After today there will be no posts until Monday. Consider watching general conference, held twice a year. This weekend is the fall session and anyone will be rewarded, especially those with a vulnerable and prayerful approach. Also, you may feel even greater rewards should you prayerfully consider a special need or concern in your life or perhaps the lives of someone(‘s’) close to you. In other words approach conference with a purpose and also be ready to take notes as needed.
What follows was the last of five posts from Elder Henry B. Eyring, now 2nd Councillor in the First Presidency …. that for some reason I neglected to publish. (The first four are available through links at the end of what follows.) k
. . . .Elder Eyring continues: “Can I now give you two practical suggestions? First of all, the Holy Ghost is and must be very sensitive. He can be easily offended. Let me pass on a little advice that the Prophet Joseph gave to the leaders of the Church.
- Here is [an] important item. If you assemble from time to time and proceed to discuss important questions, and pass decisions upon the same, and fail to note them down, by and by you will be driven to straits from which you will not be able to extricate yourselves, because you may be in a situation not to bring your faith to bear with sufficient perfection or power to obtain the desired information; or perhaps, for neglecting to write these things when God had revealed them, not esteeming them of sufficient worth, the Spirit may withdraw, and God may be angry; and there is, or was a vast knowledge, of infinite importance, which is now lost. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 73.)
I think that means that in your heart, at least, the attitude of writing down even the simplest things that may come from the Spirit would invite the Spirit back again.
One other bit of advice. Of all the times I have felt the promptings of the Spirit they have come most forcefully and most surely when I was asking Heavenly Father what He would have me do for someone whom I loved and who I knew had a need.
When the prophet Mormon was putting together what we now find in the Book of Mormon, and he didn’t know why he was told to put in certain things and not to put in others, he wrote: “I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now I know not all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.” (Words of Mormon 1:7)
And in the very next verse it’s almost as if Mormon is telling us why God is able to take him like a little child and lead him to do things without explaining the reasons for them: ” And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people.” (Words of Mormon 1:8)
Years ago a wise father got a letter from a son in the mission field who wrote, “I can’t get the feeling for this work. I’m discouraged.” The father wrote back what you would think would be too simple a suggestion. He wrote back and said, “Forget yourself and go to work.” My prayer is that, in our desire to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we might forget ourselves and go to work—and that we might truly seek the good of our Father’s children. If with all our hearts we try to take his children home again, we’ll be there too. I pray that we might live in such a way that we will have the companionship of the Holy Spirit, that we might all go home again. ~ Henry B. Eyring, “To Draw Closer to God”, Deseret Book 1997, selected quotes from pages 112-125.
For other parts of these same writings from Elder Henry B. Eyring, click below:
finding truth…quiet confirmations (III)
finding truth…procrastination? (IV)
