Stevenson - How Does the Holy Ghost Help You? - April 2017

Elder Stevenson speaks about a recent visit to a friends house where he and his wife were invited to stay for Family Home Evening.  The young son in the family taught a lesson about how the Holy Ghost can help us.  That sparked an inquiry into this question.

• “How does the Holy Ghost help you?”—a question especially relevant for Primary children turning eight and preparing for baptism and for those children who have recently been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is also relevant for the thousands of recent converts.
  

Elder Stevenson gives us thing important roles that the Holy Ghost plays in our lives.

• First, the Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. We learn this truth in the first article of faith: “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”
  
• Second, the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, as described in modern scripture: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.” This means that the Holy Ghost has a spirit body, unlike God the Father and Jesus Christ, who have physical bodies. This truth clarifies other names given to the Holy Ghost and familiar to us, including Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, Holy Spirit of Promise, and Comforter.
  
• Third, the gift of the Holy Ghost comes by the laying on of hands. This ordinance, following baptism, qualifies us for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. To perform this ordinance, worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holders place their hands upon the head of the individual, call him or her by name, state their priesthood authority, and in the name of Jesus Christ, confirm him or her a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and utter the important phrase “Receive the Holy Ghost.”
  

He gives us three specific characteristics of the Holy Ghost.  Each gives us additional insight into why it is important to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

• The Holy Ghost can help you by warning you in advance of physical and spiritual dangers.
  
• Unexpected events in all our lives cause sadness, pain, and disappointment. Yet, amid these trials, the Holy Ghost serves us in one of His important roles—as Comforter, which is actually one of His names.
  
• The Holy Ghost also testifies and bears witness of the Father and the Son and of all truth.
  

In order to have the Holy Ghost with us, we must live our lives worthy of the Spirit.  Elder Stevenson concludes with several suggestions on things we can do to make sure we can have the Spirit with us continually.

• We should keep our thoughts, actions, and language virtuous. We should worship our Heavenly Father in our homes, at church, and, whenever possible, in the holy temple. Stay close to the Spirit, and the Spirit will stay close to you.
  

Understanding how the Holy Ghost communicates with us is vital to learning how to listen to the Spirit.  We need to assure that we living our lives worthy of hearing the promptings of the Spirit and in line with the teachings of the gospel.  By living our lives in accordance with the gospel, we are able to hear and feel the things that we should do to become closer to the Savior.