How to Always Have His Spirit

In considering the concept of being ready and preparing to be ready to do whatever God needs us to do when the moment comes, I thought about the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has been given to us to guide us, and if we follow its direction, we'll be lead to do things that make us more righteous and worthy, and thus more ready to serve. Also, we'll gain practice in following the promptings of the Spirit, so when it gives us special directions in unique circumstances, we're more likely to be able to understand and follow those directions than we would be if following the Spirit is a new experience for us.

Elder David A. Bednar gave a good talk about the Spirit in April 2006. In that talk, he told us that even though we've been promised that we "may always have His spirit to be with [us]," there are things that we sometimes do that cause us to withdraw from the Spirit (or vice versa. I'm not sure which). I think it's important to remember that the promise is that we may always have His spirit to be with us. We may  have it, in the sense that we're allowed to have it (as in 'you may have a cookie'), and we may have it in the sense that we might always have it to be with us; it's possible that we'll always have the Spirit as our guide. But it is in no way promised that we will always have his Spirit to be with us. As Elder Bednar taught, whether we have the Spirit with us or not depends a lot on our choices.

For example, whether we currently have the Spirit with us or not, we can do good things that will invite the Spirit to be with us. Also, whether we currently have the Spirit or not, we could do things that would drive away the Spirit. The Spirit won't stay when we make it uncomfortable. If we partake in bad media, or if we harbor evil thoughts, the Spirit will warn us against those things, but if we don't heed those warnings, the Spirit will leave us. Alternatively, if we heed the warnings and shun temptation, we'll find that we have the Spirit with us in greater abundance.

The Spirit is a strengthening force. When we have the Spirit with us, we will have the courage to do things that we otherwise might have been to shy to do, like reaching out to help someone. Also, as noted before, the Spirit is a guiding influence, giving us direction on exactly what we can do to help. And when we need help, the Spirit can be a comforter, helping us feel peace, hope, and love.

Since the Spirit it such a valuable influence, and since it won't always stay with us if we do things that drive it away, it's important to know what kinds of things offend the Spirit, so we can avoid them, and what things invite the Spirit, so we can seek them. To this end, Elder Bednar shared some very useful counsel.

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. If that which is intended to entertain, for example, alienates us from the Holy Spirit, then certainly that type of entertainment is not for us. Because the Spirit cannot abide that which is vulgar, crude, or immodest, then clearly such things are not for us. 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.

Things that help us invite the Spirit include: meaningful personal and family prayer, feasting on the words of Christ, faithfully keeping commandments and honoring covenants, developing Christlike attributes, and serving others. The full list is so long that it probably can't be written, but it can all be summed up in the phrase "doing good things."

We invite the Spirit when we do things that are good. We repel the Spirit when we do things that are bad. The choice is always ours to make. The presence of the Spirit is an extra incentive to do good things, and a friend to encourage us to keep doing good things. Having the Spirit with us can be a big help, and when perilous times come, we'll need all the help we can get. So we should act now to develop good habits to attract the Spirit, and gain practice and experience in following the Spirit. Like the young man in video, we never know when we might need it.