Importance of the Holy Ghost

As Christ left this world, He left the Apostles with a great gift, the Holy Ghost. Christ taught them that His Spirit would “guide [them] in all truth,” “testify of [Him],” and would “teach [them] in all things, and bring all things to [their] remembrance” ( John 16:13, 15:26, and 14:26 respectively). Without the Holy Ghost with them after Christ departure, the Apostles would have had no enduring connection to God and no way to have His guidance in the affairs of the Church. The Church would quickly have deviated from Christ’s doctrine simply from human error and temptation. 

Just as the early apostles needed the guidance of the Spirit to show them what they should do, so we also need that guidance. We too have no connection to God without The presence of the Spirit. Without the promptings of the Spirit we are left to find our way on our own, not knowing for certain what is true and what is false. We are subject to the whim of Satan.

I know that I have felt this guidance in my life so many times. The most memorable for me would be the day that my late husband and I were married for time and eternity. I was young at the time, only nineteen. We had known each other for almost a year. As most people are on their wedding day, I was nervous. I remember thinking that eternity is a long time to be married to the wrong person. 

All through our courtship I had prayed to have guidance in the direction of our relationship. I had prayed to know whether this was the right thing for me. I had always felt that my prayer was answered in the positive. Still, as we went through the process of getting ready that morning in the temple, I was worried. Not enough to back out, but enough for it to be present in my thoughts.

Since there was time before our ceremony, we were directed to a couch to sit until it was time. I remember that as I sat there thinking about what we were about to do, I had the most amazing feeling of love and approval. I felt that this was most certainly the right choice and that Heavenly father was proud of my decisions that day. I knew then that our marriage was right and that we would be able to whether the storms that would come. We would have the power from God that we needed to make things work. 

Though we were only able to spend four years together on the earth, we still have eternity to look forward to. I also know that the feelings that I had that day were justified. My husband and I had problems, as any couple does, but we loved each other and we wouldn’t give up. Divorce wasn’t an out for us. My confirmation that day in the temple was a gift from Heavenly Father, through the Holy Ghost, to guide me in righteous decisions.

 We can have these kinds of promptings each day if we strive to live righteously and to listen for them. The Spirit will not compete for our attention. It has been said that he whispers. We must actively seek to hear his voice and to listen for his guidance.

Lord, is it I?

            So much of our lives are spent judging other.  “Did you see what she wore to church?” “I heard they were getting a divorce.” “He really struggles with his testimony.” “She’s headed for trouble” “He is trouble!” For some reason it can be so easy for us to see the ways in which others fall short of their standards or our standards for them. So many problems are created by our desire to find fault with others. How often do we look to ourselves for our areas of weakness?

            Before entering the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ spent time with His disciples. They ate and instituted the first Sacrament. During this time they were also told by Christ that one of them would betray Him. These men were the apostles. They had grown to be nearer to Christ than any other people on the earth. They loved him. Yet, one of them would betray them. 

Their response is telling. They asked only, “Lord, is it I?” (Matt 26:22) They all were sorrowful, knowing that this would happen and that it would be one of them. Instead of pointing the finger and trying to guess who if the Twelve it would be they turned to themselves, asking if the fault was theirs. 

We are so good at seeing the faults in others. So good at underestimating their contributions. Maybe we should look first within ourselves for the fault. Maybe it is us, not them, that needs improvement. 

Turning within ourselves for improvement instead of trying to pin down the faults in others does three things for us. First, it helps us to become better. It helps us to see where we need to step up and helps us fix those flaws.  Second, it helps us to see others as equal to us. When we stop noticing the bad in others, we start to see the good in them. We start to see them for what they can be instead of the problems that they have. Finally, it also helps to reduce conflict with others. Because of agency, we cannot change others, only ourselves. The choice to change is theirs alone. When we no longer focus on the faults we have the chance to love them. There is less fighting and the Spirit is more often present.

Let us be better about where we look for the source of our problems. Remember the Apostles during the Passover prior to Christ’s death and ask yourself, “Lord, is it I?”

Gethsemane

            Though they may not be my favorite single scripture, the most inspirational scriptures for me are those describing the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane. These scriptures mean more to me, personally, than even the scriptures describing his death. During the Savior’s time in the Garden, I find my connection to Him. Here I see him as human, like me. Here I see him suffering like me, only more so. Here I see him alone, like I have often felt. Here I see him exercise great faith and devotion, something that I wish I could do. In the Garden, Christ is me and comes through it like I wish I could. 

            Though Christ knew that he had to feel everything that each of us would go through, all of the pain, suffering, sorrow, grief…everything, he did not wish to be alone. Upon arriving in the Garden, He asks his disciples to watch with him. As He suffers through the sins of the world, he is left alone. His friends are asleep when he needs them most. He wakes them and tells them to “watch and pray”. Again, He doesn’t want to be left alone. As Christ continues with the atonement, the apostles doze off. He wakes them a third time, again prompting them to “watch and pray” and, again they sleep while He suffers.

            During some of His most difficult times, Christ’s closest followers, those he trusted most, left him. He knows what it is to suffer alone. For that reason we are never alone. He knows what we are dealing with and how it feels to go it by oneself. He truly knows what is going on. He will always understand what each of us is going through.

            During the time that the disciples were asleep, Christ suffered, so much so that He sweat blood. This pain is immense. Whatever I am going through is going to be something that I can get through because I know that He got through it and so much more. I also know that it is okay to not want to go through it. Christ didn’t. He asked three times to “let this cup pass from [him]”. Even a perfect man who knew his purpose had feelings of his own. Feelings are not a sin. It’s okay to be upset by trials. It’s okay to want to not have to deal with them. It’s okay to be sad. It’s human.

            The challenge comes when we realize that having feelings can’t interfere with doing what we need to do. Christ didn’t want to suffer. He knew it would be hard, even excruciating. However, when faced with the knowledge that this was what needed to be done and that He was the only one who was able to do it, He followed the will of the Lord. He loves us and His Father. He wanted all of us to be happy and to be able to return to the Father. So we must respond.

            When we are faced with trials that we would rather not have, we should pray to have them lifted (if it be the will of the Lord) but we should also pray to have the strength to endure those trials that are our to endure. Not all of our trials will be lifted. How else would we grow? As Christ did, we must say “Nevertheless, thy will be done.” Often, these trials will be the hardest trials of our lives. Often they will hurt, but with the strength of the Lord we can overcome.

            I said that I can see myself in Christ in the garden. What I mean by this is that I see parallels with my life and His time there. I have had so many trials that I then would have wished away, most recently the loss of my husband. I have prayed so hard for those trials to be lifted, but they weren’t. I did, however, come to learn to ask for the strength to do what I needed to, regardless of whether the trial was lifted or not. From Christ in the Garden I have learned that it is okay to be sorrowful about the trials that I have but I also have to face that I have them and I have to keep moving forward with what I know is right. I have to have faith that I am doing something worthwhile. It’s taken me a while, but I know I am.

           I’m not always the most faithful in my trials. I’m not the first person to fall into prayer during trouble, but I wish I was. While I have found some lessons in these scriptures, I still need to use them. I need to practice the faith that Christ showed. I need to follow the example that He set for me in my trials. That’s the only way that I can make it through.

That’s the only way that you can make it through.

Love One Another

While my last post discussed the importance of love in obedience, this time I would like to talk about how our love sets us apart as disciples of Christ. In John 13:34-35, Christ teaches that men will know us as disciples of Christ through our treatment of other people. This brings up the question “what does my treatment of others say about my devotion to Christ?” 

This question is something that I think on often, especially with regards to my family relationships. Am I acting, as a parent, the way that Christ would act toward my children? Have I shown my parents proper respect for their authority? Have I been Christlike in my dealings with friends and strangers? We are given so many chances to show our discipleship each day!

Treating others in line with how Christ would treat them requires us to humble ourselves and to set aside our fallen prejudices. We cannot see others as children of God, with eternal potential, if we are too busy seeing them as a screw-up, a drama queen, a jerk or a tightwad. In order to love others as Christ does, we must see them as Christ does. Christ knows each of us. He knows our potential. He knows our struggles. He knows how hard we are fighting depression or how tough it is to not yell at children. He know that life is complicated and that sometimes we do things that we regret. 

He loves us anyway!

            He also knows that hearts can be changed, that thoughts can be overcome. He knows that addictions can be fought and conquered. He wants us to see that too. We need to stop seeing the flaws in others and see their lives the way Christ see them, with love, faith, and hope. As we do this, others will see His love through us. We will be His hands in the lives of others, acting for him in his physical absence. 

            Disciples of a cause are followers of that cause. They pursue and spread it. Christ is not here for us to physically follow but He has marked the path for us. He has left detailed directions of the way that He took and the way that we should go. With those kinds of directions, we will never be lost and will always know where we should be going. Stopping to see the divinity in others makes us see the divinity in Christ. As we do, others will see His divinity in us.

The First Commandment

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

     When we think of the word “commandment” we often think of the Ten Commandments. There is, however, something that is greater than these. As Christ taught in Matthew chapter 22, the greater commandment is to love the Lord and to love others with all of our heart, soul, and mind. That’s a very complete kind of love.

     Why is that the greatest commandment? When we put the love of God, Christ, and Heavenly Father’s children as our first priority for obedience in our lives the other commandments fall into place. Would we disrespect the Sabbath if we loved the Lord? Would we steal, kill, or envy if we really wanted others to he happy and successful in life? We couldn’t. The actions that we are told to abandon in the Ten Commandments are in direct opposition to act of love.

     Think about those that are physically present in your life. Do you love them? If so, would you steal from them? Would you put someone else before them? Probably not. Our love binds us to a person and makes it so that we want their happiness. If we love God and His happiness in achieved through our obedience then our love brings our obedience. This is why the commandment to love is greater than the Ten. Through love, perfect obedience can happen.