Elder Soares: 5 Principles for Recognizing the Holy Ghost’s Influence

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By Rachel Sterzer Gibson, Church News

Just as a smartphone must be connected to a network in order to quickly and efficiently find information, “we need to connect with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to receive guidance from heaven, so we survive in this complex world we are living in,” said Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Roughly 900 Ensign College students and faculty gathered in the Conference Center Theater in downtown Salt Lake City on a frosty but bright winter morning to be taught by Elder Soares during the weekly campus devotional on Tuesday, January 21.

Elder Soares reminded listeners that the Holy Ghost is a gift from God. “Being a conduit of the power of the Lord in our life, the Holy Ghost performs a special mission as he blesses and inspires all of us as God’s children. If we are connected with him, the Holy Ghost can and will reveal to us what we need to do to stay on — and progress along — the path to happiness in this life in order to inherit eternal life.”

He then shared five principles to remember while learning to receive and recognize the promptings and guidance from the Holy Ghost.

1. Know That God Loves His Children and Is Eager to Communicate

“Our Heavenly Father is filled with an infinite and perfect amount of holy, pure and indescribable love for each of His children,” Elder Soares taught.

God is concerned about individuals’ upward progress. “He knows which decisions we must make and which actions we must take so that we may fulfill our divine potential as the sons and daughters of God. More than we could ever imagine, He wants us to achieve our destiny — to return with honor to our heavenly home. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost, His love encompasses us completely. He has promised that we can turn to Him for help and guidance anytime.”

2. Strive to Be Prepared and Worthy

Elder Soares taught that in order to have the Holy Ghost’s companionship, individuals need to be worthy and cleansed through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.

While obedience to the commandments, willingness to follow God’s will and sincere prayers in faith will open individuals to revelation, failing to strive to live a clean life weakens the promptings of the Spirit.

“Those who are trying their best to be worthy and prepared for the whisperings of the Spirit can enjoy the spiritual gift that can help us to have greater understanding and enrichment and guidance in all aspects of life, both spiritual and temporal,” Elder Soares said, adding that individuals do not have to be perfect to receive guidance.

“Worthiness is a process, and perfection is an eternal trek,” he said.

3. Learn and Understand the Language of the Spirit

Oliver Cowdery’s experience, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants Section 8, teaches that the Holy Ghost most often communicates as a feeling. “These feelings are gentle,” Elder Soares noted, later adding, “Such guidance will entice us to do good and will always be in harmony with the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ as contained in the holy scriptures and in the words of living prophets.”

He said that in learning the language of the Spirit, individuals must be attentive and not ignore or take lightly the impressions they receive.

4. Expect Revelation to Come in the Lord’s Time and Way

Individuals do not always receive revelation at the time or way they expect. However, “We are expected to take responsibility by acting on a decision that aligns with the Lord’s teachings even without prior confirmation from Him. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken yet. The Lord expects that we act in faith, as Nephi did when he sought to obtain the plates from Laban, as described in 1 Nephi 4 in the Book of Mormon,” Elder Soares said.

The Lord can then confirm the correctness of one’s choices. “If in trust and faith, we begin something which is not right, the Lord in His perfect mercy and love will let us know before we have gone too far,” Elder Soares assured.

5. Wait Upon the Lord

Elder Soares explained that in the scriptures, the word “wait” means to hope, to anticipate and to trust. “Hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments and enduring to the end. To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and nourishing it with great diligence and patience.”

Waiting upon the Lord means being willing to do God’s will. “In His perfection and wisdom, God knows what is before and best for us. His will, based on divine perspective, shows us a better way. But it will often challenge us. In this, as in all things, the Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect example.”

In conclusion, Elder Soares declared: “My dear friends, again, just as our smartphone needs to be connected to a network to perform its functions correctly, our eternal progress depends on how well we are connected with Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ as well as receiving personal guidance from the Holy Ghost. … When we believe that God desires to guide us through the Holy Ghost, center our lives on Jesus Christ, and earnestly seek heaven’s help, we will receive the guidance we need according to the Lord’s will and timing.”

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