CES Fireside: 'And they knew it not'
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OREM, Utah — Every young Latter-day Saint "has not only the right but the obligation to understand what the gift of the Holy Ghost is," declared President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, at a Church Educational System fireside March 5.
"And when you do," he told the vast congregation of college-age Church members, "the Spirit will be present with you often enough and in such power as to protect you in whatever you do, particularly in the choices you make, the choice of whom you should marry, what you should do by way of occupation. And it will bless you in times of struggle and difficulty that certainly will be part of your life."
The fireside was held at the David O. McKay Events Center on the campus of Utah Valley State College. By satellite, it was beamed to stake centers and Institute of Religion buildings in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Mexico.
Many have no appreciation of gift
President Packer told the gathering: "I come to you as a teacher. I have no written text, but I do have a message. The title of my message is five words: 'And They Knew It Not.' "
The title was an allusion to the Savior's words in 3 Nephi 9:20: "And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." (Emphasis added.)
"We can imagine that," President Packer remarked, "because every one of us at times, and many of us all the time, have no appreciation or understand the gift that we have, the power and authority that come. As you read the revelations, you'll find the Holy Ghost referred to as a Comforter — think of that, a Comforter — and as a teacher. And we're told that it will abide with us and be in us."
After the death and resurrection of Christ, He commissioned His apostles to take the gospel to the world and promised them they would be clothed with power from the Father, President Packer explained.
"The promise . . . was not long in coming," he added. "The 11 of them were gathered in a house, and a great event happened. It was the day of Pentecost, a great Jewish celebration, and suddenly in the room where they were gathered, there was a sound of a great rushing of wind, and then, cloven tongues like unto fire descended and lighted on every one of them. And they received the Holy Ghost.
"The gift of the Holy Ghost, then, was with the apostles."
Through the years, the light typified by the cloven tongue of fire flickered and then dimmed, President Packer said. Certain Christian reformers tried to keep it alive, "but to reform what was left was not enough," he added.
Then, the gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and with it, the gift of the Holy Ghost, he recounted. Revelations came which taught that each baptism was to be accompanied by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, President Packer said.
One of the things that looms out of the scriptures, he noted, is that the gift of the Holy Ghost is for every member of the Church. "Not just for the Twelve; they were to take it and give it to everyone, so that all that is inherent in baptism and in the gift of the Holy Ghost is available and should be present with every member of the Church."
He declared: "We have so much power that's available to us, and we shouldn't fear. The marvelous thing is that it operates with every one of us in our own lives. And the Lord hasn't required that all of us choose the same occupation or be the same size or weight or age or anything else. It's available to everyone who will come with a contrite spirit, a broken heart, who will receive the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost."
Have some courage
Lamenting that Latter-day Saints typically "use it so little and so infrequently," President Packer affirmed, "But it is ours, and if we prepare ourselves, that voice will speak to us."
He cautioned that certain care must be exhibited, and he quoted Moroni 7:17, that the devil "persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him."
"And those who subject themselves unto him are those of whom you need to beware," President Packer said. "Many of them are outside the Church, attacking the Church. Some of them are within the Church, some who pretend to be members in good standing and yet are always criticizing and tearing down. . . . Have some courage! You have the right, in institutions of higher learning, to live and act and study in such a way that your faith is not belittled or challenged. Have some courage when that happens."
Take hold of that supernal gift
President Packer recalled a time when he was in the military and placed at Washington State University for training with a group of young men who seemed to have advantages of status, wealth and position. He introduced himself as being from a little town in northern Utah and told of his family background and membership in the Church.
"To my great surprise, I was accepted," he said. "They didn't care that my father wasn't a member of the president's cabinet or that our family hadn't gone 'on the continent' [to Europe]. And I learned something: Since that time I have had no fear of meeting people of high station or any people, and have felt the confidence that comes when you have the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"Now, I know, because the scriptures tell us, that when a man speaks with the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost will carry it into the hearts of those that listen.
"Go forward without fear. Do not fear the future. Do not fear whatever is ahead of you. Take hold of that supernal gift of the Holy Ghost. Learn to be taught by it. Learn to call upon it. Learn to live by it. And the Spirit of the Lord will attend you. You will be blessed as it was intended that we should all be blessed with this supernal gift of the Holy Ghost, which can be conferred only by authority and by the laying on of hands, and there is no other church on the face of the earth that has the authority to confer this supernal gift."
