Elder Axel H. Leimer, Germany
Area Seventy
Area Seventy
As we come into the Church through baptism, we are filled with the hope for eternal life and to come closer to God by better understanding Him and his purpose for us.[1] In our religion we seek answers to life’s most difficult questions. Initially we may receive answers from friends, trusted teachers, the missionaries, our home teachers, or the bishop. But over time we need to learn to access the powers of heaven ourselves and to become spiritually self-reliant.
President Henry B. Eyring said: “There are many [...] who feel a pressing need for that blessing of personal revelation from our loving Heavenly Father. [...] We all know that human judgment and logical thinking will not be enough to get answers to the questions that matter most in life. We need revelation from God. And we will need not just one revelation in a time of stress, but we need a constantly renewed stream. We need not just one flash of light and comfort, but we need the continuing blessing of communication with God.”[2]
Personal revelation comes to each of us just as it does to prophets and apostles - through the Holy Ghost. He is a personage of spirit. He testifies of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ[3] and confirms all truth through spiritual promptings and feelings of peace. The scriptures describe this communication as coming by a still, small voice[4], not through physical senses but by touching the heart and mind[5], sometimes piercing and powerful[6]. These brief moments are like short flashes of light in the darkness.
By deciding to be baptized into His Church, we receive the promise of living in permanent light.[7],[8] As we follow promptings we commit more fully to our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. At the end of His earthly ministry Christ said to his apostles: “I will not leave you comfortless: […] I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; [...] He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”[9] The apostles then received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and conferred the same gift to others who had been baptized by the laying on of hands with the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood.[10] This gift, also referred to as baptism by fire[11], comes on condition of repentance and it requires us to remain worthy.[12]
As President Boyd K. Packer taught, we each must stay in condition to respond to inspiration so that the Lord can pour pure intelligence into our minds to prompt us, to guide us, to teach us, and to warn us.[13]
Think about what this gift of continuous personal witness and revelation implies:
- That there is a God
- That He knows us personally
- That He directs His Church through prophets and will confirm those directions to each of us individually
- That He cares about us and wants to speak with us and guide us
- That He respects our agency
- That we are never truly alone
The Gift of the Holy Ghost leads us to spiritual self-reliance so that we may learn to act for ourselves and not be acted upon,[14] and “that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world.”[15]
This gift is such a blessing! It is a protection we so desperately need and helps us to find the answers to life’s most important questions. The Holy Ghost leads us to place our trust and testimony on the perfect, firm foundation of Jesus Christ, who leads our church. The prophet Helaman put it best when he said: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, [...] 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.”[16]
[1] John 17: 3
[2] Henry B. Eyring, „Continuous Revelation“, General Conference, October 2014
[3] 2 Ne 31: 18
[4] D&C 85: 6; 1 Kgs. 19:11–13; 1 Ne 17: 45
[5] Dennis E. Simmons, “His Peace”, General Conference, April 1997
[6] Helaman 5: 25, 29-31
[7] James E. Faust, The Gift of the Holy Ghost—A Sure Compass, General Conference, April 1989
[8] Gospel Doctrine, p. 61
[9] John 14:18, 16-17, 26
[10] Acts 2: 38; Acts 8: 12-25; D&C 29: 33; Moroni 2: 1-3
[11] Matt. 3: 11; 2 Nephi 31: 17; D&C 19: 31
[12] Acts 2: 38
[13] Boyd K. Packer, These Things I know, General Conference, April 2013
[14] 2 Ne 2: 13-14, 26
[15] D&C 1: 20
[16] Helaman 5: 12