthood leader taught a lesson that was especially noteworthy for the love that the leader showed for the Savior and for those the leader taught. This was contrasted with a Sunday School lesson in Elder Scott's home ward where the teacher seemed to be "using the teaching opportunity to impress the class with his vast store of knowledge" by choosing "obscure references and unusual examples to illustrate the principles of the lesson"
It was "in the environment" of the second lesson that Elder Scott illustrated another point. He talked about distinct impressions he received and specific counsel. After the class he found a quiet place to record his impressions. He then pondered them to see if he accurately recorded them. He made some changes, then studied them. Then he prayed about what he had been taught by the Spirit. He gave thanks. Then he was impressed to ask, "Was there yet more to be given?" He said he received more impressions, so he followed the same process, at the end asking again, "Is there more I should know?" There was and he received another sacred experience that he recorded and would not have received if he did not ask if there was more.
Elder Scott then gives a caution and another promise:
However, the Lord will not force you to learn. You must exercise your agency to authorize the Spirit to teach you. As you make this a practice in your life, you will be more perceptive to the feelings that come with spiritual guidance. Then, when that guidance comes, sometimes when you least expect it, you will recognize it more easily.
The second half of Elder Scott's talk is about things that block the Spirit. He talks about sin in general and pornography in specific.
I share a warning. Satan is extremely good at blocking spiritual communication by inducing individuals, through temptation, to violate the laws upon which spiritual communication is founded. With some, he is able to convince them that they are not able to receive such guidance from the Lord.
Note: That is one of the most damaging things about sin -- causing one to "violate the laws upon which spiritual communication is founded."
Elder Scott addresses the excuse that pornography "does no harm to anyone else." He says:
Participation in pornography in any of its lurid forms is a manifestation of unbridled selfishness. How can a man, particularly a priesthood bearer, not think of the emotional and spiritual damage caused to women, especially his wife, by such abhorrent activity?
Elder Scott then gives this excellent counsel as a standard that would be good to emulate:
An individual with foundation standards and an enduring commitment to obey them is not easily led astray. Someone who is increasingly repulsed by grievous sin and who exercises self-restraint outside human influence has character.
Finally, he counsels patience in developing our ability to be led by the Spirit. The keys, he says, are
By careful practice, through the application of correct principles, and by being sensitive to the feelings that come, you will gain spiritual guidance.
This was a great talk. It would be wise to re-read this talk every month or so to check and see how you are doing in your ability to 1) be sensitive to the Spirit, and 2) resist the temptations of Satan.
Elder Scott starts by asking three questions that outline what he will be talking about:
What can you do to enhance you capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life? What are the principles upon which spiritual communication depends? What are the potential barriers to such communication that you need to avoid?
He quoted President John Taylor being told by the prophet Joseph Smith, "never to arise in the morning without bowing before the Lord, and dedicating myself to him during the day."
The Holy Ghost, he explains, is "a power, beyond your own capability, that a loving Heavenly Father wants you to use consistently for your peace and happiness." Elder Scott then adds this important counsel:
I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit.
Then he delivered this promise powerful promise:
I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.
He then said:
Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is power, or the capacity to do it.
Elder Scott then related two very powerful experiences he had. The first occurred at a priesthood meeting in Mexico City where a humble Mexican priesthood leader taught a lesson that was especially noteworthy for the love that the leader showed for the Savior and for those the leader taught. This was contrasted with a Sunday School lesson in Elder Scott's home ward where the teacher seemed to be "using the teaching opportunity to impress the class with his vast store of knowledge" by choosing "obscure references and unusual examples to illustrate the principles of the lesson"
It was "in the environment" of the second lesson that Elder Scott illustrated another point. He talked about distinct impressions he received and specific counsel. After the class he found a quiet place to record his impressions. He then pondered them to see if he accurately recorded them. He made some changes, then studied them. Then he prayed about what he had been taught by the Spirit. He gave thanks. Then he was impressed to ask, "Was there yet more to be given?" He said he received more impressions, so he followed the same process, at the end asking again, "Is there more I should know?" There was and he received another sacred experience that he recorded and would not have received if he did not ask if there was more.
Elder Scott then gives a caution and another promise:
However, the Lord will not force you to learn. You must exercise your agency to authorize the Spirit to teach you. As you make this a practice in your life, you will be more perceptive to the feelings that come with spiritual guidance. Then, when that guidance comes, sometimes when you least expect it, you will recognize it more easily.
The second half of Elder Scott's talk is about things that block the Spirit. He talks about sin in general and pornography in specific.
I share a warning. Satan is extremely good at blocking spiritual communication by inducing individuals, through temptation, to violate the laws upon which spiritual communication is founded. With some, he is able to convince them that they are not able to receive such guidance from the Lord.
Note: That is one of the most damaging things about sin -- causing one to "violate the laws upon which spiritual communication is founded."
Elder Scott addresses the excuse that pornography "does no harm to anyone else." He says:
Participation in pornography in any of its lurid forms is a manifestation of unbridled selfishness. How can a man, particularly a priesthood bearer, not think of the emotional and spiritual damage caused to women, especially his wife, by such abhorrent activity?
Elder Scott then gives this excellent counsel as a standard that would be good to emulate:
An individual with foundation standards and an enduring commitment to obey them is not easily led astray. Someone who is increasingly repulsed by grievous sin and who exercises self-restraint outside human influence has character.
Finally, he counsels patience in developing our ability to be led by the Spirit. The keys, he says, are
By careful practice, through the application of correct principles, and by being sensitive to the feelings that come, you will gain spiritual guidance.
This was a great talk. It would be wise to re-read this talk every month or so to check and see how you are doing in your ability to 1) be sensitive to the Spirit, and 2) resist the temptations of Satan.
Sister Vicki F. Matsumori: Helping Others Recognize the Whispering of the Spirt.
Sister Matsumori counsels:
There are places where it is easier to feel the Spirit. Testimony meetings and general conference are some of those places. Certainly temples are another. The challenge for each of us is in providing an environment where the Spirit can be felt daily in our homes and weekly at church.
One reason we are encouraged to pray and read the scriptures every single day is that both of these activities invite the Spirit into our homes and into the lives of our family members.
This is one of the reasons we have tried to be more diligent about having family scripture study every morning (at 6:25 am!) and family prayer at night -- to invite the Spirit into our home. Also, if you it seems like you haven't felt the Spirit for a while, check to make sure you are doing these basic things.
She also said:
Because the Spirit is often described as a still, small voice, it is also important to have a time of quiet in our lives as well. The Lord has counseled us to "be still, and know that I am God." If we provide a still and quiet time each day when we are not bombarded by television, computer, video games, or personal electronic devices, we allow that still, small voice an opportunity to provide personal revelation and to whisper sweet guidance, reassurance, and comfort to us.
These are great promises. I think that one of the keys is that we need to seek and find time in our day. It will not find us! There are just too many things going on. We need to make time for the Spirit to comfort us and to play a role in our lives.
Finally, some wonderful promises related to listening for and understanding the Spirit:
When we come to understand the whisperings of the Spirit, we will be able to hear Him teach us "the peaceable things of the kingdom" and "all things what [we] should do." We will recognize answers to our prayers and know how to live the gospel more fully each day. We will be guided and protected. And we can cultivate this gift in our lives as we follow those spiritual promptings. Most importantly, we will feel Him witness to us of the Father and of the Son.
There are places where it is easier to feel the Spirit. Testimony meetings and general conference are some of those places. Certainly temples are another. The challenge for each of us is in providing an environment where the Spirit can be felt daily in our homes and weekly at church.
One reason we are encouraged to pray and read the scriptures every single day is that both of these activities invite the Spirit into our homes and into the lives of our family members.
This is one of the reasons we have tried to be more diligent about having family scripture study every morning (at 6:25 am!) and family prayer at night -- to invite the Spirit into our home. Also, if you it seems like you haven't felt the Spirit for a while, check to make sure you are doing these basic things.
She also said:
Because the Spirit is often described as a still, small voice, it is also important to have a time of quiet in our lives as well. The Lord has counseled us to "be still, and know that I am God." If we provide a still and quiet time each day when we are not bombarded by television, computer, video games, or personal electronic devices, we allow that still, small voice an opportunity to provide personal revelation and to whisper sweet guidance, reassurance, and comfort to us.
These are great promises. I think that one of the keys is that we need to seek and find time in our day. It will not find us! There are just too many things going on. We need to make time for the Spirit to comfort us and to play a role in our lives.
Finally, some wonderful promises related to listening for and understanding the Spirit:
When we come to understand the whisperings of the Spirit, we will be able to hear Him teach us "the peaceable things of the kingdom" and "all things what [we] should do." We will recognize answers to our prayers and know how to live the gospel more fully each day. We will be guided and protected. And we can cultivate this gift in our lives as we follow those spiritual promptings. Most importantly, we will feel Him witness to us of the Father and of the Son.
Elder Robert D. Hales: Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus Christ
Part of Elder Hales' talk was about all the things we know about God that are from the scriptures (modern and ancient):
The strength and peace that come from knowing God and having the comforting companionship of His Spirit will make your efforts eternally worthwhile.
- Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have a physical presence (Acts 7:56)
- The Father and the Son have voices (Moses 4:14 and Genesis 3:8)
- The Father and the Son have faces, They stand, and They converse (Moses 7:4)
- God and His Son have bodies, in form and parts like ours (Ether 3:6 & 3:16)
- The Father and the Son have feelings for us (Moses 7:28)
- God and His Son, Jesus Christ, are immortal, glorified, and perfected beings (D&C 110:3)
The strength and peace that come from knowing God and having the comforting companionship of His Spirit will make your efforts eternally worthwhile.
President Boyd K. Packer: Prayer and Promptings
President Packer gives great hope and encouragement in this talk.
We are, none of us, left here alone without hope of guidance and redemption.
The Holy Ghost communicates with our spirits through the mind more than through the physical senses. This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions. We may feel the words of spiritual communication more than hear them and see with spiritual rather than with mortal eyes.
This is a very good reminder of how the Spirit works and why we need to keep our minds functioning well.
You can know the things you need to know. Pray that you will learn to receive that inspiration and remain worthy to receive it. Keep that channel - your mind - clean and free from the clutter of the world.
We are, none of us, left here alone without hope of guidance and redemption.
The Holy Ghost communicates with our spirits through the mind more than through the physical senses. This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions. We may feel the words of spiritual communication more than hear them and see with spiritual rather than with mortal eyes.
This is a very good reminder of how the Spirit works and why we need to keep our minds functioning well.
You can know the things you need to know. Pray that you will learn to receive that inspiration and remain worthy to receive it. Keep that channel - your mind - clean and free from the clutter of the world.
Finding Strength in Challenging Times! - Elder Allan F. Packer sat am
These are the days when prophecies are being fulfilled. We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times, which is the time to prepare for the Savior's return. It is also the time to work out our own salvation.
There seem to be quite a few talks this conference (as well as the last) that remind us quite clearly that we are living in the last days. The phrase "these are the days when prophecies are being fulfilled" really brings that home to me. In addition to that, we are told that this is also 'our time' and we need to be working on our own salvation. That makes it very personal.
As far as having a testimony goes, Elder Packer tells us that, "we must know - - and know that we know." There is implied a double duty. A larger duty.
We need to be acquainted with the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and we need to practice and apply gospel teachings until they become natural and automatic. These promptings become the foundation of our testimonies. Then our testimonies will keep us happy and safe in troubled times.
There are a couple of key elements in this paragraph. One is that the bar is higher for us as members. We need to get a testimony, then we need to do something about it - practice and apply gospel teachings. They must become and feel natural and automatic. Second, the road to happiness in these troubled times is our testimony. Happy and safe, those are two great promises.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks defined a testimony this way: "A testimony of the gospel is a personal witness borne to our souls by the Holy Ghost that certain facts of eternal significance are true and that we know them to be true." At another time Elder Oaks said, "Testimony is to know and to feel, conversion is to do and to become."
I like the definition of testimony from Elder Oaks. I also appreciate the next step - from 'knowing and feeling' to 'doing and becoming.' Knowing (a testimony) is an early step. What we must work towards is doing (discipleship.)
There are several things we can do to develop a deep conversion and learn how to receive divine inspiration. First, we must have a desire. . . Next, experiment on the word. . . To study and learn is the next step. This includes pondering, which broadens and deepens our testimonies."
I like this list of three things to do on this very important subject. It seems a natural progression that we need to take so that we are not 'just members' in name only. Two very important goals: Develop a deep conversion and Learn how to receive divine inspiration. This is a good measuring tape of where we are right now. Do I really want these blessings. If so, then we are told what to do next - experiment with the word, have faith enough to put it (teaching and commandments and counsel.) Then, study, learn, and ponder. We should be constantly growing in knowledge and experience.
Joseph Smith told us to watch for answers by paying attention to the thoughts and feelings that come into our minds. Over time we will learn to recognize these as promptings.
If you have wondered how to 'recognize the promptings of the spirit', here is your answer. 'Pay attention to thoughts and feelings.' As you do, over time, you will become better at recognizing this gift from God.
If we have unrealistic expectations of how, when, or where answers come, we risk missing the answers which come as quiet, reassuring feelings and thoughts that most often come after our prayers, while we are doing something else. These answers can be equally convincing and powerful.
It seems that we need to become proficient in the 'language of the Spirit.' We need to be ever vigilant and alert to the answers that we will be given.
Asking for a testimony of truth opens the windows of inspiration. Prayer is the most common and powerful way to invite inspiration.
We need to ask, through prayer, for a testimony. That will lead to inspiration. We need to invite inspiration.
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