"As I have looked back over my life it is clear to me that many decisions, some seemingly small at the time, caused me to climb to higher plains than I would had I not yielded to the enticings of the Holy Spirit," said Elder Kenneth Johnson of the Seventy.

Elder Kenneth Johnson

"Without this glorious gift we cannot comprehend the purpose of life or the great plan of the Eternal Father."

Speaking Sunday afternoon, Elder Johnson recounted a boyhood experience when he and his friends entered the grounds of a beautiful home and "climbed trees and hurriedly plucked fruit, filling our pockets and also the space between our shirts and our bodies.

"My heart was pounding and my pulse racing since I feared that any moment the dog or Mr. Lyons (the home owner), or both, would appear in the garden and apprehend us," he said.

Elder Johnson told how they found a secluded place in a nearby wooded area and began eating apples that were not ripe. "The tartness of these green apples did not deter us as we enthusiastically consumed our spoils," he said.

Soon, the frivolity diminished, and he began to experience stomach cramps and to feel nauseated.

"As I sat regretting what I had done, I realized that a feeling within me was producing even more discomfort than the unripe apples," he continued. "The greater discomfort resulted from the realization that what I had done was wrong. . . .

"Now, after the deed had been accomplished, I was filled with remorse. To my regret, I had ignored the promptings warning me of the error of my actions."

Years later, Elder Johnson said, teachings by President Boyd K. Packer touched a tender chord with him. " 'We cannot set off on a wrong course without first over-ruling a warning,' "

Elder Johnson told how several weeks after the apple incident he met his friends in the woods. They were huddled together smoking a pack of cigarettes. He declined their invitation to join them, which drew their taunts and ridicule. Elder Johnson said he was not a member of the Church at that time and knew nothing of Church teachings. But he said he felt "restrained by a feeling within that I should not participate with them."

"I discovered something about myself," he said, "about the source of real happiness and the invigoration that results from making the right decision. . . .

"These intimations, sometimes referred to as conscience but more accurately defined as the Light of Christ, not only help us in deciding what is right and what is wrong, they will, if followed, lead us to the source of that light which emanates from the presence of the Father and the Son," he said.

"In this turbulent troubled world we can find assurance and enjoy peace of conscience by believing the words of the prophets and through the companionship of the Comforter."