We MUST Apply What We Learn

I am in my first trimester of pregnancy right now and all I can find the motivation to do is sleep and eat! So, needless to say I haven't been as consistent in posting as I would like to but I will be trying.

Back to learning more about listening to the spirit and having prayers answered and back to Elder Scott's great wisdom on the subject. Elder Scott says, "To obtain spiritual direction or to acquire spiritual knowledge are not sufficient--you must find the courage and strength to consistently use them."

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will,, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

D&C 58:26-28; see also verses 29-33

From Elder Scott's book, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy

Acquiring Spiritual Guidance

Elder Scott says, "To acquire spiritual guidance and to obey it with wisdom, one must:

-Seek divine light, in humility
-Exercise faith, especially in Jesus Christ
-Repent
-Strive diligently to keep His commandments
-Pray continually
-Hearken to spiritual guidance
-Express gratitude

Humility and Personal Revelation

Humility is such an important part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is especially important when one desires to gain more knowledge and receive spiritual gifts.

Going back to Elder Scott's book, Finding, Peace, Happiness and Joy, he states:

"Why is humility essential to the acquiring of spiritual knowledge? To be humble is to be teachable. Humility permits you to be tutored by the Holy Spirit and to be taught from sources inspired by the Lord, such as the scriptures, the voice of His servants, or inspired parents. The seeds of personal understanding and growth germinate and flourish in the fertile soil of humility. When cultivated through the exercise of faith, pruned by repentance, and fortified by obedience and good works, such seed produce the cherished fruit of spirituality. Divine guidance and power then result -- guidance to know the will of the Lord, and power to provide the capability to accomplish that inspired will. Such power comes from God after we have done "all we can do."

A proud individual cannot know the things of the spirit. Paul taught this truth, saying:

"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God... But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness not him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Therefore, spiritual guidance must be cultivated in the environment of humility. Pride, overconfidence, selfishness, seeking for position or the honors of men, stifle spiritual direction."

(Elder Richard G. Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy, pg 65-66)

**We can all be humble on our own to a certain degree, but ultimately we must ask Heavenly Father to teach us to be humble and show us where we aren't humble. Unless we ask we will not really understand what true humility is.

The Spirit Speaks to Your Heart and Mind

"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation."

-D&C 8:2-3

Did you know that the spirit can speak to you almost word for word in your mind? Like dictation.

Elder Scott says: "Sometimes the impressions are just general feelings. Sometimes the direction comes so clearly and so unmistakably that it can be written down word for word, like spiritual dictation."

He then goes on to describe an experience he had with this dictation. He was in a Sunday church meeting when the impressions came flooding in, "I received such an outpouring of impressions that were so personal that I felt it inappropriate to try to record them in the midst of a Sunday School class. I sought a more private location. There I continued to write the feeling that flooded into my mind and heart as accurately and as faithfully as possible. After each powerful impression was recorded, I pondered the feeling I had received to determine if I had accurately expressed them in writing. As a result, I made a few minor changes to what had been written. Then I studied their meaning and application in my own personal life.

Subsequently I prayed, reviewing with the Lord what I thought I had been thaught by the Spirit. When a feeling of peace and serenity confirmed what I had sought, I thanked Him for the guidance given. I was then impressed to ask if there was yet more that I could be given to understand. I received further impressions, and the process of writing down the impression and pondering and praying to know if I had done it properly was repeated. Again I was prompted to ask, "is there more I should know?" There was. When that last, most sacred experience was concluded, I had received some of the most precious, specific, personal direction one could ever hope to obtain in this life. I am convinced that had I not responded to the first impressions, valued, and recorded them, I would not have received the last, most precious guidance. What I have described in not an isolated experience."

-Elder Richard G. Scott, "Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy" pgs. 42,45,46

Personal Revelation

I love Elder Scott's book, "Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy." He has a chapter called, To Understand Spiritual Guidance. I will be writing a few of the key points from that chapter in the next few posts.

"Another example underscores the clarity of spiritual communication. You may have opened your eyes under water while swimming. Everything looks blurred and difficult to identify, yet with the aid of a diver's mask, every detail can be seen with absolute clarity. Satan tries to blur reality and confuse you by tempting you to incorporate false principles into your life. Father in Heaven can clarify your life by sharing correct principles through the Holy Ghost. How you exercise your moral agency will determine which of these two influences will be predominant in your life. Your happiness now and for the eternities will unquestionably be determined whether or not you follow the spiritual guidance of the Lord communicated through the Holy Ghost."

President Kimball taught: "Revelations will probably never come unless they are desired. I think few people receive revelations while lounging on a couch... I believe most revelations would come when a man (or women, I would add) is on his tip toes, reaching as high as he can for something which he know he needs, and then there bursts upon him the answer to his problems."
-Elder Richard G. Scott, "Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy"

Importance of Personal Revelation

"Personal communication with God through the Holy Spirit is a reality. To me it is as literally real as life itself and far more precious than all of the treasure of the earth. As you understand and use the eternal principles governing such communication, you can learn that the counsel of others and the programs of the Church are useful aids but not the best source of fundamental direction in you life. That guidance come from the Lord through the Holy Ghost."

-Richard G. Scott, "Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy"