((Good Ideas For Lessons on the Holy Ghost))
God
the Holy Ghost
The
Holy Ghost is also a God and is called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, and the
Spirit of God, among other similar names and titles.
How
do you know that the Holy Ghost is telling you something? (As class
members respond, you can use the notes below to validate or expound upon what
they say. Any that are missed, you can fill in for them.)
A "burning in the bosom." See D&C 9:8. The Spirit can
cause our hearts to pound and a feeling of high heat to come inside our
chest. This, however, is a more uncommon way for people to experience the
Holy Ghost than we sometimes think, so if you have never felt that way, don't
worry. But if you have, that was a powerful message from the Holy
Ghost. President Kimball said that most revelations that come from the
Spirit, even to the Prophet of God, come as deep impressions, rather than
dramatic events. “The burning bushes, the smoking mountains, … the
Cumorahs, and the Kirtlands were realities; but they were the exceptions. The
great volume of revelation came to Moses and to Joseph and comes to today’s
prophet in the less spectacular way—that of deep impressions, without spectacle
or glamour or dramatic events. Always expecting the spectacular, many
will miss entirely the constant flow of revealed communication.” (In Conference
Report, Munich Germany Area Conference, 1973, p. 77; quoted in October 1991 General Conference.
A good, strong feeling. Let me tell you about Karen Beckham. When
she was just a little girl, she started reading the Book of Mormon for the
first time. When she got to a particular verse "I will go and do the
things which the Lord hath commanded..." she just had a strong feeling
about this verse, so she got up and found a red pencil and marked that verse in
her Book of Mormon. (New Era, August
1998, p. 46) Have you every
been reading the scriptures and just felt a strong feeling about one of them,
strong enough to love it and want to mark it? You were being instructed
by the Holy Ghost. John 5:39 tells us the scriptures testify of Christ,
and they do it through the Holy Spirit.
Do you have a strong feeling that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God or
that President Monson is the Lord's prophet today? You got that feeling
from the Holy Ghost.
A good idea.
Have you ever felt like you were guided to love your family or friends more by
forgiving them or helping them in a particular way? The Holy Ghost guided
you to do that. (D&C 11:12) The Spirit leads us to do good.
Clear and distinct directions. After praying about a problem, have you ever
suddenly received a thought in your mind about what you should do? The
Holy Ghost put that thought there. (D&C 11:13,14) The Spirit
enlightens our minds. Joseph Smith said that you may "feel pure
intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas..."
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, p. 151) (There is a beautiful and amazing story about how
the Spirit guided an LDS police officer to find a kidnapped baby in the
February 2001 Ensign, "Turn Here!")
Belief in Jesus Christ. Do you believe that Jesus is the Savior of the
World? You gained that testimony through the Holy Ghost. President
Marion G. Romney said, "Every person who knows or has ever known that
Jesus is the Christ has received that witness from the Holy Ghost." (April
1974 General Conference) (See Matthew 16:13-18) What is the Rock
upon which Jesus was going to build His church? Joseph Smith commented on
this scripture, "What rock? Revelation." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.
274) You know, just like Peter the Apostle did, not because someone else told
you, but because your Father in Heaven revealed it to you through the
Spirit. Each member of the Church is invited to build upon this rock, the
rock of personal testimony revealed through the Holy Ghost.
Warning. Have
you ever wanted to do something and had a strong feeling that it was a bad
choice? The Holy Ghost warns us away from mistakes or sins. (Alma
14:11). Elder Kenneth Johnson, one of our General Authorities, even before
he was a member of the Church, felt the influence of the Holy Ghost warning him
away from danger. As a young boy, never having heard of the Word of
Wisdom, he went out to play with his friends one time, and found them huddled
in a circle with smoke rising in the air above them. One of them had
found a package of cigarettes and they were all smoking them. The tried
and tried to get Kenneth to join in, but he had a strong feeling that he should
not do it. As he walked home, without being able to play with his
friends, he had a good feeling inside. That, of course, was also the Holy
Ghost, this time telling him that he chose right. Even our friends who
are not members of the Church and have not yet received the Gift of the Holy
Ghost can at times have the guidance of the Holy Ghost. In fact, that is
how they are eventually led to the gospel.
Comfort of forgiveness. Have you ever prayed for Heavenly Father to
forgive you of something you did wrong, and afterwards you felt that you were
forgiven? God communicates those feelings to us through the Holy
Ghost. (See Enos 1:1-5)
Peace. Have
you ever felt a comforting feeling, even while you were going through a time of
sadness of hardship? That most certainly was the Holy Ghost.
(D&C 6:23)
Love and Joy. Have you ever felt spiritually uplifted--filled with love,
peace or joy--during the sacrament, while listening to a talk, in a class, or
after offering sincere prayer? That was the Holy Ghost.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you..." --remember that whenever
the scriptures say this phrase, it is a signal that something very important is
about to be said-- "...I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which
shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy."
(D&C 11:13) In fact, that is a very good way to tell whether something is
just your own imagination or whether it is the Holy Ghost: The Holy Ghost
brings joy.
The encyclopedia of Mormonism:
https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Holy_Ghost
