3 Nephi 11

Before the Savior's appearance, the people hear a voice. These scriptural verses are included in a talk I gave yesterday in stake conference. Instead of blogging on this voice, I have decided to post my remarks yesterday. I recognize that some of the remarks are very personal and sacred to me so I hope that if there are any readers, they will recognize so -

We learn in the book of Acts, that as Paul came to Ephesus –

"...finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?..." (New Testament | Acts 19:1 - 2)

When he found that they had not, he –

".. laid his hands upon them, [and]the Holy Ghost came on them..." (New Testament | Acts 19:6)

As I begin my remarks this morning, I know that the majority of us have had hands laid upon us just as Paul did for the disciples of Ephesus, but even so, the question remains the same –

"...Have ye received the Holy Ghost?..." (New Testament | Acts 19:1 - 2)

As we interview candidates to receive the Melchizedek priesthood or as we regularly interview the saints for temple recommends, we ask three distinct questions –

• Do you have a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost?
• Do you have a testimony of the atonement of Jesus Christ?
• Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the Gospel in these the latter days?

In a sense, I believe that these three questions are really asking the much the same question asked by Paul –

"...Have ye received the Holy Ghost?..." (New Testament | Acts 19:1 - 2)

Following baptism, hands are laid on our heads and we are commanded, with priesthood authority, to “receive the Holy Ghost.” The gift of the Holy Ghost then is not only a gift from God, but also a commandment or a charge to receive the gift. In other words, it becomes our personal responsibility or in other words, our personal burden to receive the blessings of the Holy Ghost.

It is important to understand that receiving the Holy Ghost is critical and essential to our salvation and exaltation for Moroni taught that after we have repented and –

"...received unto baptism, [what should follow is that we are then] wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost..." (Book of Mormon | Moroni 6:4)

Nephi taught much the same thing, that is, after baptism –

"...then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 31:17)

Of this cleansing and remission of sins, Mormon added that such fire should fill our –

"...souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of [our] hearts..." (Book of Mormon | Helaman 3:35)

We must receive the Holy Ghost to be cleansed, purified, and sanctified. It is as after we are cleansed, purified, and sanctified, in other words, receive a spiritual house cleaning by the Holy Ghost, that as we then keep the commandments and continue to –

"...receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 32:5)

For it is the Holy Ghost that –

"...shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (New Testament | John 14:26)

For it is also –

"...the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son…” (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 31:18)

Thus the Holy Ghost provides evidence, testimony, and sufficient faith in Jesus Christ to continue to repent and to keep His commandments

But not only does the Holy Ghost cleanse, testifies, and leads us in the way we should go, it is by the Holy Ghost that all saving covenants, ordinances, relationship, and the promised blessings of exaltation –

"...are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:53)

Because receiving the Holy Ghost is of such great importance to our salvation and exaltation, it is also important that we understand, “who is the Holy Ghost” and also, “how do we receive, or in other words, how do we come to recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost?”

As I have had the opportunity to teach young men and young women in our stake missionary preparation class, I have asked the question, “can the Holy Ghost be in more than one place at one time?” I usually get nods that are up and down and then back and forth. We then read from the Doctrine and Covenants –

"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." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 130:22)

As we contemplate what a personage of Spirit is, we realize that a "personage" can only be in one place at a time. So how then can the Holy Ghost, as a personage of Spirit, concurrently dwell in all our hearts, as the scriptures suggests?

To understand that, we must also come to understand the "Light of Christ" and how that light relates to receiving the personage of the Holy Ghost.

In modern day revelation we learn that the Light of Christ is –

"...the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—" (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 88:11 - 12)

The light of Christ then is light, a medium so to speak, or an agency that is all present everywhere.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught –

"The Light of Christ...is also the agency used by the Holy Ghost to manifest truth and dispense spiritual gifts to many people at one and the same time. For instance, it is as though the Holy Ghost, who is a personage of spirit, was broadcasting all truth throughout the whole universe all the time, using the Light of Christ as the agency by which the message is delivered..." (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith)

President Boyd K. Packer taught much the same thing –

"It is important...to know that the Holy Ghost can work through the Light of Christ. A teacher of gospel truths is not planting something foreign or even new into an adult or a child. Rather, the missionary or teacher is making contact with the Spirit of Christ already there." (The Light of Christ, address delivered at the seminar of new mission presidents, 22 June 2004, 2) (Page 90, Preach My Gospel)

To help us better understand this explanation, I would like to compare receiving the Holy Ghost to my smart phone. The Holy Ghost, of course, would be the caller or sender and the Light of Christ - the medium, agency, signal, electromagnetic radio waves that are broadcast throughout space. Using that analogy, I would then suggest that you are I are the smart phone.

A question would be, what would determine if this smart phone is capable of receiving the electromagnetic signals? Of course, it would depend upon whether this smart phone is active and working properly. If this smart phone was not functioning properly, it would be ridiculous to assume then that a caller does not exist nor would it prove the signal is bad or not available. The caller and the signal doesn’t have anything to do with the internal workings of the phone.

Say, I was to bend, break or destroy the internal antenna, turn it off, let the battery run down or even remove the battery, drop the phone on concrete, accidently send it through the washing machine, or as I did recently, drop it in a lake? Would this phone continue to receive a strong signal? Of course not! The ability of this phone to receive and process signals into meaningful visuals, sounds and text is conditionally dependent on the how the internal components of the phone are working. What if I didn't pay the phone bill? Again, I would be cut off from any communications!

To receive the Light of Christ, or in other words, as compared to the signal or electromagnetic waves, we must be worthy to receive such signals. Repentance and striving for holiness and godliness has a lot to do with it. Our spiritual selves must be working properly to receive the Light of Christ for we read –

"...the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 84:46)

To hearken to the voice of the Spirit suggests obedience, faithfulness, and keeping the commandments. If we are worthy and possess sufficient faith, we can receive communications sent by the Holy Ghost.

With my smart phone, there are divers of ways that a caller may communicate with me. This phone can receive text messages, voice messages, tweets, pictures, video, receive email, search internet websites for information and instructions, and even, in what may be a great surprise to some of the youth, you can even have a two-way voice communication just like a telephone.

This smart phone may get my attention with an audible ring, it can play an annoying song, vibrate, beep, flash on and off, and who knows what else.

So it is with receiving the Holy Ghost. There are also divers of ways that the Holy Ghost may get our attention and communicate with us. The Lord told Oliver Cowdery –

"...behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 8:2)

What seems to be the most common method of communication of the Holy Ghost is that to our mind and/or to our heart. As Enos prayed all day and into the night, he wrote -

"...there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed." (Book of Mormon | Enos 1:5)

But what is quite revealing is what Enos records afterwards –

"...I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.
10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again..." (Book of Mormon | Enos 1:9 - 10)

...”into my mind again” would suggest that the voice he heard had previously also came into his mind.

No wonder, Elijah described this as –

"...a still small voice." (Old Testament | 1 Kings 19:12)

Mormon wrote that the still small voice is a –

"...voice of perfect mildness, as if it [is] a whisper..." (Book of Mormon | Helaman 5:30)

Not that it was a whisper, but “as if” it was a whisper. To Hyrum Smith the Lord said -

"I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy..." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 11:13)

Receiving intelligence and joy are then forms of communication or signals from the Holy Ghost. Having received the Holy Ghost, the people of king Benjamin testified that –

"...because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 5:2)

Having such feelings, that of having “no disposition of doing evil” is an influence of the Holy Ghost. Not only does the Spirit change our hearts, another type of signal is that He will provide -

"...the peace of God, which passeth all understanding..." (New Testament | Philippians 4:7)

Alma even used words to describe receiving the Holy Ghost as such a feeling that it -

"...will begin to swell within your breasts....it beginneth to enlarge my soul...it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me." (Book of Mormon | Alma 32:28)

Being delicious suggests to me that receiving the Holy Ghost can simply mean that it tastes good or in other words, feels good and right!

With the coming of the Savior to the Americas, we learn a great deal how the Spirit may communicate with us for –

"...while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn." (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 11:3)

That voice that many heard then must have not been an audible voice for it seemed to pierce only them that did hear to the center. If it was a audible voice, everyone would have heard it. We also learn that it –

• was not harsh
• It was not loud
• It was small
• It did cause some to quake
• And of great significance - it did cause their hearts to burn.

No matter what divers of ways or means the Spirit communicates with us, Alma asks –

‘…is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good…” (Book of Mormon | Alma 32:35)

It has always been very difficult to describe spiritual things in our own English language, or for a matter of fact, any language. That is why both Paul and Mormon described the Holy Ghost as an "unspeakable gift". But even yet, the promise given by Alma is that the witness of the Spirit will be “discernible”. For it will be real!

As we contemplate the divers of ways the Holy Ghost communicates with us, I think it is important to understand that which is not the influence of the Holy Ghost. President Howard W. Hunter warned –

"Let me offer a word of caution...I think if we are not careful...we may begin to try to counterfeit the true influence of the Spirit of the Lord by unworthy and manipulative means..."

[In my mind, this may be what Paul described to the Thessalonians as "flattering words” (New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 2:5). President Hunter continues on this idea of unworthy and manipulative means saying –

"...I get concerned when it appears that strong emotion or free-flowing tears are equated with the presence of the Spirit. Certainly the Spirit of the Lord can bring strong emotional feelings, including tears, but that outward manifestation ought not to be confused with the presence of the Spirit itself." (Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, 184) (Page 99, Preach My Gospel)

The Lord also said –

"Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?
22 Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.
23 And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 50:21 - 23)

How then do we know if the Spirit is present? If both, he that preaches and he that receiveth are edified together. In my mind, edification is the litmus test.

Previous to meeting the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery received a divine manifestation of the truth of the Prophet's testimony respecting the plates. (see Doctrine and Covenants | Section 6:Heading) It was a short time later that the Lord said to Oliver Cowdery –

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? "
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 6:22 - 23)

Just like Oliver, as we continually strive to have His Spirit with us, we are counseled much in the scriptures to recall, look back, and remember those times where we have received the Holy Ghost.

I confess this morning with some embarrassment that as I entered the mission field, I had never read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. Even though I had never done so, I was still very familiar with the promise of Moroni –

"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. [First remember]
4 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.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (Book of Mormon | Moroni 10:3 - 5)

What greater promise could there be for those who desire to receive a witness from the Holy Ghost. For Alma said -

"...faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." (Book of Mormon | Alma 32:21)

To hope for things, in my mind, suggests a great desire to want to believe those things are true. Hope then would not be an attempt to challenge and prove the gospel or the Book of Mormon is not true. That would be the opposite of hope. True hope then requires a sincere desire and investigation to strive to discover and believe the truth.

I acknowledge that as I struggled with my personal testimony, I still possessed a degree of faith and desire that if I read the Book of Mormon, I would know of its truth.

Between studying and memorizing the missionary discussions, I continued reading the Book of Mormon. May daily prayers included an expressed desire to come to know that it was true.

I can still remember the morning that I again read the promise of Moroni as I finished reading those last few verses of the Book of Mormon. To be honest, even though I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had finally read the Book of Mormon, I felt a sense of discouragement in that I still felt I did not know. I remember it was on my mind the rest of that day, and I confess that it somewhat of a very heavy burden, as I continued my proselytizing effort.

That evening, again kneeling in the dark, I pleaded with my Father in Heaven to know the truthfulness of this record. I logically knew that if this book was true, there would be no question that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and everything I was then representing would also be true.

All I can remember is that I prayed for what it seemed an unusually long time that evening. Yet there was nothing. No angels, no voice...nothing.

At this point, I must interject that now as I look back, I now know that many times before my mission I had experienced the influence of the Holy Ghost, but I just didn't know at that time. Probably much like the Lamanites as the Savior recalled –

"...were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 9:20)

In great discouragement, almost in tears, I got off my knees and crawled into bed. But I couldn't sleep. I knew I could not go on serving a mission without knowing. I just had to know. How could I testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon if I didn't know?

So I crawled back out of bed and fell back on my knees. I just had to know. It was maybe at that point that I crossed the threshold of "asking with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ" for no sooner than I again began to pray, a power came over me than I had never experienced before in my life. As Alma testified, it was definitely discernible. The best scriptural explanation I can use to describe this influence at this time fore me was much the same as the voice at the coming of the Savior to the Americas, in –

"...that there was no part of [my] frame that it did not cause to quake..." (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 11:3)

It was then that I knew I had received the Holy Ghost! When the scriptures say “the power of the Holy Ghost”, it means the power of the Holy Ghost.

I proceeded to ask three simple questions -

Is the Book of Mormon true? I received the distinct response, Yes!

Then I asked, is Joseph Smith a prophet of God? Again the same powerful response, Yes!

Then I finally came to the most important question of all...Is Jesus the Christ? This time the answer was more powerful than them all. I knew then He is!

At that point, all I could say was, thank you! And I crawled back into bed.

For the rest of my mission, I think I felt maybe in the least degree, as the Prophet Joseph Smith must have felt as he left the grove of trees and returned home, when he leaned up to the fireplace where his mother inquired what the matter was. The prophet replied "Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off...I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true." (Pearl of Great Price | JS-History 1:20)

That night, I had learned for myself that this Church is true. From that night on, it has been much easier to serve, teach and testify. In response to the type of experience that I had, Mormon commented –

"Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name." (Book of Mormon | Helaman 3:27)

As I conclude, I return to the question of Paul in Ephesus -

"...Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?..." (New Testament | Acts 19:1 - 2)

The burden is ours, but I can testify the blessings are great to those who do!