How does the Holy Ghost help me learn?

January 2013

What do you do when you find yourself caught in a boring sacrament meeting?

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in one”President Spencer W. Kimball.

As we come to each meeting prepared to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118), the Holy Spirit will be our teacher. If we come to be entertained, we often will be disappointed. Elder Donald L. Hallstrom , Presidency of the Seventy, April 2012 General Conference

Why do you think President Kimball said this?

When I was five years old, a major conference was held at the [Honolulu] tabernacle. We walked down the lane on which we lived and over a small bridge leading to the stately meetinghouse and sat on about the 10th row in the large chapel. Presiding and speaking at the meeting was David O. McKay, the President of the Church. I do not recall anything he said, but I vividly remember what I saw and what I felt. President McKay was dressed in a cream-colored suit and, with his wavy white hair, looked very regal. In the tradition of the islands, he wore a triple-thick red carnation lei. As he spoke, I felt something quite intense and very personal. I later understood that I was feeling the influence of the Holy Spirit. We sang the closing hymn.

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?Now is the time to show.We ask it fearlessly:Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?(“Who’s on the Lord’s Side?” Hymns, no. 260)

With those words being sung by nearly 2,000 people but seeming to be a question posed just to me, I wanted to stand and say, “I am!”

When have you felt the Spirit strongly at Church?

What did you do to prepare spiritually for these experiences?

How does the Spirit help me to learn?Scripture How?

John 16:13

1 Corinthians 2:9-14

1 Nephi 10:19

Alma 5:45-46

Doctrine & Covenants 11:12-14

What could happen if we tried to study the gospel without the help of the Spirit?

When have you felt the influence of the Holy Ghost while learning the gospel?

How can I receive more spiritual promptings?In our Church meetings, in our personal and family scripture study, and even this day as we listen to the Lord’s prophets and apostles, some of us will receive more than others. Why? I am learning that those who truly receive do at least three things that others may not do.

1. Seek. We live in an entertainment world, a spectator world. Without realizing it, we can find ourselves coming to conference or going to church with the attitude, “Here I am; now inspire me.” We become spiritually passive.When we focus instead on seeking and receiving the Spirit, we become less concerned about a teacher or speaker holding our attention and more concerned about giving our attention to the Spirit.

2. Feel. While revelation comes to the mind and heart, it is most often felt. Until we learn to pay attention to these spiritual feelings, we usually do not even recognize the Spirit.

3. Intend to act. As the prophet Moroni instructed, to receive a witness of the Book of Mormon, we must ask “with real intent” (Moroni 10:4). The Spirit teaches when we honestly intend to do something about what we learn.

How do you feel about this / what do you feel prompted to do?

Learning by the Holy Ghost, Preach My Gospel, page 18

Your gospel study is most effective when you are taught by the Holy Ghost. Always begin your gospel study by praying for the Holy Ghost to help you learn. He will bring knowledge and conviction that will bless your life and allow you to bless the lives of others. Your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. Your desire to repent and improve will grow.This kind of study prepares you for service, offers solace, resolves problems, and gives you the strength to endure to the end. Successful gospel study requires desire and action. “For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old” (1 Nephi 10:19). Like Enos, as you hunger to know the words of eternal life and as you allow these words to “[sink] deep into [your] heart” (Enos 1:3), the Holy Ghost will open your mind and heart to greater light and understanding.

Learning the gospel is also a process of receiving revelation (see Jacob 4:8). To Oliver Cowdery the Lord said: “Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right” (D&C 9:7–8). As you study, pay careful attention to ideas that come to your mind and feelings that come to your heart, particularly regarding the people you are teaching.

• What have you learned today?

• What feelings or impressions have you had?

• What does it mean to learn by the Spirit?

• What questions do you have?

• Would you like to spend more time on this topic?

• How will you know if you are living what you have been taught today?

Further study: Boyd K. Packer, “The Quest for Spiritual Knowledge,” New Era,Jan. 2007, 2–7