Under a chapter heading “Listen Together,” Elder Henry B. Eyring (now a member of the First Presidency) quoted Elder Marion G. Romney: “. . . .service in the Church [works] in powerful ways when you are seeking the Holy Spirit and its direction privately. In my life, I have felt the most guidance when I was in God’s service, doing something for one of His children.
It can work in the next class or executive meeting you attend in the Church when some very mortal person is in front of you. Rather than thinking, “Well, let’s see whether this teacher or leader can convince me.” or “How good is he going to be today?” you could think another way. You could say to yourself, “What is it he is trying to accomplish?” Then you could ask yourself quietly, “What can I do to help?”
You can change your whole experience in that hour by making your teacher’s or leader’s service your service. That choice of an attitude will change the way you listen. Thoughts will come to you during a class or in a meeting that would not come otherwise.
…You can give a gift to your teachers and leaders by the way you pray, by the way you study, by the way you have a contrite heart, and by the way you add your service to theirs. You make it more likely that they will feel the power of the Holy Ghost in their service.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie described the magnitude of that gift: “The Holy Ghost is a Revelator: he is a Sanctifier; he reveals truth and he cleanses human souls. He is the Spirit of Truth, and his baptism is one of fire; he burns dross and evil out of repentant souls as though by fire. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest of all the gifts of God, as pertaining to this life; and those who enjoy that gift here and now, will inherit eternal life hereafter, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God in eternity.” (The Mortal Messiah, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979-81] 2:122.)
(Elder Eyring continues) Now, I have tried to give you some reasons why our Heavenly Father and the Savior organized His church in such a way that we have to be led and taught by his weak and simple servants. And we have talked about how to make it more likely that we can hear the word of God in their words. If we will try to apply President Romney’s advice, not just for our own revelation but to bring the Holy Ghost as a revelator to those who lead and teach us, we will add the blessing to our lives of participating in the giving of the gift. ~ Elder Henry B. Eyring, “To Draw Closer to God”, Deseret Book Company 1997, ps. 20-21
