(CS1 September 2006)
A month ago my wife and I went on a short vacation – we were sitting in our hotel waiting to go to the airport. A number of stations were running programs or remembrances of 9/11 – the five year anniversary of that horrible disaster. A very sobering event especially when you’re ready to go to the airport.
According to a number of reports – the U.S. had reports that this group had plans or the ability to cause terror and they could have been stopped earlier and weren’t. Then they did something we weren’t watching for or expecting.
Last April conference Elder Eyring quoted 2 Timothy 3:1-
“This know also, that in the last day perilous times come.”
He then said –
Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that the peril is great. The peril comes from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing. And so it will become harder, not easier, to keep the convents we must make to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
For those of us who are concerned about such a future for ourselves and for those we love- there is hope in the promise the Lord has given us of a place of safety in the storms ahead.
Where that hope comes from is talked about in Helaman 5:12
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
That should give us hope, that the devil will have no power to drag us down.
That scripture reminds me of the primary song the wise man build his house upon the rock. And despite the rain and storms – his house on the rock stood still.
Our foundations need to be strong – our testimonies need to be unwavering to withstand the perils that are here and will come. Indeed as the storms rage the Savior is the beacon – the light. But we must know his will, his plan and direction to reduce our exposure to those trails.
Jacob 4:8
Behold, great and marvelous are the aworks of the Lord. How bunsearchable are the depths of the cmysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man dknoweth of his eways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the frevelations of God.
We must have and be receiving revelation – sometimes that’s easier said than done.
In a talk given to mission Presidents Elder Eyring stated –
“Getting revelation is hard. It is not easy. The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is possible, but oh, it is so hard.”
Brothers and sisters, a moment ago we partook of the sacrament – we made promises to do certain things. In return the Lord has promised us that we can and should have His spirit to be with us.
I have had times in my life that I have had the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost –continues peaceful and refreshing witness. And sad to say I’ve had times that I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt the spirit, and have been unable to receive answers to my prayers. All of us have had witnesses or the companionship of the Holy Ghost on these extremes or somewhere in between. We’re not alone.
The Prophet Joseph Smith at one of the hardest times in his life – prayed.
D&C 121: 1
O God, awhere art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy bhiding place.
Elder Bednar -
As we gain experience with the Holy Ghost, we learn that the intensity with which we feel the Spirit's influence is not always the same. Strong, dramatic spiritual impressions do not come to us frequently. Even as we strive to be faithful and obedient, there simply are times when the direction, assurance, and peace of the Spirit are not readily recognizable in our lives. In fact, the Book of Mormon describes faithful Lamanites who "were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not" (3 Nephi 9:20).
It these times we seemingly try harder – to seek the spirit, to evaluate our lives and our faithfulness.
During some of these times we are being tested or learning to exercise our faith in our Savior.
In Teach My Gospel – the missionary manual. President Packer state –
“You can no more force the Spirit to respond than you can force a bean to sprout or an egg to hatch before it’s time.”
But, there are a lot of things we can do.
President Spencer W. Kimball said that when he felt that the heavens were closed to him, he would go back to the scriptures again.
Alma told the member of the church in Zarahemla that he had the spirit of revelation because he had fasted and prayed for many days that he might receive it.
Jacob, the brother of Nephi, said it was because of faith and great anxiety – for themselves and those whom they served – that he received revelation.
Studying the scriptures, fasting and praying, faith and service – bring the spirit into our lives and hearts. Indeed by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.
Elder Eyring – gave us the key.
“You want to create in your lives.. a climate which allow (you) to have the gifts of the spirit. These gifts come in a climate where there is faith, and hope. A change comes in our hearts and we have a feeling of charity - the pure love of Christ. The Holy Ghost will teach you things to do to build that climate which allows the gifts of the spirit to come, not only to teach, but in all (things we) do.”
This wonderful quote – is similar to the ageless question. Which came first the chicken or the egg? How can the Holy Ghost teach us to have a climate to receive the Holy Ghost – if we don’t have the Holy Ghost in the first place?
Alma likened it to a seed -
Alma 32:
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than adesire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
Awake and arouse your faculties. It’s an experiment, and as Alma declared the desire is the key.
When was the last time we fasted and prayer to have the spirit with us on a constant basis? Or evaluated ourselves to see what actions are preventing us from have that constant companionship.
I believe when we are in trouble we put a little more effort into it.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
That increases our faith and spirit. Little by little that helps us build a climate that allows the spirit to be with us constantly.
But, if we fail to do the little things we can little by little grow further away from the spirit of the Lord.
Elder David A. Bednar
We should also endeavor to discern when we "withdraw [ourselves] from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in [us] to guide [us]. ..the promised blessing is that we may always have His Spirit to be with us, we should attend to and learn from the choices and influences that separate us from the Holy Spirit.
The standard is clear. If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing ..Because we estrange the Spirit of the Lord when we engage in activities we know we should shun, then such things definitely are not for us.
…we might not have the presence of the Holy Ghost with us every second of every minute of every hour of every day. However, the Holy Ghost can tarry with us much, if not most, of the time—and certainly the Spirit can be with us more than it is not with us. As we become ever more immersed in the Spirit of the Lord, we should strive to recognize impressions when they come and the influences or events that cause us to withdraw ourselves from the Holy Ghost.
Sometimes as Latter-day Saints we talk and act as though recognizing the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives is the rare or exceptional event. We should remember, however, that the covenant promise is that we may always have His Spirit to be with us. This supernal blessing applies to every single member of the Church who has been baptized, confirmed, and instructed to "receive the Holy Ghost."
In deed it is clear we should have it more often than we don’t have it. But, this can only be done as we make a conscious effort make a climate that allow that to happen. Then me must watch and pray and be alert to what causes us to loose or gain the spirit.
When my wife and I got to the airport on our trip it was obvious that the security knew what they were looking for and was doing everything possible to make sure the acts of 9/11 weren’t successful again. They were so good that I accidentally got too close to an outside door while I was looking out a window, and the alarms in the terminal went off embarrassing my wife as she tried to look like she wasn’t with me.
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