PROVO, Utah — Addressing the New Mission Presidents seminar June 28, Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke to the theme, "Teaching by the Holy Ghost."

Elder Henry B. Eyring

Getting revelation, he said, "is hard. It is not easy. The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is possible, but, oh, it is so hard."

In spiritual matters, missionaries "will hit walls," he said. "Missionary work is hard. Life is difficult. And they will come to places where they know that they should get revelation, and they will not find that it comes. They will struggle with that, and you need to know how to help them."

Elder Eyring reiterated the value of prayer and scripture study in inviting the Holy Ghost. "But it is not easy," he continued, recounting how President Spencer W. Kimball said that when he felt that heaven was closed to him, he would go back to the scriptures again.

"You can no more force the Spirit to respond than you can force a bean to sprout or an egg to hatch before its time," he said, quoting a statement by President Boyd K. Packer in the Preach My Gospel missionary manual.

The object of a mission president and his wife, Elder Eyring said, is to create a climate to foster growth, nourish and protect the gifts of the Spirit.

"You want to create in your mission and in the lives of your missionaries a climate which allows them to have the gifts of the Spirit," he said.

Missionary service, he continued, requires the gift to teach, the gift to find, the gift to plan, and other gifts.

"These gifts come in a climate where there is faith, and then hope. A change comes in our hearts and we have a feeling of charity — the pure love of Christ," he said.

"The Holy Ghost will teach you things to do to build that climate which allows the gifts of the Spirit to come, not only to teach, but in all that missionaries do."

Faith, he explained, is a principle of action. "If you want to have a climate of faith in your home and in your missionaries' lives, encourage them every time you can to move in faith when they feel impressions."

Reception of the gifts of the Spirit, he added, comes with a meek and lowly heart.

"Find some way," he admonished, "to give them the assurance that one of the sweetest revelations they can ever receive is the revelation that comes with forgiveness and the feeling that they are clean if they are worthy."

Mission presidents would like their missionaries to speak with everyone they see on the street, he said, to be unafraid, to pray over their plans.

"You want all of those things for them and you want them to go to any length, make every effort they can to take the gospel to people," he said.

Elder Eyring then drew an illustration from the sons of Mosiah who had charity. "The pure love of Christ . . . came out of their faith, enough to repent, and an assurance . . . that the Atonement worked in their lives," he said. When missionaries experience this change, he added, "you could not stop them. You won't have a problem of making your missionaries want to talk to people."