God Speaks to Me - This is How
-Russell M. Nelson, living prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
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| "Pillar of Light" by Brent Borup |
God speaks to mankind today, He still has prophets that he speaks to, He still calls representatives to witness and testify of Christ, and ... He also wants to talk to YOU.
We can all receive personal revelation. I think that there is a lot of confusion and ignorance about our ability to receive counsel directly from our Father in Heaven. God speaks to us all the time, but usually in a way that we need to listen closely to understand. Can He actually appear to somebody and speak with them face to face? Yes! Does he do so often? No. Can He actually speak to us using words? Yes! Does He do so often? No. How does He communicate with us? In the simplest of ways.
Think Binary. The most simple of languages. Ones and zeros. True or false. Yes's and no's... YES or NO. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth. All truth. When you are learning about something true, when you are living in a true and righteous way, when you are thinking a good and true thought, then the Holy Ghost will be testifying of that truth. The feelings that you get from the Holy Ghost is a very simple way of Heavenly Father telling you "yes". The more you surround yourself with truth, then the more you will notice Heavenly Father telling you "yes, this is good, this is right." On the other hand, the more you surround yourself with things that are not true, or not good, the less you will feel that righteous influence of the Holy Ghost.
One of the most important things we can do is learn to hear and follow the promptings of the Spirit. How do we do that? What does the Holy Spirit feel like? Well, there are lots of explanations in the scriptures and words of the prophets, some of which I haven't personally experienced, but I've come to understand one important thing: People feel the Holy Ghost differently. I have never felt a burning in my bosom. I see people stand up in church to share their testimony, and they immediately begin to cry. Well, I very rarely feel like crying when I feel the Holy Ghost. What I do feel is peace. I feel peace, and I feel confidence. Sometimes I feel so much confidence that I get really excited about it. I feel like I want to go out and do good things. I want to act. But, that's just the way I feel the Spirit, the important thing for you is to understand how the Holy Ghost makes YOU feel. The best way that I can help you understand that, is to ask you... "How did it feel the last time you felt the Spirit?" I believe that everybody has felt the Holy Ghost at some point in their life. Think back on how it felt. Pray, and ask God if that feeling you're remembering is indeed the Holy Ghost. Pay close attention to your feelings during your prayer. Express your love and gratitude to Heavenly Father and then ask Him if He loves you. Again, pay attention to your feelings... That is how the Holy Ghost feels to you.
Now that you understand what a simple "yes" can feel like coming from God, what do you do next? You may think that the easiest and simplest thing to do is to ask YES or NO questions. Well, kind of... That may work, but it may not work the best unless you intend to do more. I have found that the Spirit works beyond language. Please understand that the Holy Ghost probably won't manifest itself as strongly to a simple thought, unless you actually have the intention of acting on the answer you receive, whatever it may be. Faith is important here. You show faith by setting aside your own doubts and fears. You show faith through acting on your good feelings. If the Holy Ghost will testify the truth of a good thought, it will testify even stronger about a good intention, and stronger still of good actions. In fact, showing faith by moving forward on the decisions that we feel are good is probably the best thing we could do to receive the Spiritual confirmation that we may be wanting. The feelings that I get when I'm moving forward with a good decision is usually very simple, but profound. I think "Well duh, I know this is good, why did I even have to ask?" and I feel peace, peace in my heart even if I may not have peace in my life or circumstances.
The more experience we have feeling the Holy Ghost and acting on our promptings, the more likely we will be open to future personal revelation. Just as the basic binary language can be used to communicate in more complex ways, completing intricate and complicated tasks, it is possible for Our Heavenly Father to speak to you in unique ways. Some people may have dreams that help them understand something important that God wants them to know. President Nelson recently told a story about how, while operating as a surgeon, the Holy Ghost formed a diagram of an unprecedented complex medical procedure in His mind. I recently felt a very powerful impression, and at the same moment a distinct thought formed in my mind. Although the words weren't audible, they were so focused and felt so important, that I know it was a statement from my Heavenly Father. I have at times since become overwhelmed by this bit of personal revelation, and I am very grateful that my Father in Heaven would offer me this tender mercy that I didn't even know that I needed at the time. I testify to you that we can all receive personal revelation.
So my advice to you, to put it simply:
- Understand how the Spirit feels to you.
- Clear your mind. Forget about your own fears, or the opinions of other people, and just focus on the opinion of God.
- Try to remember what God has already told you about your concerns in the past.
- Think simply and directly. Don't think "Which choice would be best" but rather, choose what feels best on your own (what thought makes you happy?), and then pray, saying "This is my decision. Is is good that I'm moving forward with this choice?"
- Pay attention to your feelings, does the thought of your choice still make you happy? Remember how the Holy Ghost feels to you.
- Act. Prove your faith by moving forward.
- Remember what Heavenly Father has taught you through the Holy Ghost. Hold onto that truth.
It is important to keep in our remembrance these manifestations of the Spirit that Heavenly Father blesses us with. Remember what the Spirit teaches you, remember the truth that it confirms with a 'YES', because sometimes, as time goes by, either the adversary, or the world, or the differing opinions of our friends or family, or even our own laziness will creep back in and cause us to doubt. The Spirit of God will want us to act on good things with faith. I have seen people decide to do something good, and then when obstacles come their way, they think that it must be a 'sign', and they stop. I've heard people mention that whenever they plan on going to the temple, everything seems to go wrong that day, or that right before leaving on a mission is when life gets the hardest, or when somebody decides to get baptized, their whole life falls apart. This is not from the Holy Ghost, God usually doesn't act that way. I've learned that our Heavenly Father isn't as intrusive as Satan tries to be in our lives. I do believe that our Heavenly Father CAN directly intervene in our lives when it is most important, yes, I have seen it, but usually He gives us the freedom to act on faith and grow and learn. A common way that the Holy Ghost tells us 'NO' is usually a feeling of confusion or uneasiness, basically it's just an absence of our 'yes' feeling. However sometimes the Lord may intervene more directly. A divine intervention may come as a gentle feeling of warning, or sometimes something more powerful or miraculous. I've seen machinery quit working at just the right moment to prevent something unfortunate from happening, and my wife has actually heard audible words that saved her from a horrible accident. The common element in any communication from the Spirit, is that its outcome, when followed through, will bring peace.
It is our responsibility to learn from God, and then act on those things, no matter what comes our way.
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