In my talk, I often refer to another's story. Click here for a link to the book, or click here for a link to the video.
Happy reading! :)
The Holy Ghost
By Alexis J. Milam
As most of you know, I am a
convert to the Church. I’ve not always known the things that I know now, and
tonight I will be sharing some of my thoughts on a favorite gospel topic of
mine. But first, I will share two things. I will be referring to these later in
the lesson.
Story 1: about a month ago I got
on my laptop to look up a book on DeseretBook.com. I did not wind up checking
out what I had originally intended to, but while I was online, I noticed
another book titled Let It Go, a
memoir by Chris Williams. I recognized the name and bought the book—and read it
fairly quickly. (By the way, it’s an incredible read, one that I highly
recommend.)
If you have seen the Mormon
Message “Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light,” then you have heard this
story. For those of you who have not seen the video or heard Brother Williams’
story: on a Friday night in February 2007, he and his family were driving home
when they were T-boned by a teenage drunk driver, killing his pregnant wife,
one of his three sons, and his only daughter. As he recalls in his book, he
experienced gut-wrenching anguished first, then slowly, peace filled him; and
then he heard the Spirit. It was not a still, small voice, but a voice that was
“straightforward and filled with power, and the voice said, ‘Let it go!’”[1]
Story
2: up until about a month ago when medical issues arose and made it too risky
to do so, I was planning and preparing to serve a full-time mission. I was
actually beyond planning—my papers were in Salt Lake. I studied Preach My Gospel avidly, and in it I
read that the purpose of a missionary is to “invite others to come unto Christ
by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and
His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
enduring to the end.”[2]
This is what I looked forward to doing 24/7 for 18 months: extending the
invitation to come unto Christ, the same invitation that I had recently chosen
to accept.
Tonight, I will be speaking on
the Holy Ghost. What a blessing it is to be able to have the Holy Ghost with us
to direct us, comfort us, protect us, and testify to us.
I would first like to focus on having
the Spirit with us, for if we don’t know how that is possible, then the rest of
this lesson lacks in relevance.
A couple different friends have
expressed to me that they feel that those of us members who have grown up in
the Church sometimes take the gift of the Holy Ghost for granted. Even if they
received the Holy Ghost at eight years old, it’s still something that they
always remember being a part of their lives just by being raised in the Church.
This reminds me of a scripture in the Book of Mormon that talks about how even
the Lamanites “were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew
it not.”[3]
When I was baptized and
confirmed a member of the Church, I was eighteen years old—a far cry from being
eight. The difference between having the gift of the Holy Ghost and not having
that wonderful gift is life-changing. I had always grown up in other churches
and have been taught that, as soon as I had that belief in Christ, I had the
Spirit with me; but I never really knew what that meant until I learned from
LDS friends and missionaries, and when I did, I knew that I wanted the Spirit
with me in that way, as my constant companion. I desired, as I had heard prayed
in sacrament meeting, to “always have [the] Spirit to be with” me.[4]
We may not always feel the
Spirit’s presence strongly, but I believe that that’s what we should strive
for. Not having the Holy Ghost as our constant companion is a lonely, empty
place to be. Having the Spirit makes us happier and, ultimately, gives us more
peace in our lives.
As I mentioned earlier, a few of
the things that the Holy Ghost does in our lives is direct us, comfort us,
protect us, and testify to us. These things oftentimes work hand in hand, but I
would like to briefly share about each one.
First, the Holy Ghost directs us
in what we should do. In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, we find a couple
examples of this: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths;”[5]
and “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.”[6]
In Doctrine & Covenants, it is worded this way: “I will go before your
face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in
your hearts…”[7]
In the example of Brother
Williams that I mentioned earlier, the Holy Ghost gave him direction. I cannot
even comprehend the shock that he must have been in in that moment, realizing
that, because of the influence of alcohol in the body of a teenage driver, his
wife and two of his children died, that they had slipped out of mortality and
into the spirit world. The Spirit told him to “let it go”—to forgive the
teenager—and to hand over his burden to the Savior.[8]
I know that there are times that I’ve had to do the same thing. When I had
medical issues arise and serving a full-time mission became too risky, I knew I
needed to “let it go”—let go of my confusion and frustration. Growing up I
actually heard a phrase that I feel applies well here—“let go, and let God.” In
other words, allow the Lord’s will to be done, because He will direct us through
the Spirit to where He needs us individually.
Next, the Holy Ghost comforts
us. One of my favorite examples of this in the scriptures is a passage that was
shared at my baptism. First, the Lord shared with his disciples that the Father
would send the “Comforter, which is
the Holy Ghost,” and then He said these beautiful words: “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.”[9]
Again turning to the example of
Brother Williams: he did experience
the immense pain and sorrow at first. He felt “excruciating anguish and pain,
of a body and a spirit being crushed.” But then the peace came, peace that came
from the companionship of the Comforter.[10]
Though not nearly the same caliber as Brother Williams, I, too, have been
crushed at times, especially when I had medical issues. I had gotten so close to a mission! But I, too,
received peace.
Jesus Christ suffered for all of
us, for whatever it is we go through. He “[drank] of the bitter cup” and
“[trembled] because of pain, and [bled] at every pore, and [suffered] both body
and spirit.”[11]
He did all of this so that we don’t have to.
Elder Holland put it
beautifully: “if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting
in better days ahead.”[12]
When we have the Holy Ghost with us, we can receive comfort. Because of this,
our afflictions are “but a small moment” in the span of eternity.[13]
We can “know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of
mortality will flee,”[14]
but for now we can receive comfort from the Holy Ghost.
Also, the Holy Ghost protects
us—sometimes through promptings, sometimes because of angels. Brother Williams
came out of the car accident with injuries, but the injuries that he sustained
were minor compared to what could have easily been the case. Likewise, when we
live worthy of the Holy Ghost, we will experience physical, mental, and
spiritual protection. It could come through a prompting to step away from a
certain area, avoiding a certain website, or surrounding yourself with positive
influences—but the protection will come.
Finally, the Holy Ghost
testifies to us. In the Book of Mormon, Moroni wrote, “Behold, I would exhort
you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should
read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the
children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye
shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall
receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal
Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall
ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will
manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the
power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”[15]
Or in the words that led the
young Joseph Smith to meet Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ face-to-face and
gain his own testimony: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”[16]
And that’s what I did as an
investigator: I asked God if what I was learning of and reading in the scriptures
was true—and I received my witness. And it is that witness that I want to share
with you today, that I know that this Church is true. I know that Heavenly
Father and Christ live, and that the Holy Ghost is real. I know that by the
Spirit we can gain a testimony, I know that by the Spirit we can receive
comfort and guidance, and I know that by the Spirit we gain be protected. I
know that God loves us and wants us to have His Spirit to be with us—and
because of the love that God has for us, I love you, my brothers and sisters. I
say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
[1]
Williams, Chris. Let It Go. 2012.
[2] Preach My Gospel. Intellectual Reserve,
Inc., 2004.
[3] 3
Nephi 9:20
[4]
D&C 20:77; see also Moroni 4:3, 5:2; D&C 20:79.
[5]
Proverbs 3:5-6
[6]
Proverbs 16:9
[7]
D&C 84:88
[8]
Williams, Chris. Let It Go. 2012.
[9]
John 16:26-27, emphasis in original
[10]
Williams, Chris. Let It Go. 2012.
[11]
D&C 19:18
[12]
Holland, Jeffrey R. “Like a Broken Vessel.” 2013.
[13]
D&C 121:7
[14]
Holland, Jeffrey R. “Like a Broken Vessel.” 2013.
[15]
Moroni 10:3-5
[16]
James 1:5
