PROVO, Utah — In the face of the challenges of life, the companionship of the Holy Ghost is a valuable gift, Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve told young adults during a Church Educational System fireside at the BYU Marriott Center on Sunday evening, Sept. 10.
"I will tell you tonight how to recognize that gift, how to receive it every day in your life, and how it will bless you in the days ahead," he said.
Elder Eyring's wife, Kathleen, accompanied him to the fireside. Other General Authorities attending were Elder Cecil O. Samuelson Jr. of the Seventy and President of BYU, with his wife, Sharon; Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy, Church Commissioner of Education, and his wife, Janeil; and Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy, CES administrator, and his wife, Jill.
The fireside was broadcast via satellite to meetinghouses throughout North America and many other parts of the world.
Elder Eyring told the congregation that most who have been baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost have felt the effects of the gift telling them that something was true.
"The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Truth," he said. "You feel peace, hope and joy when it speaks to your heart and mind that something is true. Almost always, I also have felt a sensation of light. Any feeling I may have had of darkness is dispelled. And the desire to do right grows."
He added, "The Lord also promised that those who have accepted the gift of the Holy Ghost in their lives would not be deceived," as confirmed in Doctrine and Covenants 45:56-59.
"Of all the things to which the Holy Ghost testifies ... none is more precious to us than that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God," Elder Eyring continued. "And nothing is so likely to make us feel light, hope and joy. Then it is not surprising that when we feel the influence of the Holy Ghost we also can feel that our natures are being changed, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We feel an increased desire to keep His commandments, to do good and to deal justly."
He said it is possible to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, though it is not easy. To do so, three requirements apply to everyone, though "none of them can be gained and retained from a single experience. All of them must be constantly renewed."
The first requirement is "faith in our Heavenly Father and in His beloved Son, Jesus Christ," he said.
"A memory of a great spiritual experience some time ago, where you had confirmed to you that truth, won't be sufficient. You will need to be sure of your faith in the moment of crisis, which may come at any time day or night, when you plead for the influence of the Spirit."
The second requirement, he said, is to be clean.
"If you have difficulty in feeling the Holy Ghost you might wisely ponder whether there is anything for which you need to repent and receive forgiveness," he stated.
The Atonement of Christ makes it possible to repent and be forgiven he said. "You can pray with faith to know what to do to be cleansed and thus qualified for the companionship of the Holy Ghost and the service of the Lord. And with that companionship you will be strengthened against temptation and empowered to detect deception."
The third requirement is "pure motive, wanting the gifts of the Spirit for the right reasons."
He said, "Your purposes must be the Lord's purposes. To the degree your motives are selfish you will find it difficult to receive those gifts of the Spirit which have been promised to you."
He illustrated using an experience he had during a school examination on the mathematics of thermodynamics. He felt a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that what he was reading in the textbook was true. "So I knew that the Holy Ghost understood whatever was true in what I might be asked on an examination in thermodynamics.
"You can imagine that I was tempted to ask God to send me the Holy Ghost during the examination so I wouldn't need to study further. I knew that He could do it, but I did not ask Him."
To ask for such help with an exam, a job interview, preparing a talk or missionary discussion without personal preparation may be motivated by selfishness rather than the will of the Lord.
He said, "For instance, I may want a good grade in a course when He prefers that I learn how to work hard in the service of others. I may want a job because of the salary or the prestige when He wants me to work somewhere else to bless the life of someone I don't even know yet."
Elder Eyring told of a General Authority who seemed to be rambling in his comments rather than giving his typically polished sermon during a local conference. Elder Eyring, then a local priesthood leader, realized the General Authority was "touching the need of every poor struggling member and family we were trying to help. He did not know them or their needs. But God did.
"How grateful I am that His motive was not to give a great sermon or to be seen as a powerful prophet. ... The Holy Ghost came that night. And the Lord's will was done."
Elder Eyring concluded, "I pray with all the energy of my heart that you will have your prayers answered to meet the requirements to receive the Holy Ghost."
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