Elder David A. Bednar
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
Just as Latter-day Saints are immersed in water upon baptism, they must become immersed in the Spirit of the Lord to obtain the promised remission of sins.
In routine living, the intensity with which members feel the spirit's influence is not always the same. "Even as we strive to be faithful and obedient, there simply are times when the direction, assurance and peace of the Spirit are not readily recognizable in our lives." The promise upon receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is that "it may always be with us," but it is possible to withdraw oneself from that spirit.
"The standard is clear. If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing or doing that thing . . . Because we estrange the Spirit of the Lord when we engage in activities we know we should shun, then such things definitely are not for us."
The Liahona, or compass, used by Lehi to guide his people to a new land, has a parallel in the Holy Ghost. "As we strive to align our attitudes and actions with righteousness, then the Holy Ghost becomes to us today what the Liahona was for Lehi and his family in their day." The Holy Ghost will withdraw from those who are not living the gospel.
