The Holy Ghost talk

I was asked to speak in church yesterday. After my talk, I have received many compliments, as people always do, but I was particularly honored when someone told me that this was equivalent to a conference talk. If you aren't religious then maybe you will enjoy the stories anyway.

The Holy Ghost

When was the last time the Holy Ghost helped you?
Was it today? Yesterday? Last week? Or maybe you don’t remember.

My talk has two purposes today. The first is to help you recognize the Holy Ghost in your own life and the second is to point out some ways that the Holy Ghost helps you.

Going back to what I first asked you – When was the last time the Holy Ghost helped you? – If you cannot answer that you receive promptings at least daily, I want to teach you how you can change that around. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “Men ought (and I’m sure he meant women too) – above all things in this world – to seek for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing as important as having the companionship of the Holy Ghost…There is no price to high, no labor to onerous, no struggle too severe, no sacrifice too great, if out of it all we receive and enjoy the Gift of the Holy Ghost.” This is how important it is. Our prophets in our recent conferences are pleading with us to learn this.

How to Recognize the Holy Ghost

To start, we must have faith that He will speak to us. If you are lacking in this area, you must do those things that are required. Start by reading a verse out of the Book of Mormon and saying a prayer. Each day as you do this you will see a change in your life and Heavenly Father will recognize your efforts as you are seeking Him out.

Some may already be doing this, so the next step is that we must learn to listen with our hearts. President Boyd K. Packer has said that “The spirit is a still small voice – a voice that is felt rather than heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought put into your heart. We are also taught that this happens in quiet, peaceful settings.

If you are just starting out trying to learn how this works, you can practice by placing yourselves in a quiet place and just…thinking. I like to do this in the mornings. Well, what I like to do is lie in bed and think (for a long time). Because this is a quiet place and my thoughts are fresh, I am inviting the Holy Ghost to speak to me as I ponder how my day will go, or whatever other thoughts come to my mind. It is a quiet place for me and is the perfect setting for allowing the Holy Ghost to speak. You might consider trying this yourself. Pay attention to and/or write down any thoughts that come to your mind. All good thoughts are from our Heavenly Father and should be acted upon. Maybe lying in bed isn’t feasible for you. You can try other ways, like driving in the car without music or other distractions, going on a walk, or some other idea that you come up with. Place yourself in a setting that shows Heavenly Father you would like to learn how to listen to the Holy Ghost.

Many prophets, including President Monson tell us that learning how the Holy Ghost speaks to us is one of those things that starts small. Learn to listen - and then choose to act. You will not receive an overabundance of promptings right away. He said, “We watch. We wait. We listen for that still, small voice. When it speaks, wise men and women obey. Promptings of the Spirit are not to be postponed.”

The Savior himself said, “He that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light , and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.” (D&C 50:24) “For unto him that recieveth, I will give more.” (2 Nephi 28:30) 

So basically, listening and acting in small ways leads to greater light. These are the three steps to start with when trying to learn to listen for promptings from the Holy Ghost. The first is: Have faith and show the Lord that you have faith by doing those things He has asked us to do. The second is: Place yourself in a quiet place so that you are in an environment to listen. The third is to Act on those promptings. Over time, when using this pattern, you will see that your ability to hear the Holy Ghost will improve dramatically and you will recognize that promptings occur more often than you think.

“How the Holy Ghost Helps You”

So now that we have talked about how to receive the Holy Ghost’s promptings, I want to share with you “How the Holy Ghost helps you” not only from a talk given by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the twelve apostles but I would also like to add my own testimony of these things alongside Elder Stevenson’s.

Elder Stevenson was struck by the question “How does the Holy Ghost help you?” and he goes on to describe how the Holy Ghost warns, The Holy Ghost comforts, and the Holy Ghost testifies.

Before we get into that, we will take a moment to review what we know about the Holy Ghost. You might remember that Sister Nye (last week) and Sis. Lawrence (today) explained that the Holy Ghost is the 3^rd member of the Godhead, He is a personage of Spirit, and he comes by the laying on of hands, which most of us have had the opportunity to receive when we were baptized.

So, if you have been baptized, you already have your “drivers license”, if you will, to be able to use Him and have him work in your life. But just like a driver’s license, it can be ineffective if you don’t know how to drive a car. If you don’t know how to recognize the Holy Ghost, then you won’t feel the promptings that He gives you.

I, personally, have come to conclude 2 things about the Holy Ghost’s promptings in my life. 1. If it is a thought to do something good and I don’t want to do it – it’s the Holy Ghost. And 2. If my thought is a good thought -  but illogical - then it is also the Holy Ghost. I will show you what I mean going forward.

He Warns

Elder Stevenson tells of a time when the Holy Ghost warns. He shares the story of President Reid Tateoka of the Japan Sendai mission. President Tateoka was planning on calling a normal meeting for missionary leaders in the southern part of Japan but he felt an impression (or a feeling in his heart) to invite all missionaries to the meeting. This was illogical and other leaders reminded the president of this. However, President Tateoka insisted that this is what needed to be done. While all the missionaries were gathered there in March of 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan and destroyed many areas including places where the missionaries would have been if he hadn’t called them all to this inland meeting. The Holy Ghost warns.

This is true for my family as well. We have lived in Ohio for 3 years. In that time my daughter has been invited to 1 birthday party. This may seem trivial to you, but it has bothered me as I have felt that getting invited to birthday parties is a very normal part of childhood. So, imagine my joy when last month she was invited to a birthday party from a friend at school. As the day approached my daughter told me that she felt like she shouldn’t go to it. I was disappointed and thought that maybe this was because she was nervous about going but as we approached the day of the party, she insisted that she felt like she shouldn’t go. I still bought the girl a present just in case “we” changed our mind but in the end,  she didn’t go. Sometimes we don’t know why we are prompted to do things… but this time we do. We were told later of some bad things that happened there. How grateful I was that the Holy Ghost warned an 11-year-old girl.

He Comforts

The Holy Ghost comforts. Elder Stevenson tells of a young man who moved from Los Angeles, California to a small town. Because of this move, he was able to socialize with many members of the church. This lead to his baptism. He later married his high school sweetheart but before having their first baby, his wife and unborn daughter were killed in a car accident. This was quite devastating to everyone but as deep as was his pain, “so too was the depth of contrasting peace and comfort that distilled upon them almost immediately.” The Holy Ghost comforts.

I have felt this as well. In 2009, my family received a phone call from a member of the coast guard saying that they were searching for a plane that my sister had been traveling on. They said it had disappeared. This was quite a shock to our family and we were on pins and needles throughout that day as we waited for any news. At this time, I felt an overwhelming amount of peace; So much so that I thought that they were all mistaken and that this was a big misunderstanding. I mean, wouldn’t I be able to feel it if there was something bad that had happened? However, it turned out that I was the one who was illogical because as the day went on it became more apparent that this was not the case. She had passed away the day before we even knew about it. Throughout this time, the Holy Ghost filled me with peace and comfort. This is something that the Holy Ghost does – he comforts for the big things and He comforts for the small, private things that no one else knows. The Holy Ghost comforts.

He Testifies

The last thing Elder Stevenson tells us that the Holy Ghost testifies. He tells more of the story about the young man who lost his wife and baby. He tells about how his parents, who weren’t members, could not be consoled and they “found no comfort or peace” and they couldn’t understand the peace that their son and his in-laws felt. This allowed this man to bear testimony to his family about the source of his peace. The Holy Ghost testified to his parents of the truthfulness of the Gospel and eventually his whole family was baptized. The Holy Ghost Testifies.

I have found that the Holy Ghost testifies to me as well, again, usually illogically. Just before moving to Ohio, we had one of my young women living with us. We had guardianship of her and were doing our best to raise a teenager who had been neglected. She was causing a lot of problems for us and we were trying to figure out what to do about many issues that we were dealing with. As the tension between my young woman and I heightened, I pleaded for help from Heavenly Father. It was just 2 days before we had to fly away from the island when I woke up and felt an answer to all my prayers. It was like the sun was shining again and my mind was clear. I knew what needed to be done and I felt so much peace. The answer for us was that we had to leave her there and that she couldn’t come with us. Despite this huge life-changing decision, I knew that this was what the Lord wanted. It was so clear in my mind and brought me so much peace. My heart ached for this concluding verdict, but I couldn’t deny that the Lord had testified this truth to my mind. The Holy Ghost testifies of many things great and small. He testifies of all the small and finer points that apply only to our lives. We will understand this as we practice listening and acting.

To summarize, I have told you of the ways you can start today to begin receiving revelation: Have faith, put yourself in quiet places, and then act. I have also given you a second witness to all that Elder Stevenson has told us. We have both told you of a time when we were able to see that the Holy Ghost Warns, Comforts, and Testifies. We know that the Holy Ghost can do many other things and I would encourage you to figure out how the Holy Ghost speaks to you.

This last conference was filled with Apostles and President Nelson pleading with us saints to listen to the Holy Ghost. You can always ask Heavenly Father to help you know when the Holy Ghost is speaking to you. This is so important for us in these last days.

Brothers and Sisters, I know the Holy Ghost is a real and accessible part of the Godhead for all who have been baptized and live righteously. He can warn, comfort, and testify in all aspects of your life as he has done in mine. I challenge you to pay attention and notice at least one time this week when you know the Holy Ghost has spoken to you. I know that he will.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Train - A Spring Break Story

Since we have moved to Ohio we have tried to take a cool spring break trip every year. The first year was to Nashville, TN and the second was to Washington D.C. In Nashville, you take a car everywhere - just like you do in every normal American city, but in D.C. you take...the train.

Last year we had gone to D.C. and stayed with some very good friends who helped us explore this great city even though their kids were not on spring break and it was kind of a pain for them. One of the days, my friend had taken us to the heart of the city and then had to go back to get her kids so I excitedly declared that we would take the train back to the stop near her house and we would be there around 5pm. I explained to her, and my children, that this would be so fun. "I love the train." I remember saying that. So what happened next was quite a treachery between me and said train. I had professed my love and the train did not reciprocate.

As our day was ending we headed to the station. We knew we would only ride it once so we loaded one train card with $20 so that we could all use it and get us back home - just like we did in the Japanese  train system. Guys, America is not like Japan.

Our first problem came when we tried to scan our one $20 train card, pass it back to the next person and... BUZZ - red light - Nope.

What in the... So we had to find a train assistant who sits in a booth and looks down on all American's who can't figure out how to use the card.

"Um, hello. We just put $20 on this card and it won't let us all use it."

"You each need a card."

"Oh, but I just put $20 on here and we are never going to use this again. Is there a way to pull it off?"

He looks at our pathetic selves and says, "Here, let me give you vouchers. This should get you to your stop."

I tried to explain that in Japan we only needed one card and could just use it until the money was gone but he just looked at us like we were fools. I guess we don't look Japanese.

So we get past the gatekeeper and go down the stairs to the train. Miraculously, the exact train we needed was just sitting there waiting for us. We didn't see it come in but there it was. We made our way down to the platform and my family members boarded the crowded train. I don't know how to describe what happened next because getting on and off of a train should be pretty seamless.

So I was following my son onto the train and the doors closed right in front of me. Like, I didn't even see it coming. My family is on the train and I am not. I panic and try to pry the doors open. My husband and the guy next to him also see the panic and try to pry the doors open from the inside. I am able to get my leg in the door because for a brief second the doors look like they will reopen. However, this is folly. The train is mocking me. It opened enough so that I could get my leg back out and then closed again. I have to accept my fate as I take a step back and realize that I am not going to be joining my family. My kids are screaming my name. Everyone on the train is looking at me. Everyone on the platform is whispering about me. I can see it in their faces and can feel the concern in this underground dungeon... and the train drives away.

I cannot even think of what to do. I am looking at the ceiling because I think that helps the tears not well up in my eyes. I don't even have the presence of mind to make a joke or yell "STELLA....." as the train drives away. I don't have the train card or the vouchers. I don't even know how to work the train system. The train has defeated me.

After a moment I could hear my ringtone.
Guys, cell phones even work in underground dungeons.
The voice of reason on the other end tells me to just get on the next train and to get off at the next station. Oh, right. Thank goodness I hadn't almost started crying or started to panic. That would have been silly, I thought, as I am wiping away a tear.

I arrive at the next station into the arms of my family - and especially my children, who have now been traumatized. All is well again. Or is it? Apparently, our troubles are not over. The train we need to take is not showing up. Train after train comes and the blue line is not coming. They make an announcement that the blue line is never going to come so "find a new way home", basically.
Train -2, Millers- 0.

Jeremy studies the routes and we get on the yellow line. When we arrive at the Reagan International airport, the train declares that this is the end of the line and we all need to get off.

Our friends don't live near the airport.
We are all getting tired of this game as the train's score is now 3-0.

We get off as it is starting to snow and the temperature is getting colder.  Miraculously, another train shows up and we get on it. It takes us somewhere far from where we should be and our friend comes to get us in New Mexico, essentially.

We are driven to our home away from home - in a car. I hope that the train knows that it was a car that saved the day.

So this year for spring break we talked about going to New York. Then we realized that New York might also have trains that chew us up and spit us out.

Did you guys know that Columbus, Ohio has a lot of great things to do on spring break?

I know that with Jeremy's career we may end up in Washington D.C. at some point. I accept this as a challenge from the public transportation system in D.C. When that time comes I will be ready; but until then, the train remains undefeated.