Seek the Spirit of the
Lord
EZRA TAFT BENSON
FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE, ENSIGN, APRIL 1988
One sure way we can determine
whether we are on the strait and
narrow path is that we will possess the
Spirit of the Lord in our lives.
How do you know if you have the Spirit
working in your life?
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.
Bishop John Wells
President David O. McKay and President Harold B. Lee
used to relate an incident from the life of Bishop John
Wells that is instructive to all of us. Bishop Wells was a
great detail man and was responsible for many Church
reports.
A son of Bishop and Sister Wells was killed in a railroad
accident on October 15, 1915. He was run over by a
freight car. Sister Wells could not be consoled. She
received no comfort during the funeral and continued
her mourning after her son was laid to rest. Bishop Wells
feared for her health, as she was in a state of deep
anguish.
One day, soon after the funeral, Sister Wells was lying on
her bed in a state of mourning. The son appeared to
her and said, “Mother, do not mourn, do not cry. I am
all right.”
Bishop John Wells
He then related to her how the accident took place.
Apparently there had been some question—even
suspicion—about the accident because the young
man was an experienced railroad man. But he told his
mother that it was clearly an accident.
Now note this: He also told her that as soon as he
realized that he was in another sphere, he had tried to
reach his father but could not. His father was so busy
with the details of his office and work that he could not
respond to the promptings. Therefore, the son had
come to his mother.
He then said, “Tell Father that all is well with me, and I
want you not to mourn any more.” (See David O. McKay,
Gospel Ideals, Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1953, pp. 525–
26.)
When was the last time you felt the
Spirit?
When was the last time you felt the
Spirit?
We are taught repeatedly to study the
scriptures, to pray both alone and with
our families, to attend our church
meetings, and to serve others.
We hear these commandments so
often that we sometimes begin to see
them as an end in themselves.
But what is their ultimate purpose?
To
achieve exaltation.
A Lab on Faith

Are you ready to make an effort for change?

Knowledge will distill like dew (Deuteronomy 32:2; D&C
1211:45)—gradual progress

1 Nephi 10:19
 For
he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries
of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the
Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and
as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the
course of the Lord is one eternal round.
1 Nephi 11:1
For it came to pass after I had desired to
know the things that my father had seen, and
believing that the Lord was able to make
them known unto me, as I sat pondering in
mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of
the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high
mountain, which I never had before seen,
and upon which I never had before set my
foot.
1 Nephi 11:1
For it came to pass after I had desired to
know the things that my father had seen, and
believing that the Lord was able to make
them known unto me, as I sat pondering in
mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of
the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high
mountain, which I never had before seen,
and upon which I never had before set my
foot.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell:
The Lord will work with us even if, at first, we “can no
more than desire” but are willing to “give place for a
portion of [His] words” (Alma 32:27). A small foothold is
all He needs! But we must desire and provide it.
 So many of us are kept from eventual consecration
because we mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting
our will be swallowed up in the will of God, we lose our
individuality (see Mosiah 15:7). What we are really
worried about, of course, is not giving up self, but selfish
things—like our roles, our time, our preeminence, and
our possessions.


“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father,” Neal A. Maxwell, General
Conference, October 1995
Mark 9:23-24 (17-29)
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst
believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the
child cried out, and said with tears,
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
The prophets teach us several
principles about feeling the Spirit:
1. We must always be responsive
to the whisperings of the Spirit.
a)
These promptings most often
come when we are not under
the pressure of appointments
and when we are not caught
up in the worries of day-to-day
life.
The prophets teach us several
principles about feeling the Spirit:
2. Take time to meditate.
a)Meditation
on a passage of scripture—
James 1:5—led a young boy into a
grove of trees to commune with his
Heavenly Father. That is what opened
the heavens in this dispensation.
The prophets teach us several
principles about feeling the Spirit:
2. Take time to meditate.
b) Meditation on a passage of scripture from the book
of John in the New Testament brought forth the
great revelation on the three degrees of glory.
c) Meditation on another passage of scripture from the
Epistle of Peter opened the heavens to President
Joseph F. Smith, and he saw the spirit world. That
revelation, known as the Vision of the Redemption of
the Dead, is now a part of the Doctrine and
Covenants.
The prophets teach us several
principles about feeling the Spirit:
2. Take time to meditate.
d)
Ponder the significance of the responsibility
the Lord has given to us. The Lord has
counseled, “Let the solemnities of eternity rest
upon your minds.” (D&C 43:34.) You cannot do
that when your minds are preoccupied with the
cares of the world.
The prophets teach us several
principles about feeling the Spirit:
3. Read and study the scriptures. The scriptures
should be studied in the home with fathers and
mothers taking the lead and setting the example.
The scriptures are to be comprehended by the
power of the Holy Ghost, for the Lord has given this
promise to His faithful and obedient: “Thou mayest
know the mysteries and peaceable things.” (D&C
42:61.)
Spencer W.Kimball:
“I find that when I get casual in my
relationships with divinity and when it seems
that no divine ear is listening and no divine
voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I
immerse myself in the scriptures the
distance narrows and the spirituality returns.
I find myself loving more intensely those
whom I must love with all my heart and
mind and strength, and loving them more, I
find it easier to abide their counsel.” (“What I
Hope You Will Teach My Grandchildren and All Others of the
Youth of Zion,” address to Seminary and Institute personnel,
Brigham Young University, 11 July 1966, p. 6.)
The more familiar you are with the
scriptures, the closer you become
to the mind and will of the Lord
and the closer you become as
husband and wife and children.
You will find that by reading the
scriptures the truths of eternity will
rest on your minds. –Ezra Taft Benson
The prophets teach us several
principles about feeling the Spirit:
4. Ponder matters that you do not
understand. As the Lord
commanded Oliver Cowdery,
“Study it out in your mind; then …
ask me if it be right, and if it is
right I will cause that your bosom
shall burn within you; therefore,
you shall feel that it is right.”
(D&C 9:8)
Spiritual Challenge Ideas

“Ponderize” on a scripture (pondering and memorization)—Elder Devin
Durrant

Keep the Sabbath Day holy. Work on it.

Have more meaningful family home evenings.

“Do” home teaching instead of “going” home teaching.

Look out for your neighbors and love them.
D&C 84:85
…treasure up in your
minds continually the
words of life…
Spirituality—being in tune with the
Spirit of the Lord—is the greatest
need we all have. We should
strive for the constant
companionship of the Holy Ghost
all the days of our lives. When we
have the Spirit, we will love to
serve, we will love the Lord, and
we will love those with whom we
serve, and those whom we serve. –
Ezra Taft Benson
Several years after Joseph Smith was
martyred, he appeared to President
Brigham Young. Hear his message:
“Tell the people to be humble and
faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit
of the Lord and it will lead them right.
Be careful and not turn away the
small still voice; it will teach you what
to do and where to go; it will yield
the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the
brethren to keep their hearts open to
conviction, so that when the Holy
Ghost comes to them, their hearts will
be ready to receive it.” (Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 23 Feb. 1847, 2 vols., ed.
Elden Jay Watson, Salt Lake City: Elden J. Watson,
1968, 1971, 2:529.)
This latter-day work is
spiritual. It takes
spirituality to
comprehend it, to love
it, and to discern it.
Therefore, seek the
Spirit in all you do. Keep
it with you continually.
That is our challenge.