The Holy Ghost

Scripture	What the Holy Ghost does	What you must do to receive it
John 14:15-17	Dwels in you to teach you	Be obedient to the commandments.
John 14:26-27	Comforts, teaches, reminds, brings peace	Trust the Holy Ghost
John 15:26-27	Testifies of Christ	Share your testimony
John 16:7-8	Cleanses from sin (Christ had to "go away" in order for the Holy Ghost to be able to come and cleanse them. For what He meant by "go away" was that He had to accomplish the Atonement.	Repent and have faith in the Atonement.
John 16:13-14	Guidance, shows the future as necessary.	Follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost to be able to see Christ again.
Student Manual 24-10	Adds to your natural capacities and purifies them for their perfect purpose	Obedience to the commandments creates holiness of body that allows the Holy Ghost to reside within you and bring out your divine attributes.
Student Manual 24-11	Instructs and enlightens the mind. Gives a greater understanding of God's Plan through personal revelation as you participate in making and keeping covenants (how often has my mind been enlightened while at the Temple?).	Obey the commandments of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Make covenants to obey (Temple Ordinances)
BD Holy Ghost	Witness of truth. Convincing power.	Seek an answer or be willing to receive an answer. Be worthy of the companionship of the Third member of the Godhead. Receive the HG by the laying on of hands. You must speak by the Spirit in order for it to be convincing.
How the Holy Ghost helped the apostles fulfill their missions after the Savior's death and resurection: The biggest way that the Holy Ghost helped them fulfill their mission was to teach them what to say and then testify of the truth to the people who were listening. It also gave them a deeper understanding of the principles that Christ taught. Often He taught them in parables that they didn't understand and right before His Crucifixion He even told them that they couldn't understand everything and wouldn't until after He was gone.
The Holy Ghost has helped me to understand the promises and blessings of the Temple. I am grateful every time I get to go into the Lord's house for I am instructed on the Plan He has for me and for my family. I have a greater understanding of how Christ is my Savior and about how living the Gospel will help me. Even though it is often repetitious each time I go in I hear or see something new. This newness is because the Holy Ghost is teaching me something new because I am keeping my coventants.

Thoughts On Preparing for Christ to Come Again

What believers should watch for (Mark 13):

Verse	Take Heed	Watch
5	No man deceive you (false Christ)
9	For yourselves, deliver you to councils, kings, rulers, etc.
23	For I have told you all these things
33		Watch and pray for you know not when the time is.
35		Because you don’t know when Christ is coming.
37		This is for everyone

Three things that believers should watch for are:

1. To see the signs of Christ coming again. It is important to look for Him to come in glory in the sky and not in secret places.

2. When they are called before high authorities to testify of what they know. They need to remember that persecution is for a testimony of Christ not for punishment for following Him.

3. Look for verses in the scriptures that explain what to look for in Christ’s coming. It is so important for the believers to know what to look for. I need to make sure that I am diligent in reading about these prophesies because I am “elect” and do not wish to be deceived.

Other scriptures that explain how to prepare:

D&C 87:8  Stand in holy places, but what are holy places? A holy place can be a church, school, temple, or even your own home. I think that your own home is the most important holy place to stand in. It must be a place free from Satan and his influences.

JS Matt 1:37  If I read the scriptures regularly then I won’t be one of the elect that are deceived. It is so important to make sure that I am always reading the scriptures for that is where the truth lies. Christ was very specific when He described His second coming and it is repeated everywhere so I know that this is the most important thing!

JS Matt 1: 46-50  If I thought there may be someone coming to harm me I would stay up all night to protect myself. The same must be true of my vigilance in keeping away spiritual dangers. For these are perilous times that I live in!

D&C 33:17  If I am obedient and pray often then I will always have the light of the Spirit there to help me discern between truth and error and between wrong and right. This is what it means to always have your lamp ready for who is our light but Christ and how is it manifest but through the Spirit?

D&C 45:56-57  This just confirms what I said about 33:17 it truly is so important to make sure that we are always close to the Spirit. This means that we MUST be ready and always willing to follow it! Also we must avoid everything that would drive away the Spirit. It is so important for me to not only keep the Spirit close, but also to invite it in more each day.

The Widow's Mite

As I considered the story of the Widow's Mite I received new insight into what this story is all about.

She gave the small amount that she had in the spirit of sacrifice and devout intent, as opposed to the rich young man who had much but was unwilling to give it all up to follow Jesus. She is showing her extreme trust in how the Lord will take care of those who follow Him with all they have. This story reminds me of the parable Jesus spoke when He counseled His Disciples to “consider the lilies” they grow for the glory of God and therefore God takes care of their needs. This widow gave with all of her heart knowing that God would provide more for her than those two small coins could do. Another part of this experience that stands out to me is that Jesus sat watching the people. He was there on that day physically but the Angels of God are always watching our actions and recording wither we do righteously or selfishly. He is showing that he knows our hearts and is always watching. Not for opportunities to condemn, but for opportunities to give blessings.

Christ is watching and waiting to poor out blessings upon me but the only way for me to receive them is for me to do all I can to serve Him. There is no other way. As I think about this story it reminds me of times when I have selfishly “taken care of myself” when in reality if I had forgotten myself and gotten to work then God would have taken care of me. Sometimes I have wondered why God hasn’t fulfilled the promises He has given me. Gently the Spirit (and sometimes not so gently) reminds me that I don’t need to worry about God keeping His promises, I need to worry about keeping my own. He is always willing to give me what I need, but He cannot do so unless I obey the laws of the gospel with “the spirit of sacrifice and devout intent”.  

Consider the Lillies

Consider the Lillies by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Above is a link to one of the most beautiful songs sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I invite you to think about this song. It is a beautiful representation of how Christ takes care of you. Think of all the blessings He has given you and then I invite you to say a prayer. Do not ask for anything in this prayer. Just thank Him and when you are finished thanking Him for you many blessings just say "in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." This is my invitation, I hope that you feel God's love as you remember all He has done for you. I'm taking my own invitation and I'm going to say a prayer of pure gratitude.

Mark 9:24

If I lack the faith to receive a miracle, then I can call out to Christ to help me to gain that faith.

 

I love the story in Mark 9 about the father that brings his son to the Savior to receive the help that he needs. He first had faith to bring his son to the Apostles. Because they were not prepared they were not able to cast out the evil Spirit. This is a story about preparedness just as much as it is about having faith to receive a miracle. The father was prepared to receive a blessing at the hand of the Apostles, but the Apostles had not properly prepared themselves. It is so important to always be ready to receive a blessing or to give one. I must live in such a way that whenever the Lord calls I am ready and willing to answer "here am I send me".

Perhaps the father's faith was tested by the first failed attempt at curing his son. But he had the faith to take his son to the Savior. He knew that there was power in the Savior's touch, even if that power was not completely manifest in the Savior's Apostles. It was at this moment of truth when the Savior and the son are brought together that his faith began to falter, but he "cried out and said with tears Lord, I believe help thou mine unbelief." I put the key words in Italics. The father had great feeling in his plea, he knew his faith was faltering and cried out for help and strength to believe. This miracle strengthened his belief for he was not asking for a sign he was asking, no pleading, for help. I do this so often I need that extra help to do the tasks that need to be done to have the faith to do what the Lord has asked, or to come to him with my problems. I love this story because it shows how the Savior will help us to build our faith in him.

Matthew 6:34

If I put the Lord first I don't need to worry about how my life will turn out because He will help me one day at a time. A while ago I had a really interesting conversation with my roommate. She asked me for my interpretation of this scripture's twin found in the Book of Mormon. She wanted to know why the Lord would say that our days are "evil". He says "sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof." As I pondered it then and as I ponder it now I come up with the same conclusion. He is not saying that our days are evil. If we look at the verses directly above this we see that Christ is talking about unneccessary worry and stress over basic needs like clothing, food, and shelter. He is telling us that we do not need to be stressed about clothes, especially about having the most beautiful and popular/trendy outfits. He says that He will take care of our needs and we will be beautiful in Him. Also we need not worry about what we will eat or where we will sleep. We don't need the biggest house and the fanciest dinners to be happy. Rather to be truely happy all we need to do is to do His work. To follow Him and put the Lord's Kingdom first. How do we do that? By the standard Sunday school answers, they are the standard for a reason. Be obedient to the commandments, read your scriptures, keep the Sabbath day holy, and pray often. If we do these things we don't need to stress and worry about how things will get done, how we will make ends meet or any other number of things in our futures that we worry about.

 

"Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof" doesn't mean that each day is evil it means "you have enough to worry about today stop stressing about tomorrow, trust me and I will lead you day by day into my kingdom."

Witnesses (Matt 3-4, Mark 1, Luke 3-4, John 1:19-4:54)

As I have been reading through the four gospels I realized how repetitive some of the stories are. I thought I just read this in Matthew and now I'm reading it again in Mark, Luke, or John. This caused me to think about why in the world these things are in the Bible so often. For example, Christ's baptism is described in great detail in Matt chapter 3 and in smaller detail in the other gospels. The stories are all basically the same, but from a slightly different perspective than the others. Each one is told from a man who knew Jesus personally, but had a slightly different personality, writing style, or maybe just a different perspective on what was happening. Some give details of how Christ healed strangers, and others tell about how he healed their own mothers. Each personality has different things that are important to them and that is highlighted in what they record. This has caused me to think about the law of witnesses set forth by Christ.

• Matthew 18:16

  16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

It is through witnesses, their similarities and differences, that we get a complete picture of Christ, HIS personality, HIS character, and HIS Gospel...

This is why there is more than one book in the Bible, God knew how important it is to show who His Son really is. This is also why we need the Book of Mormon Another Witness of Jesus Christ. There can never be enough testimonies of Christ! As I read about His life and His teachings I feel close to Him. I feel close to Him because He was close to THEM! I know that He knows me because He knew THEM!
What greater witness can you have then this one is of God's love for us that He would preserve these testimonies so that we can read them and KNOW He is there and that He loves His children? His love for us is as individual as His witnesses.