Because He Lives

What an awesome experience it will be to have general conference fall on Easter weekend!  To be able to hear from our leaders as well as celebrate the resurrection of the Savior is an exciting prospect.  As I think about what I know of the premortal existence from what I have read from the scriptures and learned through my membership in the Church, I am amazed by the fact that my Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, volunteered to take on the role of Savior when Father presented His plan of happiness to us.

Jesus loves me, my family, all of us, so much that He was willing to take the mantel of this calling upon Himself.  In the Garden of Gethsemane and upon the cross when He took upon Himself all our sins and infirmities and willingly gave His life for us, all eternity hung in the balance.  Those of Father’s children who had lived and those of us who were yet to live, must have collectively held our breath during those critical moments.  When He proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30), we knew the first half the mission was complete.  At the moment of His resurrection, our rejoicing must have been sweet.  Because Jesus lives, the key component of Heavenly Father’s plan is active and viable in our lives.   We can now confidently approach Father’s throne and ask for forgiveness in and through the name of our beloved Brother.  I invite anyone reading this post to watch this wonderful Easter video and rejoice in knowing that through His ultimate sacrifice the prisoners can go free (see D&C 128:22)!

Do You Really Want to Live on THAT Street?

I happened to be looking up a property today that had the following address: 9182 Dongston Way, Sacramento, CA.  Oooookay, Dongston is a bit of an … interesting name for a street.  *Oh, there are so many possibilities, but I will exercise restraint.* J Ehem (he pauses to clear his throat), yes, so as I used Google Earth to get an overhead view of this property, I found that Dongston Way connects to Schmuckley Drive.  Hmm.  Schmuckley, eh?  Since this is Sacramento, my first thought was that this might be the street housing most, if not all, of our State politicians—yes, I went there.  Searching further, however, caused me to learn that Schmuckley Drive connects into TallyHo Drive.  *I’m not kidding; see the screen shot below if you don’t believe me!*  So, Dongston to Schmuckley to TallyHo.  It’s either the weirdest double-play combination I’ve ever heard, or somebody must have been on some very powerful stimulants when it came to naming these streets.  You decide; I have a headache now. J

We Hosted a Wedding

Seriously.

Not exactly what I expected when I woke up this morning. J  Amy & Terry Wagner (now that they’re married) have been investigating the Church for several months.  Today was the day they set to get married by Bishop Allen.  Elder Porter and Elder Jennings dropped off a wedding invitation to us on Thursday; it told us the wedding would take place under the pavilion of a nearby park at 10:00 o’clock this morning and our whole family was invited.

We arrived at the park at about 9:45 a.m.  The first thing that became very clear was the park was quite crowded (understatement, really—it was packed!).  Trying to find a parking place was next to impossible.  In desperation, I dropped everyone off in front of the park and spent another five minutes berthing my metal beast.  As I walked toward the pavilion, I realized that the reason for the crowded conditions had to do with little league baseball.  Today was “opening day” for the little league, it appeared, and there were families and baseball players and balloons and … everything everywhere!  With all the noise and confusion and mass of humanity, trying to conduct a wedding ceremony in the pavilion seemed to be somewhat problematical.  It was, however, our second situation that was even more of an issue.

What I learned was that when the phone call was made at the beginning of the week to find out if the pavilion was available, the person at the city asked how many people would be attending the wedding.  After learning the number of people was under 40, the person said that no reservation was needed for a group that small.  Unfortunately, because no reservation was made based on the information offered, someone else with a group larger than 40 came along and reserved the pavilion for the entire day.  Even though 4 of the 10 or so tables were decorated at the time and only a family of 4 from this party was present at that moment, the family was in no mood to share with our group (the wife asked us several times when we were planning to leave and reminded us about the same number of times that she had reserved the area).

Now we’re stuck with the dilemma of what to do.  The bride had not arrived.  Because of the situation, she was told to wait while things were figured out was figured out.  Our church building was not available due to a scout activity.  The status of the other closest church building could not be determined because the building coordinator wasn’t available.  Bishop said the wedding could be in his back yard, but we’d have to leave quickly thereafter because an inspector was coming later that morning (he and his family will be moving in a few weeks L).  Suddenly Jennifer turned to me and said, “What about our backyard?”

A few years ago, we had been fortunate to be in a position to fix up our back yard from the mess it had become (now with the drought and the increase in water prices our front yard is in the same situation).  I approached bishop and said, “Our front yard is mess, but we could hold the wedding in our back yard.”  And so it was that our back yard became the new venue for the wedding.  Since we hadn’t been expecting to host a wedding, we had to race back to our house to do some quick tidying.  I finally had an excuse to pull the few weeds that had popped up out of the rocks (I got an assist from bishop and a couple other attendees J).  Jennifer had some red crape paper that had been in our “junk” drawer for years, so she placed it in couple of strategic places outside.  After pulling all the chairs we could find in the house and putting them on the patio, the wedding went forward.

The ceremony started about 30 to 45 minutes later then was planned, but everything worked out in the end.  Amy and Terry were married.  Pictures were taken of them and of all those who were in attendance.  We had a little reception for them in the dining room.  And after most everyone had returned home, I got some help cleaning up from an unexpected source. J  Jennifer was very excited about the opportunity to serve in such a manner.  She told me that she had always wanted to host a wedding in our house.  I don’t remember her saying anything of the sort, but that isn’t to say that she never did, I just don’t recall the conversation.  I’m just glad we were able to pitch in to make a day that was going badly into one that turned out happy for everyone. J

The Lesson of the Thistle

I caught the creeping crud that’s been making the rounds this winter season.  It grabbed me, shook me around a bit, knocked me into bed, then departed, leaving presents behind for me to deal with for the last several weeks.  Who knew a human could hack up hairballs on a daily basis?  Sorry, too visual? J  Anyway, I have not been able to go on my morning walk during my 15 minute break at work because I didn’t want to cough up a lung (or, possibly both).  After 3 weeks, I finally felt good enough to give speed walking the old college try.

Last year, I wrote a post discussing a lesson the star jasmine plants growing along my walking route taught me.  The flowers on these plants are roughly a month or so away from blooming, but as I walked past the second clump of bushes yesterday, I came across a sight that actually made me slow down to take a good long look.  In the middle of the star jasmine bushes, was a huge thistle!  It was nasty looking, with angry looking thorns and a thick base stalk.  A plant that big doesn’t grow overnight; it’s probably been there for a couple of weeks while I wasn’t walking.  With the frequency of city groundskeepers who patrol this stretch of road, I was surprised the thistle had lasted as long as it had.  Not knowing if a verbal description could truly do this weed justice, I hoped it would still be there this morning in order for me to take a picture of it; luckily for me, it was.

So here I am, staring at this thistle (taking pictures of the thistle for crying out loud), and I realize that this thistle, marring a bed of plants that will soon blossom into wonderful, fragrant flowers, is a metaphor for me!  I try to keep my spiritual flower garden weed free, yet no matter how hard I work, angry, nasty looking thistles still pop up in the middle of my garden when I’m not looking (and sometimes when I am looking)!  As I returned to my walk, something Elder Douglas Higham, our Area Authority 70, said in his Saturday night Stake conference came to mind.  To paraphrase (I didn’t write down the exact quote), he reminded us that we have a loving Heavenly Father and we need to know this in order for the gospel to truly make sense.  As I have pondered this statement, I am reminded of the fact that Father in Heaven loves us, His spirit children, collectively with a perfect love that we can’t even begin to achieve at this time.  Yet, while He loves us all collectively, He also loves us individually.

As our Father, He knows us and He wants us to become the best individual people we can become.  He put together the perfect plan for us to achieve happiness and joy.  To Moses He proclaimed: "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).  "Man" in this context (despite political correctness) covers both genders.  When I think about the specific word choice, however, I realize He doesn't say "men”—the plural form encompassing His entire family; He uses "man"—the singular form which focuses on the individual.  Everything He does is designed to bless the life of the one and to bring the one back to Him.  This returns me to quote from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that I’ve probably used before: "Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.  This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God" (Ensign, Nov. 2011, 20, emphasis added).

Why did His plan require a Savior?  Why was it important that an Atonement be made?  Why sacrifice His son?  “For God so loved the world,” Jesus explained to Nicodemus, “that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, emphasis added).  Again, Father loved us all collectively, but, even more so, He loved us individually so much, that He sent His Firstborn (only begotten) Son to save us from ourselves—our mistakes, our missteps, our omissions and commissions.  Usually, though, this is the only verse that is quoted.  We stop there, but the next verse is just (if not more so) poignant: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).  He didn’t send Jesus to condemn us; He sent Jesus to save us.  In other words, He didn’t send our Elder Brother to earth to show us that no matter what we do, we’ll never measure up; He sent our Elder Brother to help us overcome those times when we don’t measure up and to lift us to a higher plane that we could not achieve on our own.  Elder Bruce C. Hafen, in talking about Adam and Eve (us when we apply what is said) testified that “because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it” (Ensign, May 2004, 97, emphasis in original).

That is the beauty of the Atonement!  We can make mistakes and learn from them without being condemned by them as long as we properly use the Atonement to overcome those mistakes.  Please don’t misunderstand.  In no way am I endorsing committing sin in order to learn some lesson—we are much better off not committing any sin at all—but what I am saying is that if we do make a mistake, Jesus has provided a way to overcome it.  President Boyd K. Packer declared that “save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ” (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 20, emphasis added).  That is a powerful promise!

When Jesus offered His Jerusalem Apostles the sacrament for the first time, He explained to them that the bread was a symbol of His “body which is given for you” and the wine represented His “blood, which is shed for you.”  In both cases, the disciples were to partake of the emblems “in remembrance of [Him]” (Luke 22:19-20, emphasis added).  They were not told to consider the limitless reach of the Atonement, nor were they advised to think about how it would impact the other members of the group.  Jesus instructed them to reflect on how His pending sacrifice affected them individually.  In order for the infinite Atonement to work in us and for us, the Savior’s sacrifice must become profoundly personal to each of us.  Doing so will bring us back to the love our Heavenly Father has for us as He works “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [every] man [and woman]" (Moses 1:39).

If mistakes, sins, missteps, offenses, trials, pain, sorrow, loneliness, anger, resentment, and every other negative feeling or experience pop up like thistles in our spiritual garden, we don’t have to allow them to grow and flourish!  We need to put on some protective gloves, grab a spade, secure the weed killer, and get out into the garden and get to work at pulling the thistles out by the roots.  We need to do “all that we can do” to remove those weeds from our garden—exert every effort, expend all our strength—yet “even when we utterly spend ourselves, we lack the power to create the perfection only God can complete. Our all by itself is still only almost enough—until it is finished by the all of Him who is the ‘finisher of our faith’ [Hebrews 12:2]. At that point, our imperfect but consecrated almost is enough” (Elder Hafen, Ensign, May 2004, 98-99, emphasis in original).  With Jesus’ enabling power, we will have those thistles “rooted out of [our] breast[s], and receive his Spirit, that [we] may be filled with joy” (Alma 22:15).

Wow.  Two years in a row that these star jasmine bushes have taught me a gospel lesson.  What will be in store next year? J

Coming to Partake of the Sacrament

Elder Douglas Higham, the Area Seventy for our region, was our visiting General Authority during stake conference this weekend.  He said something in the priesthood session and carried it over to the Saturday evening session that has been on my mind ever since.  He said that we should change our focus when inviting people to church.  Instead of committing them to “come to church,” we should be asking them to come and partake of the sacrament.

Elder Higham told us of an experience he had while serving as a mission president.  A then Elder Henry B. Eyring came on a mission tour.  During a meeting with the missionaries, Elder Eyring was told of an investigator whose work schedule made it difficult for him to come to sacrament meeting.  The missionaries wanted to know if it would be okay for them to baptize this man, who had made all the commitments and was ready, even though he had not yet attended sacrament meeting.  Elder Higham said he watched as Elder Eyring had an out loud debate with himself as he weighed the possibilities, but when the answer came, it came with conviction.  Elder Eyring’s answer was that the man (and, in effect, all of us) could not receive the full blessings of the Atonement without partaking of the sacrament.

As I’ve thought about these statements, I’ve been struck by their power.  In terms of asking people to come and partake of the sacrament, I see how it shifts the focus.  It is one thing to ask a person to “come to Church,” but it is quite another to ask a person to come to the meeting in order to partake of the emblems of Christ—His body and blood—in remembrance of Him and His sacrifice for us.  For those persons who have been baptized, partaking of the sacrament is also a renewal of covenants made at baptism; a reminder of the ordinance that brought them in harmony with Father in Heaven and washed them clean.  Partaking of the sacrament is an opportunity to wash away sins committed throughout the previous week and a way to prepare for the week to come.

As Cheryl A. Esplin testified, “As we partake of the sacrament, we witness to God that we will remember His Son always, not just during the brief sacrament ordinance. This means that we will constantly look to the Savior’s example and teachings to guide our thoughts, our choices, and our acts” (Ensign, Nov. 2014, 12).  That is a very powerful way to help keep us focused on our covenants throughout the week and assist us in striving to make correct choices.  Sister Esplin also stated that partaking the sacrament also helps us to not neglect “a big part of the Atonement—Christ’s enabling power” and to remember “times the Savior helped [us] be who [we] needed to be and serve beyond [our] own capacity” (ibid, 13).  I think these are definite ways that receiving the sacrament on a weekly basis helps us to obtain the full blessings of the Atonement.

As for those people who are investigating the Church, the sacrament is not a renewal of baptismal covenant, but it can help them to focus on the Savior and what He has done for them.  Partaking of the emblems and participating in the ordinance can also support the truths they are being taught by the Spirit through the missionaries and ward members.  In both cases, this reminds me of something Elder Kevin W. Pearson taught to our stake when he came as the visiting general authority back in March of 2009 and reiterated in his conference talk several weeks later: “We get what we focus on consistently” (Ensign, May 2009, 40).

If our reason—our focus—for coming to church is to partake of the sacrament, we are looking to the Savior and it may be easier to hold onto that focus during the week if we think about the renewal of covenants and the remembrance of what our Elder Brother did for us in terms of the Atonement.  If our focus is just coming to church, then it might be easier to be distracted by the things of the world that may appear more pressing, but are truly not.  Based on President Skinner’s admonishment to focus on the Savior and the Atonement for the next 6 months until our next Stake conference, I think this change in focus is a good one to contemplate.

Waxing Cold

Over the last several years, I’ve noticed a disturbing pattern in the overall way people treat each other.  Individuals or groups seem more willing to say mean or angry things about others via the ever growing numbers of social networks and that nastiness is also spilling into everyday settings.  I’m not saying that every single person in the world has turned into some 12-eyed monster looking to roast others with anger.  What I am saying, however, is that a spirit of contention has become so much more prevalent among us that we really need to be on our guard against it.  I would define this phenomenon as an exacerbation of the problem the Savior described as “the love of many … wax[ing] cold” (Matthew 24:12).

There are three specific verses found in Matthew 24 and Joseph Smith—Matthew (the aforementioned 24:12, and JS-M 1:10 & 1:30) that mention either the love of “many” or the love of “men” waxing cold.  What I notice in these verses is that Jesus gave a specific cause and effect definition for this occurrence.  He states that “because iniquity shall abound, … love … shall wax cold” (24:14).  When understood from a scriptural standpoint, this deepening coldness is the result, as Elder Quentin L. Cook described, of Satan “raging in the hearts of men [and women] in so many new and subtle ways” (Ensign, Nov. 2014, 46).

Rage or anger can lead to contention; negative feelings follow.  Jesus warned the Nephites that “contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).  Elder Dallin H. Oaks pointed out that the Savior’s injunction was not just against “those who were not keeping the commandment about baptism. He forbade contention by anyone” (Ensign, Nov. 2014, 26, emphasis added).

In this heightened climate of antagonism, if we’re not careful, anger can catch us in any seemingly mundane setting.  For example: I recently went to a bank to transact some business.  I decided to use my 30 minute lunch break and left about 45 minutes before noon hoping to zip through the line and return to work with time to spare … no such luck.  When I arrived, a line seven people deep greeted me.  Committed to my plan, I sighed and stepped into the line to wait my turn.  It wasn’t long before I noticed the non-movement of the line.  Some of the people ahead of me were grumbling.  There seemed to be plenty of bank workers behind the Plexiglas wall, but only two were actually helping customers.  I guess the other workers were fulfilling some job function, but for us in line, their seeming inaction in moving our line made them easy targets for low grade ire.

But then … up to the next open window walked a lady who wanted to deposit cash and rolled coins.  The reason I know this is because her desired outcome began to go sideways.  Apparently, the teller told her that it was branch policy not to accept coin rolls.  That was lighter fluid.  What had been a low grade flame of frustration over the slow moving line burst into an exasperated campfire!  How dare the teller make such a statement!  The lady made rolled coin deposits at the branch near her work all the time.  What was the difference with this branch?  What terrible service!

When she started yelling, I rolled my eyes.  “Oh, boy,” I thought, “this isn’t good.”  As an assistant manager or manager rushed to the teller’s side as backup, several people standing ahead of me in the line shifted the focus of their frustration from the bank workers to the lady.  “Who does she think she is holding the rest of us up?” one woman whispered.  “If she could do this transaction at that other branch, why didn’t she go there?” replied a man.  “Why couldn’t she have done this some other time?” chimed another woman. “I just need to make a quick transaction, she’s making me late,” said a fourth.  Verbal wood tossed onto the contention campfire.  The more the main four people in front of me talked about the lady, the more animated one guy in particular became.  Meanwhile, I noticed a palpable, oppressive negativity start to grow within the walls of the bank.

More customers were filing in behind me.  The lady persisted in going on and on about not being able to deposit her coins.  Management finally realized they had a situation and pulled another teller to the windows to handle the growing crowd.  This new window had a chair in front of it and the blue wheelchair sign indicating handicapped; it also happened to be right next the window where the lady was continuing her diatribe!  With this new window open, the line started moving again.  Soon, the man who had expressed the greatest displeasure against the lady was called to the handicapped window.  As he started his transaction, he did something that surprised me … he started arguing with the lady, repeating things muttered earlier in line!  Already fired up, the lady tartly responded to his jabs.  We had now gone from campfire to bonfire and the negativity inside the bank deepened.

The man finished his transaction and stormed out of the bank.  The line was now moving quickly.  After a couple of minutes, my turn at the handicapped window arrived.  During all of this, I had been trying to keep a level head.  My 30 minute lunch break was shot.  I now hoped I could get back to my work desk in time.  Frustrated and surround by a gloom of negativity, the snarky side of me wanted to say something passive/aggressive at the lady as I sat down in the chair.  When I slipped my bill under the glass, my teller asked, “Is this all you’ll be taking care of today?”  At that moment, the reply, “Yes, I don’t have any rolled coins to deposit today,” pushed toward my vocal cords.  Thankfully, discretion overtook me and I actually said, “Yes, this is it,” and fought hard to keep my mouth shut while the teller processed my transaction.  Business completed, I quickly headed for the doors.  The moment I stepped outside, the oppressive, negative pressure popped like a balloon.  By the time I pulled into the parking lot of my work building, I felt much better and I returned to my desk just under the 30 minute mark.

I’m thankful that in this instance I clamped down on my natural man.  Unfortunately, there have been plenty of other times when I haven’t: like when I yelled at Ben, while we were playing Mario Kart 8 together, for something he did after crossing the finish line that cost me several places—not one of my finer moments; one for which I needed to apologize.  We live “at that day [when Satan] shall … rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good” (2 Nephi 28:20).  So much rage is expended on concepts that used to be considered “good.”  If not careful, we who are holding fast to the good could respond with cold, reactionary rage.  We also need to be very vigilant against the negative forces tempting us to “wax cold” against family members, neighbors, ward members, co-workers—anyone.  Easy?  No.  “There seem to be countless possible reasons for anger” said President Thomas S. Monson. “No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible” (Ensign, Nov. 2009, 67, 68, emphasis in original).

Am I advocating we become “Pollyannaish” and walk around with Pleasantville smiles painted on our faces?  No.  There will be times in life when we will have to deal with negative situations and they will cause us to become angry.  I don’t believe denying the feeling and acting like it doesn’t exist is particularly healthy either (it’s the 2nd of the 5 stages of loss and grief).  What I am saying is that we should strive to not allow the anger to consume us.  That’s what I saw in the bank.  The lady yelled at the bank teller, which opened the door to the contentious feelings.  And one man permitted his anger to consume him enough that he willingly contended with the lady.  Maybe they both felt justified as they left the building, but their actions accomplished nothing good.

Being contentious opens the door for Satan and his ilk; allowing anger to consume us will only take us down “strange roads” (1 Nephi 8:32) that will not lead to positive places.  Learning to overcome anger will become more important as we come ever closer to the second coming of the Savior.  The more we can fight off negative influences, like those I experienced in the bank, the more we will be able to keep the influence of the Spirit.  Keeping the Spirit with us, will also help us to react in ways that will show “all men … that [we] are [Christ’s] disciples” (John 13:35).

The Holy Ghost (Lesson 7)

With their partaking of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve had transgressed the commandment given to the by Father in Heaven.  As a consequence, He had no choice but to exact the punishment He told them would come through their disobedience.  God had specified that “in the day that thou eatest [the fruit] thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).  As a consequence of their disobedience, Father drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.  When He did so, their removed from His presence caused them to die spiritually.

Even with this separation, Adam and Eve still had ways to continue their connection with Heavenly Father.  In the book of Moses, we learn that they “called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them … And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord” (Moses 5:4-5, emphasis added).  “Obedience is powerful spiritual medicine,” declared then Elder Boyd K. Packer. “It comes close to being a cure-all” (Ensign, Nov. 1987, 18).  I believe Adam may have felt this was another opportunity for him to show Heavenly Father he could be obedient to His commandments.  He had faltered in the Garden of Eden (thankfully for us; but he had faltered nevertheless).  When God commanded him to worship Him and to sacrifice the firstlings of his flock as a way of so doing, Adam unhesitatingly and immediately moved forward to accomplish these commandments without question.

President Thomas S. Monson taught: “There is no need for you ... to sail uncharted seas or to travel unmarked roads in search of truth.  A loving Heavenly Father has plotted [your] course and provided an unfailing guide—even obedience. A knowledge of truth and the answers to [your] greatest questions come ... as [you] are obedient to the commandments of God” (Ensign, May 2013, 89, emphasis in original).  Jesus declared to His disciples: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Keep is an action verb suggesting steadfast faithfulness to His commandments.  Said Elder Richard G. Scott: “One who is obedient to His commandments is trusted of the Lord. That individual has access to His inspiration to know what to do and, as needed, the divine power to do it” (Ensign, May 2012, 47).

This is where the Holy Ghost comes into the picture.  The scriptures teach that Adam had been fulfilling Father’s commandment to worship and sacrifice for “many days” (Moses 5:6).  How many days is many?  It’s an interesting question to contemplate.  The definition of many suggests a large number.  I don’t happen to think this was a matter of a couple of weeks.  I believe Father wanted to make sure Adam and Eve were going to make this commandment a solid part of their lives and to keep it consistently.  In this case, many could mean months (possibly a year or two).  Whatever the case, after this time had elapsed and Adam and Eve had shown their commitment to these commandments, “an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?”  Adam’s reply, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me” (Moses 5:7).

Adam had shown his commitment and remained obedient to God’s commandment even without knowing the reason for it.  Sometimes, God asks such a commitment from us and may withhold His reasons for a time, but if we remain faithful and true to Him, He will bless us when the time is right.  “And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.  Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:8-9).  There is the knowledge of “why,” now comes the bestowal of the blessing: “And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son” (Moses 5:9, emphasis added).

Our Father in Heaven has not left us without the aid of a member of the Godhead as we sojourn on this fallen world.  The main difference between the Father and the Son is that they are personages with bodies of “flesh and bones” while the Holy Ghost is “a personage of Spirit” (D&C 130:22).  Being a person of spirit, the Holy Ghost can only be in one place at one time, but his influence can be felt everywhere.  A way to understand this concept is to think of the sun.  It is an object of substance and can only occupy its place as the center of our solar system.  At the same time, however, the influence of the sun blesses us each day with light and heat.  As the third member of the Godhead, it is the privilege of the Holy Ghost to be the testator for the Father and the Son.

When the Holy Ghost testifies of truth to us, he speaks in a voice, as President Packer described, that “is felt rather than heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought put into your heart” (Ensign, May 2000, 8, emphasis in original).  The prophet Elijah was taught that the Spirit does not sound like “strong wind” or “an earthquake” or “a fire,” but speaks in “a still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12)   Because of this, as President James E. Faust warned, “the adversary tries to smother this voice with a multitude of loud, persistent, persuasive, and appealing voices” ("Voice of the Spirit" Mormon Messages 2010).  One of Satan’s great tools at this time is distraction.  If we become spiritually distracted, we will not be able to hear the Holy Ghost when he speaks to us.  Elder Marvin J. Ashton cautioned, “Perhaps as much as anything in this day and age of mass media, instantaneous worldwide communications, and modern conveniences that seem to help us pack more into each day than would have been considered possible just a few decades ago, we need to focus and direct our attention to the things that really matter. And simply, what really matters is … an understanding of who we are and what we’re doing here” (Ensign, Nov. 1992, 23).

To help us in this quest, Father in Heaven grants us the companionship of the Holy Ghost, to guide us, to direct us and to lead us toward “the truth of all things” if we allow him (Moroni 10:5).  Nephi taught that when “a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth [the message] unto the hearts of the children of men” (2 Nephi 33:1, emphasis added).  Elder David A. Bednar expounded, “Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. … Ultimately, … the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter” (Ensign, Sept. 2007, 61, emphasis added).  Father will not force us to receive the direction the Holy Ghost offers.  He will not take our agency from us; we have to open our hearts and let the spiritual message fill us.  If we attune ourselves to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, our spiritual ears will hear that quiet voice saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

President Ezra Taft Benson testified, “God our Father, Jesus, our Elder Brother and our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost, the Testator, are perfect. They know us best and love us most and will not leave one thing undone for our eternal welfare” (Ensign, May 1988, 5).  May we so live to remain within their influence and be blessed by their watchcare.