Given You by the Comforter

I appreciated the anecdote with which Brother Chad H. Webb began his recent talk in general conference: “A story is told of a young university student who struggled with a challenging class, so he hired a tutor to help him. Near the end of the course, the professor announced that students could bring to the final exam one piece of paper on which they could place anything they wanted. Some students prepared by making tiny notes with information from lectures and textbooks, readable only by using a magnifying glass. But the young man arrived at the final exam with a blank sheet of paper and a stranger. When the professor questioned him, the young man replied, ‘You said I could bring one piece of paper with anything on it.’ He then placed the paper on the floor next to his desk and said, ‘I’d like my tutor to stand on my piece of paper.’” Whether that happened or not, the story to me is a powerful reminder that we do have such a tutor who can be with us always, even in something like a school exam. I recently took a test for an online class in which we were instructed that we could not discuss the problems with any other human being. Gratefully I don’t think the Holy Ghost counted in that restriction, for I felt that when I got stuck, I did receive ideas and thoughts to enable me to successfully complete the exam. No matter what we are facing, we can have such a constant companion who can “teach [us] the truth and the way whither [we] should go” (Doctrine and Covenants 79:2). The Lord invites us with these words: “Go your way whithersoever I will, and it shall be given you by the Comforter what you shall do and whither you shall go” (Doctrine and Covenants 31:11). Whenever we wish that could have a personal tutor to stand by us and coach us, we should remember that we can have exactly that.

               Brother Webb also shared this story about his wife: “There was a time before we were married when my wife, Kristi, was struggling to feel Heavenly Father’s love and to understand His plan for her. As she prayed for guidance, an impression came that she should attend institute, so she enrolled in a New Testament class. The way her institute teacher taught from the scriptures, even the way he held them, showed how much he loved the word of God. As she attended, the Holy Ghost whispered to her that there was something in the scriptures that she needed. Her teacher’s love for the scriptures and the promptings of the Holy Ghost gave her a desire to begin a serious study of the word of God.” I believe that feeling she received is one that applies to us all: there is something in the scriptures that we each need. Though we might think of the Holy Ghost as our personal tutor, when we need help sometimes the answer may be to first search the scriptures. We should not think of the Holy Ghost as an AI tool that simply tells us whatever we want to know; rather the Spirit is like a good human teacher who will guide us to discover truth for ourselves and encourage us to diligently learn through study and pondering. We can’t expect the Holy Ghost to simply give us answers if we haven’t done our part to read and study the course textbook.

               Actually, perhaps there is some merit is the AI tool comparison. How does an AI tool work? It gets trained based on numerous examples so that it can extrapolate from there and provide feedback or predictions. Hence there is a body of knowledge it uses in conjunction with a mathematical framework to turn that knowledge into something with predictive power. In a similar manner, if we want knowledge and wisdom and direction from the Holy Ghost, we should use the examples we have been given—in the scriptures—to learn divine patterns. Then the Holy Ghost can use that knowledge that we have gained to extrapolate for our own unique situations and challenges. It then is the mechanism that can turn what we learn from the scriptures into insights and directions for our own lives. But if have not sufficiently filled our reservoir with divine truth, there will not be as much knowledge for the Holy Ghost to draw from to direct us.   

               I love this promise of the Savior: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:26-27). As we diligently seek Him through the scriptures and prayer, the Holy Ghost can indeed teach us truth, enhance our memory, and grant us the peace of the Savior.