Principle 1
The Savior’s Injunction to “ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you” (3 Nephi 27:29) is a gate to spiritual guidance I learned that gentle promptings will encourage us to make right decisions. When carefully observed, these gentle impressions to our heart can be followed by specific counsel given to our mind. That counsel leads us to know what to do with greater precision.
Communication with our Father in Heaven is not a trivial matter. It is a sacred privilege. It is based upon unchanging, eternal principles. We receive help from our Father in Heaven in response to our faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency..
One of the great lessons that each of us needs to learn is to ask. Why does the Lord want us to pray to Him and to ask? Because that is how revelation is received.
When I am faced with a very difficult matter, this is how I try to understand what to do. I fast. I pray to find and understand scriptures that will be helpful. That process is cyclical. I start reading a passage of scripture; I ponder what the verse means and pray for inspiration. I then ponder to know if I have captured all that the Lord wants me to do. Often more impressions come with increased understanding of doctrine. I have found that pattern to be a good way to learn from the scriptures.
There are some practical principles that enhance revelation. First, yielding to emotions such as anger or hurt or defensiveness will drive away the Holy Ghost. Those emotions must be overcome or our chances for receiving revelation are slight.
Another principle is to be cautious about humor. Loud, inappropriate laughter will offend the Spirit. A good sense of humor helps revelation; loud laughter does not. A sense of humor is an escape valve for the pressures of life.
Another enemy of revelation comes from exaggeration or loudness in what is stated. Careful, quiet speech will favor the receipt of revelation.
On the other side of the equation, spiritual communication can be enhanced by good health practices. Exercise, reasonable amounts of sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand revelation. We will live for our appointed lifespan. However, we can improve both the quality of our service and our well being by making careful, appropriate choices.
For spirituality to grow stronger and more available, it must be planted in a righteous environment. It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the Spirit. Haughtiness, pride, and conceit, are like stony ground that will never produce spiritual fruit.
Humility is a fertile soil where spirituality grows and produces the fruit of inspiration to know what to do. It gives access to divine power to accomplish what must be done. An individual motivated by a desire for praise or recognition will not qualify to be taught by the Spirit. An individual who is arrogant or lets his or her emotions influence decisions will not be powerfully led by the Spirit.
The Lord has declared: “And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:16). The words sanctify yourselves may appear puzzling. President Harold B. Lee once explained those words with the phrase “keep my commandments” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 34). Read that way, the counsel may seem clearer.
One must be ever mentally and physically clean and have purity of intent so that the Lord can inspire. One who is obedient to His commandments is trusted of the Lord. That individual has access to His inspiration to know what to do and, as needed, the divine power to do it. ~Elder Richard G. Scott or the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased), 21 Principles~Divine Truths to Help You Live by the Spirit (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 9-11
#prayer #holyghost #revelation #talktogod
