When I first received the Holy Ghost, I was getting all kinds of promptings to give people the Book of Mormon, tell someone I love them, invite them to come to the temple with me, and so on so fourth. Nothing was coming from any of this, and I was getting discouraged. I started to think that I was taking the first thought to pop in my head, and running with it. I was praying and asking Heavenly Father to reveal to me how I best receive promptings so I can truly obey them. I was really convinced that I was not as in tune with the spirit as I originally thought I was, and I did not understand how the spirit worked.
Anyone who carries this spirit with them knows that it can be different for everyone. Joseph Smith received visions on a regular basis, some hear a voice (most without the 24/7 companionship of the spirit call it their conscious), and some just get a little inkling. I have had dreams, heard that still small voice, and had inklings! So what was wrong with me!? I was responding immediately to the promptings and thoughts I was getting, isn't that what we are supposed to do?
When talking with a friend, and a spiritual confidant, she explained the spirit and its promptings in a way I will always remember.
Are you faithfully living the gospel and following the commandments? Are you sincerely praying and studying your scriptures? Then do not worry about if it is a thought or prompting. Your foot steps are already being guided by the Holy Ghost, and if you are doing these things, it doesn't matter, your spirit already knows to obey!
I needed the reassurance that everything I was doing was for the good of the people around me, and I knew that to stop obeying the promptings and thoughts that came into my head, could be something I regret.
While in the church history museum in Utah, I ran into a woman who knew President Thomas S Monson very well while the was in the first presidency (he happened to be a very good family friend). She told me a story about him responding to a prompting he received.
This woman's mother was very old, and in a nursing home. Her health was getting worse, and fast. One Friday afternoon, Monson was in a mission meeting, and right in the middle packed up and said "you can handle this yourselves, right?" Everyone looked at him puzzled, not knowing why he was going to just pick up and leave in the middle of an important meeting, but everyone agreed to take over, and let him leave without a worry. Monson drove to the nursing home to visit with this woman's mother. They talked and laughed, and before he left he gave her a blessing to feel comfort and love. The following Monday, the dear old woman passed away.
The family had asked Monson to speak at her funeral, and when he arrived, they asked him how he knew to go visit her and give her a blessing. He responded, "I have learned to respect the promptings I receive from the Holy Ghost, and to act with immediacy. God told me to go visit her, and I obeyed."
What a great example Thomas S Monson gave me! The word respect in that story gets me. We aren't given promptings and guidance from the spirit for our own amusement. It warns us when danger is near, it guides us to people who need us, and gives us opportunities to better ourselves and those around us. We must respect the gift we have been given; after all the gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts we have, and it is a wonderful example of Christs love for us! He blesses us with the spirit to give us the direction we need, without it following the commandments and living the gospel faithfully would be a lot more difficult.
I pray every day and ask Heavenly Father to allow me to be a tool in His hands, and I ask him to allow the Holy Ghost to direct me to souls who need my help. This week I can think of 3 different instances where I was a tool in His glorious hands. I was given promptings that I didn't even think twice about. I responded quickly, without wondering if it was just a thought of my own creation or a divine moment of guidance. In all 3 cases, I was able to show God's love for these people through my words. I spoke from the heart, and was able to help bring comfort to these people who needed reassurance of God's immeasurable love for them as individuals.
There is a scripture that I think of, that expresses my recent ability to use my words as a way to speak Gods love for all his children:
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ by baptism yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy one of Israel.-- 2 Nephi 31:14
The Holy Ghost allows us to speak with the tongue of angels, and speak to other souls with the grace and tender mercy of our Heavenly Father. This week I have learned that if I live, if WE faithfully live the gospel, and are following ALL of the commandments, we will be a tool in our Fathers hands.Our lives will be blessed through obeying the spirit and its promptings, and our hearts will swell with joy.
I am thankful for the guidance of the Spirit, and for the ability my spirit has to speak with the tongue of angels and give comfort and love to those that need it.
I hope each of you prayerfully ask God to bless you like I have been blessed, because the experience I have gotten can not be put into words... the spirit is an incredible gift, and I know that following its promptings, no matter how small they may seem, will greatly benefit yourself as well as others. Remember being in service to your fellow people is being in service of our God. Ignoring a prompting is ignoring Gods direction, and you never know who is praying to receive Gods love.
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