Desperately Seeking the Holy Ghost

In the Bloggernacle a writer needs to have a good title to get noticed in the aggregators. It’s also a good idea to have something worthwhile to say. I think I’ve got both. I hope you’ll hang in there for a few minutes and read what I’ve have to say. There is a 1 to 5 star rating system at the end. After reading this, please rate how meaningful of a read it was to you.

For this post I’ve decided to be less formal. I’m going use my experiences in life to illustrate the workings of the Spirit. I’d like to discuss sacred things with you, like I would with a loved one.

As the title says, I am writing about the Holy Ghost. Obtaining the Holy Ghost is where it’s at, at least that what we’re told by church leaders. They tell us there is nothing more important we can do. I agree with that counsel. Not just because church leaders teach it, but because of what I’ve experienced.

As a young man I lost interest in the church and one day just stopped going.  I was about 15 years old. No one in my family was active so it wasn’t a big deal. One of the reasons I left was I got tired of hearing about how wonderful it was to be born in the covenant and how we must have been among the great and noble spirits in the preexistence. Problem was, I wasn’t born in the covenant. My father wasn’t even a member. So the message turned out to be, “you’re a second class spirit”. I agreed and left church thinking I’d never return.

I really did feel second class because of what I had been taught at church. The church and its leaders didn’t provide what I needed at that time in my life. When the family is breaking down like mine was, the church can’t always make up the difference. I needed a strong male influence and it wasn’t available to me.

It was easy to find friends who liked to party and have a good time. I spent a lot of time at keg parties and driving around with my buddies. I dropped out of school too, so I had a lot of free time, no money but a lot of time. I got a job at a car dealership and made a little money. Things weren’t going well for my family, it was a tough time.

With that background I want to point out something about the Spirit that I learned in those days. It was there for me in spite of how I was living my life. I didn’t understand doctrine in those days, but I did know something was with me, and I knew it was “the spirit”. In fact, I told it to get lost on more than one occasion. I did this when I felt like doing something wrong and then this “inner voice” would nag at me to stop. I would successfully ignore it, it would go away for while, only to return. I did a lot of wrong things in those days, but it was there in the background and didn’t give up on me. When I needed something or was afraid I would pray silently, never on my knees, but in my heart. I knew someone was listening.

Now some may want to argue with this, but I testify that Heaven Father was there for me. I have no doubt He is there for many others like me. You may know someone who fits this description, possibly a loved one. Don’t give up on them! That’s part of my message today. Please don’t make a final judgment on anyone; the Lord hasn’t given us the ability to do that. Pray for them, don’t judge them!

Lost Souls

I was a lost soul, plain and simple; a lost soul of the teenage variety. For reasons I don’t entirely understand the Lord in His condescensions decided to provide me with a miraculous experience to bring me back to the fold. He left the ninety and nine and came for me. I’m not going to relate this experience now, but I’ll provide a link later in this post for those interested.

Lost souls come in many varieties. Teenagers, adults, seniors can all be as I was, a lost soul. My definition of a lost soul is anyone who is without Holy Ghost in their lives. This is especially true for those who have been baptized to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost but haven’t fulfilled this covenant yet.

Surprisingly, many members of the church who are active, good people can be in this dilemma. This is a true paradox. How can someone who is an active Latter Day Saint be without God? I’ve been active in the Lord’s church for over forty years and based on my observation and experience, I believe there are many members who enjoy the culture of the church but don’t diligently seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost. They do many things in the church, even hold leadership positions. They speak the language of the church and the scriptures, but haven’t done what it takes to acquire the Spirit as promised when they were baptized.

Do you agree or are you ready to give me a 1 star rating?  Bear with me a little longer before you make up your mind.

Consider what the scriptures and the modern day prophets have to say on the subject. First consider the state of the church at the time of the Savior. How did it get that way? The Lord called prophets–Moses and other mighty prophets to bless the children of Israel but the church arrived at a point where they crucified their God.

How many times has the gospel been restored to the earth from the days of Adam to our day? Why did it fail each time? Are we so different today? Given enough time would our generation do the same as past generations? I think we would, but the Lord has told us He will not allow that to happen in this last dispensation.

What about the awful arithmetic found in the parable of the Ten Virgins?  Fifty percent of the membership fails! We’re told that the fact their called virgins means they were active in the church, worthy in many ways, but lacking the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Those without the Holy Ghost were not admitted to the wedding even when they plead with the Lord to be admitted. Remember, the parable refers to the ten virgins as being wise and unwise, not righteous and wicked. They all had testimonies of Jesus, but only five were valiant in that testimony. The difference between them was having the Holy Ghost or not.

The Key to Obtaining the Holy Ghost is in the Sacrament

In my opinion the key to obtaining the Holy Ghost is found in the Sacrament. Each week active members take the sacrament. It is the main reason we go to church. The sacrament prayer teaches us what we need to know about obtaining the Holy Ghost.  We’re taught to remember the Savior and His experience in mortality. In the two prayers the word remember is used four times. We’re instructed twice to take upon us His name, and twice to keep His commandments.  If we will do this then we’re promised two times that we can have His Spirit to be with us.

The Doctrine of Christ

If we follow the instruction in the sacrament prayer we will come to know and understand, and then experience the Doctrine of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ is contained in the Scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon. The Doctrine of Christ teaches us that we need to be baptized with water and with the Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit is referred to in the scriptures as the baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost.

Lastly, each of us need to make sure we are learning the Doctrine of Christ at Church? For those who frequent the Bloggernacle, how often do you find the Doctrine of Christ being addressed by those who blog or comment? Go to the aggregators and the titles of the post will give you an idea.

Summary

I feel all of us need to be desperately seeking the Holy Ghost. If  the Doctrine of Christ isn’t being taught at church or in the Bloggernacle then we can conclude  we’re experiencing a spiritual famine. Spiritually starving LDS are those who are walking in a field ripe with spiritual nourishment but lack the knowledge to harvest the bounty. We need to obtain the knowledge of how to harvest the necessary nourishment. This knowledge can be obtained from the scriptures and the words of the modern day prophets. I hope all of us will rivet are attention on the things that matter most and set those things that matter least aside. Acquiring the companionship of the Holy Ghost is the most important thing we can be found doing.

Do you believe this true?

Here is the link I mentioned above.

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