REXBURG, Idaho — "The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground, away from the path of physical and spiritual danger," Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve told BYU-Idaho students in his devotional address on Jan. 15.

Elder Henry B. Eyring

"As the world becomes darker and more dangerous, we must keep climbing. It will be our choice whether to move up or to stay where we are. But the Lord will invite and guide us upward by the direction of the Holy Ghost, which He sends to His leaders and to His people who will receive it."

Elder Eyring warned that the Indian Ocean tsunami and the earthquake that caused it "is just the beginning and a part of what is to come, terrible as it was." He reminded students of the words in Doctrine and Covenants Section 88: "For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes . . . the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people."

"Fear shall come upon all people. But you and I know that the Lord has prepared places of safety to which He is eager to guide us," said Elder Eyring.

He added, "The word of God will guide those who develop the capacity to receive it through the ministrations of the Holy Ghost."

Elder Eyring then listed four steps necessary to retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost:

• "The foundation is a burning desire to qualify for that gift," said Elder Eyring. Most people have felt the desire to have the Holy Ghost from time to time, he said, but it usually happens when they are in trouble. A better way to retain that desire is to reflect on the times the Holy Ghost has been felt in the past.

• The second step he listed is to pray in faith. "It takes the prayer of faith to bring the companionship of the Holy Ghost. It takes faith that God the Father, the Creator of all things, lives and wants to send us the Comforter. It takes faith that Jesus is the Christ and that He atoned for our sins and broke the bands of death."

• The third step is to carefully study the scriptures, especially those where the Savior speaks personally. "When I read the words spoken by the Savior in the scriptures, I grow in my capacity to recognize inspiration from the Holy Ghost," Elder Eyring said. "I can better recognize the voice of the Spirit when the Savior's words echo easily in my mind."

• The fourth step Elder Eyring taught is willing obedience to the Lord's commandments.