The Unspeakable Gift

The Lord taught the saints early in this dispensation, “And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:14). To receive the Holy Ghost, we must pray and do so in faith. I often pray for the Holy Ghost to guide our family in our daily activities, but I don’t know that this request is always accompanied with the faith and expectation that it will come. And yet, what could be more important? As I think about the difficulties of each of our family members, there isn’t a struggle that someone faces that wouldn’t be helped by having the Spirit more abundantly. As Elder Randy D. Funk taught succinctly in the most recent general conference, “The companionship of a member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost, provides much-needed guidance and comfort during this mortal life.” In a confusing world that often tears down our self-esteem, we need that guidance and comfort of the Holy Ghost more than ever. And I am realizing more as my children get older that they must learn to increasingly hear and receive that comfort and guidance in their lives as they start to be less inclined to be led by their parents. If they are to navigate the difficult choices ahead, they must have the Holy Ghost to lead them in paths of righteousness.

                One of the scriptures that Elder Funk shared in his address was an invitation from Alma to his people at the Waters of Mormon. He suggested that those willing to enter into a covenant with the Lord would be “redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life” and that if they would continue to serve Him He would “pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you” (Mosiah 18:9-10). As we choose to covenant with Him and keep His commandments, we can have His Spirit in abundance. Elder Funk spoke of a couple he taught on his mission in Indonesia and how “through sincere prayer and the guidance of the Holy Ghost” they gained a witness of the truth and were baptized. “That decision,” he commented, “and their pattern of living since, has blessed Brother and Sister Samad and their family in every aspect of their lives.” This story reminded me a wonderful lady from Cape Verde that we taught as missionaries and who likewise was blessed by her choice to be baptized. She told us shortly after her baptism that previously she had cried every night because she was sad and alone in a foreign country. But now she no longer cried at night and felt happy. Her physical situation had not really changed, but she had the Gift of the Holy Ghost and that made all the difference. She had chosen, like the people at the Waters of Mormon, to covenant with the Lord and be numbered among His people, and He had poured out His Spirit abundantly upon her.

                I hope that I can indeed pray in faith to invite the Spirit more abundantly in our home so that we too can turn tears of sorrow into joy. The Lord promised the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was languishing in grief in Liberty Jail that “the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion.” The prophet also wrote in the same revelation that “God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:26, 46). How desperately we need that knowledge and companionship and “unspeakable gift” in our lives, and I pray that it can be poured out upon all of us more abundantly as we hold fast to our covenants with Him.