M. Catherine Thomas wrote:
The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting and shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all….Occasionally it will press firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and experience, like Samuel of ancient times, “Speak [Lord] for thy servant hearth” (1 Samuel 3:10.)”
Occasionally it will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression, like Samuel of ancient times, “Speak [Lord], for thy servant hearth” (1 Samuel 3:10),12
Below is a sampling of scriptures that the Lord has provided which concerns the awakening of the Spiritual Mind, and could themselves serve as fertile subjects of contemplation. Scripture has particular penetrating power because the words on the page become thoughts in the mind and they develop the energy of the Holy Spirit. Inspired words possess a Spiritual energy such that, on entering the soul of the engaged reader, it must necessarily work a transformation there. The spiritual energy in certain scriptures keep us tuned to a different dimension, without which we will lapse back into the Natural Mind—hardly aware that that has happened.
One purpose then behind the Lord’s continual admonition that we study scripture and that we pray always is to promote the process of opening the Spiritual Mind in order to increase one’s spiritual energy so as to bear more and more of His presence. Just thinking of God, remembering Him, counseling with Him, these awaken spiritual processes and cause changes. Here are some examples of what the Lord is asking us to do in order to open the Spiritual Mind. The first one deals with fear, since it is fear that so often keeps us locked in a narrow thought world.
1. Look into me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.(Doctrine and Covenants 6:36).
2. And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:67).
3. Pray always and I will put my Spirit upon you. (Doctrine and Covenants 19:38)
4. Cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord, yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings. (Alma 7:36-337)5. [Angels minister to them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. (Alma 37:36-37)
6. [They that} are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep the commandments which He hath given them. may always have His spirit to be with them..(Moroni 4:3)
7. Come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him and deny yourselves ungodliness. (Moroni 10:32)
These scriptures use the words like “every thought,” “no darkness,” “pray always,” “all thy support/doing” “every form of ungodliness.” The Lord is asking us to set aside a superficial, dabbling sort of relationship with Him and turn over to Him the whole mind in order to undo the Natural and strengthen the Spiritual. We can become keepers of an inviolate mind, considering anything foreign to loving purposes a contaminant.
With the aura of a prophet’s sure witness, President Gordon B. Hinckley (deceased) wrote of a practice that might greatly strengthen us. “I wish for each of you a time, perhaps only an hour, spent in silent meditation and quiet reflection on the wonder and majesty of this, the Son of God.” He mentions the peace that comes from Him, His infinite love which each of us may feel, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for that which He freely gave at so great a cost to Himself.”13 These meditations form the essence of the daily spiritual life. ~~M. Catherine Thomas, Light in the Wilderness (M. Catherine Thomas, Light in the Wilderness (Salt Lake City: Digital Legend Press, 2010) p.105-07
