In General Conference of April 2018, Pres. Russell M. Ballard, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” I am not a spiritual person, and I don’t know how to increase my spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation. I propose that some of the descriptors for the Holy Ghost are a bit outdated and confusing. Does the Holy Ghost cause your bosom to burn within you? Burning hurts and the word bosom is distracting. Does the Holy Ghost cause you a stupor of thought? What does stupor really mean? Does the Holy Ghost audibly whisper? If not, what should we expect? We shall examine the answers to some of these questions in this episode.
Email: scottrfrazer@gmail.com
Website: ScottRFrazer.com
S2E09 – An Update on Inspiration by the Holy Ghost
This is the podcast “Science and Scriptures”, Season 2, Episode 9 or “An Update on Inspiration by the Holy Ghost”.
Hello again, this is Scott Frazer, and welcome to the podcast “Science and Scriptures”. I hope you enjoyed the latest general conference. President Russell M. Nelson has chosen several themes that he speaks on, but one of them is more difficult than his others, well, for me at least. In our latest conference of Oct 2021, our prophet said,
“Finally, pure revelation for the questions in your heart will make this conference rewarding and unforgettable. If you have not yet sought for the ministering of the Holy Ghost to help you hear what the Lord would have you hear during these two days, I invite you to do so now.
In General Conference of April 2018, the prophet made a similar statement. He said,
“In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
In General Conference of April 2020, Russell M. Nelson reiterated this declaration, when he said,
“It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now… I renew my plea to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation.”
This podcast episode is directed at listeners like me who are not spiritually oriented. I don’t mean that I have committed any great sins. I attend services on Sundays and attend the temple. I can pass a temple recommend interview without having to study. However, I am not a spiritual person, and I very rarely receive spiritual revelations. I don’t know if it is due to my science background that causes me to assess everything intellectually. It may be due to my frequent skepticism or my generally dubious nature. I am an analytical chemist. So naturally, I over-analyze almost everything.
Like me, during his talks, you may have thought, “President Nelson, I have been trying to figure out the Holy Ghost and how He communicates with me for my whole life. I don’t know how to increase my “spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation”.
So, at the peril of offending listeners, I am going to tell you my assessment of the best way to seek for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. This will decidedly not be a discussion you would hear in Sunday School. We need to be brutally honest in this discussion, and, maybe, consider a new approach toward obtaining inspiration.
Part of the problem comes from numerous lessons and talks that use old wording to teach how to improve our communication with the Holy Ghost. Generally, such lessons conclude that we need to prepare ourselves spiritually before prayer, pray more, live a righteous life, attend the temple more often, etc. But what if we are already doing that? Will temple attendance twice a month make me twice as spiritual? We know it doesn’t work that way. But these lessons miss the point. They seem to conclude that the Holy Ghost will speak louder to you if you become more righteous. I have never seen or heard of such a correlation.
So, the question is… how do we discern between the Holy Ghost and the thoughts in our minds? How do we discern between a spiritual prompting and a random thought from our brain? When is an impression or conclusion actually a revelation?
Because, make no mistake, on its own, your brain reminds of things you should do. If you are driving home from work, you may realize, “I need to pick up some milk at the grocery store!” This is probably not a revelation from the Holy Ghost, but it is a good thing to remember.
Let me give you another example. Let’s say that my neighbor broke his leg. His grass is getting long, so I decide to go to his house and mow his lawn for him. He and his wife are appreciative and thank me profusely. I go home, feeling good about my labor. Yet… did the inspiration for my act of service came from my brain or the Holy Ghost?
Now some of you may be thinking, “Does it really matter? Either way, you accomplished an act of kindness.” But it does matter. The prophet has told us, that (and I quote), “It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now…” In the case of mowing my neighbor’s lawn, I hope it was my brain who thought of that act of service. I shouldn’t need the Holy Ghost to point out something so obvious.
In lessons about the Holy Ghost, we generally consider His whisperings to be, almost exclusively, to “do the charitable thing”. I have heard many testimonies to that effect. There is no risk in wrongly interpreting the Holy Ghost if we end up doing something nice for someone. But what if the Holy Ghost is trying to tell you something more complex? Would you interpret it correctly?
Nephi, the son of Helaman, was pretty good at interpreting revelation. If you remember in Helaman chapter 8 when he was praying in his tower. A crowd gathered and Nephi took the chance to call them to repentance. We read,
“Yea, even at this time ye are ripening, because of your murders and your fornication and wickedness, for everlasting destruction; yea, and except ye repent it will come unto you soon.
Yea, behold it is now even at your doors; yea, go ye in unto the judgment-seat, and search; and behold, your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment-seat.”
In chapter 9, Nephi is accused of the murder, so he suggests the way to catch the murderer.He continues,
“Behold I say unto you: Go to the house of Seantum, who is the brother of Seezoram…,
And ye shall say unto him: Have ye murdered your brother?
And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say. And behold, he shall deny unto you; and he shall make as if he were astonished; nevertheless, he shall declare unto you that he is innocent.
But behold, ye shall examine him, and ye shall find blood upon the skirts of his cloak.”
Let’s set that as our new goal for understanding revelation.
With the example of Nephi, son of Helaman, and President Nelson’s words of encouragement, I decided it was time to do something. So, given my ability to over-analyze anything, I decided to run a logical breakdown of how to discern the voice of the Holy Ghost from the voices in my brain.
In my research on discerning the Holy Ghost, I found a great deal of… misinformation out there. As mentioned, witnesses of the Holy Ghost are emotional events – and describing an emotional event is difficult for most people. But we need to frankly address the teachings that we have heard about the Holy Ghost with actual results. These are my own conclusions. If you disagree with any of them, please send me an email, making your case and I will respond.
Finding #1 – What the Holy Ghost is not
In Doctrine & Covenants section 9, the Lord tells Oliver Cowdery that, in order to translate the Book of Mormon, he (and I quote)
“must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.”
Those words probably communicated something different in 1829, but they don’t really work for us today. I have never met another church member who thought that the word “burning” describes a witness from the Holy Ghost very well. “Burning” hurts. I could accept the word “warmth” in a description, but not the word “burning”. Secondly, the word “bosom” is just… distracting and does not work anymore either. I think this quote only confuses students today; it doesn’t help us to know what to look for.
Speaking of poor descriptors of the feelings in prayer, D&C Section 9, verse 9 doesn’t work for me either. We read,
“But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;”
Again, the word “stupor” is an old word that we don’t use anymore.If you ask a church member if he or she has ever experienced “stupor of thought”, you will get comments like, “Yes, ever since I turned 50.”, or “Every evening at around 8:00 PM.”, or “I’m in one now”.Today, the more popular phrase to describe a negative response by the Holy Ghost is, “I’m not feeling very comfortable about this decision…”.
As an aside, there is also a popular phrase used by church members today to declare that they do feel the Holy Ghost is supporting their plans – or at least He seems to be. A member husband and wife may state, “Well, we are feeling that we should…” say, choose to take a job out of state. This statement is a bit of a cop-out. It doesn’t declare that God has revealed anything to them – but it doesn’t say He hasn’t either. Apparently, the Holy Ghost seems to be confirming their decision, though prayers on the subject are inconclusive.
As a friend of this indecisive couple, how are you supposed to respond to this declaration?! What if your friends are thinking of moving to… Detroit!? You might think, “Well, okay, I don’t want to argue with the Holy Ghost…” It is considered bad form in the church to question another person’s inspiration, so do you challenge your friend’s plans? They have not yet gotten the confirmatory revelation they were hoping for, but they are (quote) “feeling good about it”. It appears other people are also confused about answers to prayers. The vague descriptors used to describe revelation are telling.
As a result of what “might have been” an answer to their prayers, many good church members, including myself, have moved to new jobs out of state. Praying whether one should accept a new job is difficult. A better paying job, and possibly a promotion, are tempting. How can you separate your own desires from those of the Lord? One should remember that, in all such decisions, you have veto power. If you get an answer, the Lord is just suggesting, He is not commanding. Because only you and your family will suffer the misery of a bad move, and God will not command you to do something to make you miserable. So, if the move or job doesn’t work out, who do you blame? Not God. Blaming God for a decision is one of the significant dangers of not understanding the Holy Ghost. It can lead to regret and heartache for having done something you thought the Lord wanted you to do, but was really your own decision.
Finding #2 – The Holy Ghost does not whisper
There is only one scripture that indicates that the Holy Ghost “whispers”. In Doctrine and Covenants 85:6, we read,
“Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest,
We read the word “whispereth”, which sounds gentle and calm. But we take the word out of the context of the scripture. The rest of the verse states that the Holy Ghost “whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest”. The rest of the verse is neither gentle nor calm. High pitched alarms also pierceth my ears, and maketh my bones to quake, but it’s not a pleasant experience.
We also associate the Holy Ghost with a “still small voice”, again implying a whisper. Yet again, this saying is much more popular in church lessons than in the scriptures. Nephi tells his brothers in 1 Nephi 17 that an angel tried to talk to them in a “still small voice”. But that was an angel, not the Holy Ghost.
Another popular verse is found in 1 Kings 19:12, where the Lord is instructing Elijah. To make a point, the Lord passes by Elijah. The resulting wind breaks rocks and is followed by an earthquake. Then (and I quote)
“And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
Many people interpret this voice to be the Holy Ghost, but… again we are taking the last four words out of context. There was a great wind, a strong earthquake, and then a fire before the whisper of the Lord. We see the same sequence during the Savior’s visit to the Americas. Again, the Nephites heard “a small voice that did pierce them that did hear to the center”. But it came after Zarahemla was burned by fire, the city of Moroni sunk into the sea, and several other cities were violently destroyed. Then there were three days of darkness where no light could shine. Do you think the Lord caught the attention of the Nephites?
We like to separate the “still, small voice” from the destruction it accompanies in 1 Kings and 3 Nephi. Obviously, those were both very special circumstances. So why do we think that the voice of the Holy Ghost will be a still small voice? I have heard a few people bear witness that in a particularly difficult time in their lives, they have heard a disembodied voice giving them counsel or warning. Such revelations are very rare, but almost always, the voice was clear and unmistakable. Yet, the phrase “still, small voice” is so common it has become another name for the Holy Ghost. Does the Holy Ghost often audibly whisper? If he doesn’t, we shouldn’t continue the teaching that we “hear” the “voice” of the Spirit. It’s false teaching.
Due to these teachings, as a younger man, I spent many hours on my knees struggling to hear the whispers of the Holy Ghost. It’s a very frustrating way to pray. Today I realize those hours were spent in the wrong pursuit. I was straining to listen and not examining my own emotional responses. Only very rarely does the Holy Ghost speak audibly, so, in your prayers, don’t strain to hear it.
Now let’s discuss how a witness by the Holy Ghost can be recognized.
Finding #3 - The Holy Ghost will often witness to the truth in feelings and words you wouldn’t have chosen.
I joined the church when I was nineteen years old. When I sat down for the first discussion with the missionaries in my friend’s home, I got the three-word impression, “This is right”. I remember chastised myself, thinking, “The question is if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church. Try to stay focused.” It wasn’t until I had a chance to think about the experience that I recognized it as a prompting. I might have expected such a revelation, given what I was doing. But this is not how I would have worded the reassurance, so I don’t believe to this day that it came from my brain.
I went through the lessons, and the missionaries asked me to pray about the Book of Mormon of course.One time, as I prayed, I received my answer. I felt a peaceful confirmation of the truth of what I was reading. There were no words, just a feeling that here was truth.
While on my mission, my companion and I were tracting, knocking on doors and offering to teach the Gospel. We turned into one of the thousands of small cul-de-sacs in Mexico City and I had a distinct feeling to not continue. A sense of dread filled me as I looked down the street. My immediate response was to argue with the prompting. (Yes, this may explain why I don’t get more such promptings.)I thought, “This is just like any other street in our area. What’s the problem?”. But the feeling persisted, so I declared to my junior companion that we needed to skip that street.
Finding #4 - The Holy Ghost will often witness to the truth of something you aren’t even thinking about.
You see, our brains like to think in consecutive lines of thought. One thought leads to another, which leads to the next. Remembering you need milk during your drive home may be prompted by seeing a grocery store billboard, which leads to your assessment of what you have in your refrigerator, which leads to your recalling the milk container was almost empty this morning. The Holy Ghost, however, does not have to follow your lines of thought.
During one of my job changes, my family and I were driving through Ohio, so we stopped at the Newel K. Whitney store in Kirtland. We had just ascended to the second floor of the store, where the School of the Prophets took place. Our toddler Sean suddenly turned around and sprinted back towards the stairs. As I chased him down, calculating if I would arrive at the landing ahead of him, I received a totally unexpected witness that this building was a sacred place. I did manage to catch my fleeing toddler, but inside I only felt appreciation for the witness I had received.
The four spiritual experience that I have just shared with you are the most recognizable, significant communications I have had from the Holy Ghost over my life. Looking back on those moments of inspiration, I recognize that my witnesses of the Holy Ghost were not actually messages to my brain.They were messages to my entire being, always accompanied by emotion. In the four promptings I have received, I felt reassured, peaceful, pure dread, and then deep appreciation. All of these feelings were emotional – and I am not an emotional person. So, as hard as it is for me, the host of the podcast Science and Scriptures, to downplay the role of using your mental and analytical thought process… I must. When it comes to receiving a witness of the Holy Ghost, learning to discern what emotions are being initiated by the Holy Ghost is more important than discerning your own thoughts. You will either feel reassured and peaceful, or you will not.
Finding #5 - The Holy Ghost will send confirmations of your feelings of appreciation and love.
I have had numerous… short confirmations from the Holy Ghost. You know, the kind that last just a second or two. Sometimes, these confirmations come in response to a particularly meaningful insight of a speaker or teacher at church. I think, “I never considered that perspective, but it’s true.” Then comes the short confirmation that Yes, it is true. I love those spirit-confirmed epiphanies.
Feelings of love and appreciation are also followed by confirmations from the Holy Ghost. When my wife is looking particularly brilliant and she smiles or winks at me, I have a flash of emotional appreciation in which I think, “I am so lucky to be married to that woman!”. This thought is often followed by an immediate confirmation by the Holy Ghost, saying, “Yes, you are!” My heart swells and my eyes tear up.
These short confirmations happen at church meetings all the time. The concept that the Holy Ghost will confirm your appreciation and love for your family should be better understood in the church by now. Sisters especially - as they finish up a talk or testimony – often choose to express their love for their families. The Holy Ghost, which is strong anyway because of the subject of the talk, confirms this thought, often very strongly. The speaker’s heart swells, her eyes tear up… and she loses the ability to speak for a few moments. As a congregation, we wait patiently. We have all seen this occur a thousand times. You’d think we’d learn to not mention our family in talks and testimonies. I have choked up myself at the podium, thinking each time that I can certainly handle mentioning my family in a testimony without getting emotional. I can talk about my family in social settings without getting teary-eyed. But in front of a congregation at church, it seems nearly impossible. I blame that inability and the delay it causes in our church meetings on the Holy Ghost, who chooses the most inopportune moments to witness to one’s love for their family.
Finding #6 – When the Lord wishes to communicate with you, you must trust the Holy Ghost to do that
In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with an angel of the Lord all night long. Finally as the sun rose, Jacob told the angel, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Over my lifetime, I have felt as if I have wrestled with the Holy Ghost in much the same way. I have prayed, often insistently, to understand what direction I should go at the many forks in my life’s path. Looking back on those times, they still feel like wrestling matches.
But this is not how our interactions with the Holy Ghost should go. First, you can’t pin down the Holy Ghost like Jacob pinned the angel.Secondly, it shouldn’t be that hard.For years, we were taught that, if we wanted an answer from God, we needed to pray hard. The concept was that if you wanted something bad enough from God, you should be prepared for some long, hard prayers. This effort often involved staying on your knees for long stretches of time, pleading in prayer.
It is painful to hear good church members describe their marathon prayers. In several decisions in my life, I remember becoming angry with the Holy Ghost for His lack of response. Gradually I came to realize that this was not what the Lord wanted my prayers to be like. Why would God want his children to have harsh experiences every time they talk to Him. Enos may have cried unto the Lord both day and night, but he was in the act of repenting, which does take some time. He was not requesting an answer to a simple prayer. There is a big difference.
The Holy Ghost, just like the Savior and Heavenly Father, should be a good friend. You can’t wrestle Him down or hold Him hostage. If you have questions of God that He is not answering – there is a reason for His silence. Most likely, your question is such that Heavenly Father feels no need to answer. You may be praying to know whether you should move to Detroit. It’s an important decision for you, with life-changing consequences. But if such a move does not affect your eventual return to Him – is where you live really that important to the Lord? If you want, you can, of course, continue to “pray and repeat” for weeks. But you don’t have to. The Lord heard your question the first time. You must have faith in the Lord and the Holy Ghost to answer – or not answer – your question when you ask. Please note that prayer is often a time when people meditate on their decisions. Prayer gives you a silent time to review the reasons for, and against, a move to Detroit. This meditation tends to clarify your real desires, without the Holy Ghost being involved at all.
In case you are thinking, “Well what about the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18?” In this parable, a widow hounds an unjust judge until he agrees to avenge her of an enemy. In the concluding verse of that parable, the Savior says,
“And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”
In this parable, the widow is asking for vengeance and then the Savior assures us that God will “avenge His own elect”. That is a whole different request than simply asking the Lord for a visit by the Holy Ghost to confirm a question you have. I have never understood the use of this parable to teach we should expect to pray for hours on end over days and days to get a simple answer. Instead, I believe that if you don’t get an affirmative in your prayer, then you can assume the Lord has no opinion on the matter.You choose.
To conclude this discussion about the Holy Ghost, let me read to you one of my favorite verses that explains how you how inspiration and understanding from the Holy Ghost should come to you. In Doctrine & Covenants 121, we read,
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth;”
Revelation from the Holy Ghost should, like the doctrine of the priesthood, feel as if they “distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven”.This is a wonderful descriptor. It is a natural, emotional, and calming experience – not a wrestling match.
So, that is all I have for you today. Thank you for listening to this podcast. I hope my analysis of the Holy Ghost helps you in your future prayers and communications.As always, if you think this episode might help a friend or family member, please share it with them. This is Scott Frazer from the podcast Science and Scriptures. Take care and have a good week.