Obtaining the Spirit

In the revelation to Hyrum Smith the Lord told of two ways that he would obtain the Spirit.  First, He told Hyrum, “And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy” (D&C 11:12-13).  In other words, if Hyrum would live righteously and humbly, the Lord would give him the Spirit.  He then told Hyrum, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men” (D&C 11:21).  Here the emphasis was on studying the scriptures.  If Hyrum would obtain the word by studying the Bible and the translations Joseph was working on (the Book of Mormon), he would be given the Spirit so he could preach the gospel.  Surely both of those things—living righteously and studying the scriptures—are important pieces for us to learn how to receive the Spirit in our lives.  

               Several other scriptures similarly teach other things that we can do to obtain the Spirit.  One of those is sincere prayer.  In the Lord’s law to the Church He said, “And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach” (D&C 42:14).  We are given the Spirit by praying with faith; another verse also emphasizes prayer as part of receiving the Spirit: “Let them ask and they shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto them, and be made known from on high, even by the Comforter, whither they shall go” (D&C 75:27).  Of course the most famous verse about obtaining the Spirit through prayer comes from Moroni: “I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4-5).  We of course can’t command the Spirit, but prayer coupled with faith is a way to invite the Spirit to be with us.  Another verse from Moroni refer to the need for faith in obtaining the Spirit: “But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record” (Ether 4:11).  Another passage in the Doctrine and Covenants focuses on our humility as a prerequisite for the Spirit: “Let him be humble before me, and be without guile, and he shall receive of my Spirit, even the Comforter, which shall manifest unto him the truth of all things, and shall give him, in the very hour, what he shall say” (D&C 124:97).  Perhaps the most important scriptural teaching about obtaining the Spirit is in the Sacrament prayers: “That they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them” (Moroni 4:3).  Putting these together we find that living righteously, studying the scriptures, praying with faith, humbling ourselves before the Lord, and remembering the Savior are the kinds of things we need to do to have the Spirit with us.