Holy Ghost

Sunday was ward conference and our stake president asked us to think about what have our prayers been about recently. What is the thing that we continually go to the Lord for asking for? What is it that we desire or need the most right now?

He then turned to the scripture 3 Nephi 19:9, Jesus appeared to the people in the Americas and it says of all the things they could pray for, "they did pray for that which they most desired: and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them." He challenged us to consider making that the most important thing we desire and we ask the Lord for daily. He talked about the importance of having the Holy Ghost in our lives. So if that is what we desire the most and realize how much we need it in our lives, what else can we do to ensure we have it with us?

He directed us to the sacrament prayer and the covenant the Lord makes with us. If we do always remember him, we are promised we will always have his spirit with us. Perfect! We have a promise from our Heavenly Father, that he will not break, and we renew that promise every single Sunday. If we try to remember our Heavenly Father and keep commandments, we can have his spirit with us.

Now I have four little kids, so I am sure he said many more great things I can't share, and I can't really convey what I was able to feel, but it was the truth of his words and that I need to have a greater desire to have that Holy Ghost in my life.

That feeling continued through the day when I went to Relief Society (I missed out on Sunday School having to sit in primary with my reluctant Sunbeam), but the lesson was from Howard W. Hunter. The first section is titled, "We must know Christ better than we know Him and remember Him more often than we remember Him." Isn't that what we promise to do in the sacrament prayer? We need to be better at that. It was just another push saying, "Hey, you can always be doing better. Living this way is a sure way to have the Holy Ghost in your life.

The next section in the manual was "Jesus is our only true source of hope and lasting joy." When our Stake President talked he mentioned how happiness is a blessing among those that have the Holy Ghost in their lives. Howard W. Hunter says, "Is there one among us, in any walk of life, who does not need hope and seek for greater joy? These are universal needs and longings of the human soul, and they are the promises of Christ to his followers." Truly it is the Holy Ghost we receive as we remember and follow Jesus that brings us the lasting joy our human soul longs for.

It was a good day to remember the importance, and blessings that come, from having the Holy Ghost with us always. If you want to study more, this is a terrific talk on the Holy Ghost - "The Unspeakable Gift of the Holy Ghost" by Jay E. Jensen.