Hey there everybody welcome out to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood Scott
Durfey here joined as always by David Durfey.
Good to be back, good to be home.
Dave's been kind of gone.
The listeners don't know this Scott but we've been, I haven't done this for a week or two
because of a trip I went on.
You know I've never, as an adult, I was a little kid when our parents, my parents took
us up through the redwoods and the coast and now we're up to Seattle and back.
But anyway that was a fun trip to start in Astoria.
I love Lewis and Clark and US history and got my masters in that.
Yeah you're a history major.
I did a whole thing on the exploration west and to go see where that fort was and where
Lewis and Clark wintered near Astoria in 1805 and 1806 and just start there and all the
history there at Astoria that's where so many explorers kind of started.
The exploration of the west coast.
Anyway to go all the way down the coast on Highway 101 and such beautiful beaches and
places, scenery and Northern California and redwoods and sequoias.
Did you know I was visiting the redwood national forest and the Jedediah Smith National and
State Parks and have these giant redwoods in them and it came back to me that I had
read an article in the Smithsonian magazine probably 20 years ago about the redwood and
sequoia trees and their root system.
Now these trees Scott are gigantic.
You can't even comprehend it unless you see it.
How high they are, how round they are, how straight they are.
You can build an entire house including shingles, two by fours, paneling, siding, everything
else out of one tree.
An entire house out of one tree and probably have wood left over.
And anyway, just gigantic and their roots never go deeper than six feet.
There are no deeper.
No deeper than six feet deep.
How could that be?
That was a fascinating article.
My goodness.
Yeah.
So their root systems are very shallow but very, very wide.
Okay.
They are interlaced and they wrap around the roots of the other trees.
Oh, so they kind of create a fortress, a community, huh?
So what's the gospel lesson?
Right?
Yeah.
It's, it's being connected.
Yeah.
Being connected with the community of saints.
Strength.
They're strengthening that.
They're strengthening.
There should be.
Yeah.
And you know, it's not enough.
You just can't go off by yourself and think that you're going to live the gospel.
And you, I mean, it's just really, I think important that we understand the power and
strength of a community and that they, that's, I mean, they never blow down because they're
have such a wide base and they're interlaced with all the, all the, all the trees that
have to come down.
They're, they're all connected.
Yeah.
I didn't know that.
That's just incredible.
Their roots never go deeper than six feet.
That is just incredible.
It's amazing.
Now I read that magazine 20 years ago, but I also read that in a pamphlet that I got
in one of the visitor centers.
And I thought, wow, there's so many life and gospel church principles that could be taught
from that.
But they're fantastic and it was great to be with some good friends and, and to enjoy
that experience with my sweetheart and best, best part is of a trip like that.
It's always to come home.
Yeah.
Really is.
Isn't it?
So it's good to be home.
Well, I'm glad you had a great trip.
I was saddened to hear that you didn't get to do any golfing while you were on this one.
Band and Dune.
So Scott, I was there.
I was on the property.
Band and Dune's right there.
I didn't even know what that was till this morning.
But no, but no, I feel bad for you.
That's holy ground.
That's sacred ground.
Well, I was a little bit saddened and, you know, times come and go and things like this
happened, but Willie Mays died.
I know Scott.
I was too.
I, I remember his old basket catch that he invented and tried that a few times in the
little league.
So Willie played for baseball for the, for the Giants, ended up retiring from the Mets
actually in 1972.
Yeah.
Played for the Giants.
Played in Alabama.
I was a senior in high school.
That's when I graduated.
Oh, is that right?
Okay.
So I was nine years old playing little league baseball in American Fork, Utah.
Dennis, your older brother, my uncle was our coach.
Good coach.
And I played right field.
I could barely, I didn't know how to catch.
I didn't even know how to throw.
I was nine, you know.
Your dad didn't play much baseball.
No, my dad was a football player and a fighter and a boxer, you know, and all this other
stuff, but you know, I didn't, I didn't learn much baseball, but I did make my very first
catch and, and I remember feeling so cool about it.
It was a fly ball hit to me in right field and I ran up to it just like Willie Hayes'
basket catch, which is totally the wrong way to do it.
If you know, but, but I did it.
Did you do it?
Yeah.
Dennis made the biggest deal out of me.
Good or bad?
Good.
He made good.
He made me feel really important.
In fact, I remember him telling my dad when I don't know the occasion, but my dad and
Dennis and I was there and Dennis said, Oh, Evan, you should have seen Scott.
He looked just like Willie Mays at basket catch.
And I was kind of proud.
So you were a fan of Willie Mays from that moment on.
From that moment on.
Anyway, I never liked the Giants.
We are losing some legends.
We are.
He was such a legend.
I mean, 24 appearances in the All-Star game.
Yeah.
Amazing.
Yeah.
Pretty incredible.
So charismatic.
Well, Dave, we've been talking over the last several episodes about manifestations of
repentance.
We spent the last couple about the specifically on the gift of the Holy Ghost and how that
works into this entire process.
Last week we promised our listeners that we would spend a good portion of this week's
episode talking about how to obtain the Holy Ghost, how to have it in our lives.
Critical discussion, Scott.
I just, I remember being a branch president of the missionary training center for three
years and I think it was the number one question of missionaries.
One or two, the two I think most popular questions of missionaries at the missionary
training center is how can I know if I'm forgiven and how can I recognize the Holy
Ghost and both of those questions are related.
They're connected because you, you, you recognize that you're forgiven when you recognize that
you have the Holy Ghost.
So how can I recognize the Holy Ghost?
Well then that leads to the third most important question, which is, I spent so much time teaching
this in, in different meetings we would have as a branch at the missionary training center.
The real critical question is, so what do I need to do or how can I obtain the gift of
the Holy Ghost?
How can I receive it?
It's as we all know in the ordinance of the laying out of hands and receiving the gift
of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is not commanded to be with us.
We are commanded to receive it.
Receive the Holy Ghost.
We always say in that ordinance that puts the responsibility upon us to qualify.
I hate the word earned when it comes to gospel principles and doctrine because I don't think
you can ever earn it.
It's a gift and the gift of the Holy Ghost, gifts are free and the gift of the Holy Ghost
is free.
But what can we do to qualify to receive the gift?
That's how you, that's how we should see it, Scott.
It's not me earning it or I'm entitled to it.
It's how can I in humility place myself in a position or qualify to receive the gift,
which cannot be forced or manipulated or demanded by me.
It comes as a gift.
It flows into my life.
It cannot be pushed or pulled or forced.
So I just think that was such an important lesson that was taught at the missionary training
center and for my students over the years I taught in the Institute was an even return
missionary, even return missionaries is how do I recognize the gift of the Holy Ghost
in my life and how can I receive him?
What does it really take for me to qualify to receive him?
So I think that's what we want to talk about, Scott.
I know it affects you, it affects me, all of our families and all of our listeners and
their families.
So let's jump into it.
All right.
Just as a thought, you know, last week and other weeks prior even we've referenced Elder
Bednar's talk and he's often talked about receive, recognize and respond to the Holy
Ghost.
Receive, recognize and respond.
And I think, you know, even though we're going to be talking about receiving and recognizing,
obviously, once we've received and once we have a full recognition or even a partial
recognition of the Holy Ghost in our lives, that's just a natural response for us to respond
to that in our lives.
So all right, Dave, what do you want to take from here?
Well, let's turn to the scriptures, I think, and discuss some of our favorite scriptures
on what it takes, Scott, to qualify for or how can we receive the Holy Ghost?
And I think, I think one of my, one of my favorites is Dr. and Covenant section 76, Scott,
the vision on the celestial and terrestrial and celestial and right at the very end of
the revelation.
We hear this from the Lord.
So this is verse, I'm turning to it, sorry.
116.
116 talking about commandments and other things that can, some of them cannot be uttered.
Verse 16, 116, neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and
understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him and
purify themselves before him.
So I, I've always loved that sky that I really believe that's really one of the keys of how
to receive the Holy Ghost is that we know that we love God, that our hearts are full
of love for God, for his son and for the Holy Ghost, and that we seek to purify ourselves,
our minds, our hearts, and that we approach him with impurity.
So I think that's one of my favorites.
I remember my mother, your grandmother, when I would go stay with her on Friday nights,
when she was, you know, not wanting to be alone in her home last year or two of her life.
And every Friday night was my, my night and then Saturdays, I'd be with her on Saturdays,
but because I was working and teaching full time.
But I remember her praying at night and she, you know, she'd pray out loud, which I loved
and I would oftentimes stand at her door and listen to the crack of the door.
And I always felt this Scott, when she would say in her prayers, and I say it, my prayers
now too, pretty regularly, and she would always say, Heavenly Father, I love thee and I love
Jesus Christ and I love the Holy Ghost.
I remember her, you know, distinctly can hear her voice trying to express her love for all
three members of the Godhead.
I love thee Father and I love thy son and I love the Holy Ghost.
And she would say it with real feeling.
I love the Holy Ghost.
I remember probably the first time I heard that it really affected me.
And so I think that it's really important for us to not just not just feel it, but to
be aware of it and to acknowledge it in our prayers throughout the day, to just really
be more conscious of the love that we have for God and try and really sincerely try to
communicate it to him.
Because I know that when I do, when I really feel it and I communicate it, I am filled
with the spirit.
So I know it's, you know, we show him our love by keeping the commandments, you know,
if you love me, keep my commandments.
We show our love in so many ways to the Father by loving His children and loving others.
But I think it's really powerful when we try to communicate it to him in a, in not a trite
way, not, not to make it a vain repetition, but to really express it in humility and with
some feeling.
So I, that's one of my favorite scriptures.
Well, I love him and those who purify themselves before him will have the Holy Ghost.
That's the Holy Spirit.
Let's talk about purify themselves before him for a second, because that's a big one.
When it comes to how do I receive the Holy Ghost or how do I recognize and respond to
the Holy Ghost in my life, that's a really important one is not just those who love him,
but those who purify themselves before him.
You know, we, we, we've spent 30 something episodes talking about how do we receive that
purification process in our lives, which is obviously through repentance, through aligning
our will in our life with the care of our, our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ,
atonement, et cetera.
But loving him comes to us even as a deeper, at a deeper level as we participate in that
purification process.
Dave, you know, when we, when we're going through this, the process, I almost said steps, but
when we're going through the process of repentance, which means I'm turning my life to him, which
means I'm shedding the things that distract the spirit or distract me from filling the
spirit in my life.
You become more holy.
Yeah, exactly.
And, and I think, you know, just probably everything else that we're going to talk about
will, when it comes to how do I have the Holy Ghost in my life will probably be maybe under
the pavilion of those two things, right?
Loving him and being purified before him.
Yeah.
And the, and the scripture that I think of that goes right along with this, another one
of my favorites is in Doctrine and Covenants 121.
So in 121 45 and 46 members of the church will recognize this, the famous passage of
revelation to through the Prophet Joseph Smith to the church.
As he's sitting in Liberty gel as he's suffering the winter of 1838 and 39 and he's in Liberty
gel and as this revelation ends, which was really a letter that he had written to the
church.
Listen to what the Lord says through him in 45 and 46.
If you want to read it, let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men and to
the household of faith and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.
Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God and the doctrine of the priesthood
shall distill upon thy soul as it is from heaven.
The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion and thy scepter and unchanging scepter of
righteousness and truth and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion and without compulsory
means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
So Scott constant companion.
Yeah.
It's one of the few places where it actually uses that phrase constant companion in the
scriptures and he the Holy Ghost, a personage of spirit, he may be with us as a constant
companion if we let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly.
That'll help our confidence wax strong in the presence of God and the doctrine of the
priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as it is from heaven.
And the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion.
So virtue virtue is usually described.
I mean, when we think of it now nowadays, it's it has some sexual context or meaning.
Yeah.
If you're virtuous, you're not acting out sexually or something that but but virtue
has a much broader meaning than that.
And let virtue or goodness or purity or a tee.
Yeah.
Let that be in our minds.
Let virtue garnish garnish garnish is makes your life more beautiful.
Makes your you know, it's it's anyway, virtue is goodness, purity, not just sexual purity,
but all we just need to be more pure and hard.
Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.
Then the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion.
So there's this again idea, Scott, and we talked a lot about this last week of the choices
that we have to control our thoughts and feelings really.
And and we have more control over that than we think we do.
And I I'm I probably talked too much about it and but I'm just I know that I have more
took me 50 something years of my life to learn that that we can repent of impure thoughts
and inappropriate emotions and that we need to learn how to how to do that.
But virtue garnish thy thoughts and purity, we could say, garnish your heart continually.
And then we'll have the constant companion.
So I think those two passages are connected.
Then I think there's a there's power in prayer and asking for the Holy Ghost, Scott.
And write an old old time missionary favorite scripture is doctrine comes section 42.
This revelation is known as the law.
I know that we're we're using right now a lot of scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants.
But I've always seen the pattern in the Doctrine and Covenants of the Lord in the restoration
through his prophets early on in the history of the church was trying to teach us how to
receive continual revelation and how to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
You know, the Prophet Joseph Smith, when he went back to Washington, told the president
of the United States when he was asked, How is your church different from other churches?
His answer was we have the gift of the Holy Ghost.
I mean, that's such that's so interesting.
I think that experience that of all the things he could have said about how we're different
and he said other things too.
But that was his that was his answer.
We have the gift of the Holy Ghost.
And it was obvious to him as the Doctrine and Covenants makes it obvious to me that
the Lord was trying really hard in the early days of the restoration in these latter days
to to teach us how to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, how to recognize him, how
to receive personal revelation and what it means.
The difference between personal revelation and general church revelation and how to understand
the difference between those two.
So anyway, there's a lot of scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants on the Holy Ghost
and Revelation, but 42 14, maybe maybe 13 and 14, Scott, let's start with 13.
And they shall observe the Covenants and the church articles to do them.
And these shall be their teachings.
And they shall be directed by the Spirit.
The Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith.
And if you receive not the Spirit, you you shall not teach.
So I know that usually that's a great teaching scripture that if you don't have the Spirit,
you shall.
And I know Elder Holland makes a big deal out of that word.
You shall not teach.
And I love that.
But to me, this has always been a really important scripture about how we can qualify for the
Holy Ghost that it comes.
How the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith.
And if you receive not the Spirit, you shall not teach.
So what's a prayer of faith, Scott?
Yeah, so, you know, we've talked about faith in so many different contexts over the course
of the podcast.
We talked about faith.
We talked about power of faith.
We talked about faith in his name.
And here we're talking about it, maybe a little bit different approach to faith, the prayer
of faith.
And so to me, when I think about the prayer of faith, that's much different than just
a prayer.
Prayer of faith has power.
You know, when we talk about the power of faith, this is when we talk about the power
of unto repentance as a power of faith unto repentance.
This is the power of faith unto prayer.
And so it's a different it's a different communication level with our Heavenly Father.
You know, this prayer is much more intimate, the prayer of faith, not only has an intimate
component to it where, you know, it's really just me and Heavenly Father or me and deity
in this communication.
But a prayer of faith also means that when I'm praying, I know I'm praying to him.
You know, I know he's there.
Yeah, you're not just praying with faith.
I'm not.
And I'm not in faith.
And I'm not hoping he's there.
I know he's there.
Through it.
I have faith.
I know he's there.
There's different levels of faith, Scott.
And there's a faith of knowledge, the faith of knowledge is where you can almost with
an eye of faith see him as you communicate with him.
Prayer, you know, prayer is just such an important part of our spiritual life, Scott.
And I know it's kind of the primary answer.
How can we receive the spirit?
Well, we pray and we read the scriptures and, you know, as the primary Sunday School
answer.
But I just there are so many different levels of prayer in our life.
I remember a good friend of mine when he was interviewed by a general authority to they
were calling a new stake president in his stake after he was called.
I said, so what did the general authority ask you?
And he said, he only asked me one question, which I thought was interesting because I
said he didn't ask about your family or other things.
He said, no, I think he already knew that.
But he said he only asked me one question.
How is your prayer life described to me your prayer life?
I've never forgot that.
And I remember thinking that, wow, I probably need to improve my prayer life.
What is your prayer life?
God, a prayer of faith is a prayer of not praying for what you want.
It's praying to know the will of God.
It's praying that it's praying like the Savior prayed in Gethsemane and not my will.
Not my will, but dying dying be done and not just not just saying it, but wanting it, believing
it, having your will swallowed up in the will of the son and the will of the father and
saying, well, you know, I just I want thy will to be done and then not stopping there.
But to to ask questions, inspired questions about what is thy will?
What is thy will concerning me?
What is it I will concerning my children?
What is thy will reveal to me?
Thy will and I will do it.
That's a prayer of faith.
A prayer of faith is not just I hope I hope I hope and we pray for the same things time
after time after time and there's no such thing as a bad prayer, a sincere prayer.
And I pray for the same things because I how can I not pray for the protection and peace
and blessings for my family every time I pray?
But really a prayer of faith is I think really seeking to know the will of God for me today
and for maybe my children today and how can I be an instrument in his hands and receiving
revelation maybe at the time that I pray?
Yeah, and I think that's it.
I think that, you know, when I have a prayer of faith, there's there's oftentimes when
I when I have a prayer of hope, right, I'm praying and I'm hoping that I'll get at the
response and you know, there may be even a little bit of faith at that.
And I know there's some semantics involved here.
But when I think of a prayer of faith, I really think of the the desperate, you know, in alcohol
ics anonymous.
This is one of the things Dave were in in any recovery really part of the process of
becoming clean and sober, all of the entire process includes a relationship with God.
And it's that that praying, you know, we talk about crying out in earlier episodes, you
know, and the importance of the crying out in terms of how along the repentance process,
how that's the essence so important.
That's the essence is that crying out.
Well, the reason that's so important and the reason that's the essence is because the administrator
of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost is then summons or summoned by our prayer
to come to our aid.
And it is it is by that and other things.
I don't want to oversimplify it that makes that power available to us.
Well, it's also true that prayer of faith is also true when it comes to our ability to
feel and have the Holy Ghost in our life.
If I'm praying and I know based on my testimony, based on my past experience, based on maybe
the observation I've had of other people or maybe just based on my absolute, I am so desperate
that I have no other choice but to engage in a level of faith or it'll continue to just
spiral out of control for me that through that faith, then I do feel the Holy Ghost.
I mean, this may be the the kind of the pinnacle.
The I don't know if there's one more important than others, but definitely prayer, Dave seems
to me like this is the one that if we participate in it, all other things will fall into place.
But this one without participating in prayer of the faithful or a prayer of faith, how could
we have the Holy Ghost with us the way we're seeking it at least?
You get you gave me a little book.
The yeah, it's the big book, but it's a small copy.
Yeah.
Is that how you say pocket copy of this?
You gave me you gave me a tiny pocket copy of the big book.
I gave it to you because my eyes can't see it.
I was hoping maybe yours could.
I put it by my bed and I've been reading it and and I read I read this and it just kind
of, you know, got me thinking, you know, when it talks about faith in one of the chapters,
it's about in the middle of the book and it's talking about faith and it says it takes real
courage.
It takes real courage to have faith in God.
And you know, I got thinking about that and I said, wow, that's that's really insightful
and powerful that it really does.
You have to summons great courage to be able to seek the will of God.
I mean, prayer of faith to me is not just praying for what I want.
Our faith to me is seeking to know what God wants for me and my family.
I agree.
And it takes great courage to ask that question, Scott.
I got thinking, you know, sometimes I don't have probably the courage to ask that question
because I might be afraid of the answer.
It takes great courage to say not my will, but I'd be done and to really place your will
on the altar.
Well, let's talk about why that takes so much faith.
You know, if I and I do, I think it's part of the human condition, part of the fall that
we see ourselves is I know how my life ought to go.
You know, in my mind, I think I know how it should go.
I know that this should happen and we know what blessings we need or exactly and we know
that we should get them now.
And I say that somewhat tongue in tongue, but it's reality.
It's true because if I turn it over to God, then I have to know a couple of things in
order for that to work.
You know, one of those things is, is I got to know he loves me.
I got to know he's benevolent towards me.
I got to know that everything that he wants for me in the perfections of God is discussed
in the article in the lectures on faith rather.
But to understand and to have that kind of faith to allow me to have the spirit really
then allows me to enter into that relationship that we've been talking about.
Courage.
Yeah.
Well, yeah, because how do I know what God wants for me?
I know, you know, and it may not always be easy.
It may not be comfortable.
And yeah, there will be times in fact, when it's not.
Yeah.
There are some lessons we learn from the hardships we suffer.
Yeah.
But to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost through those hardships or through anything
in our life makes it doable.
Yeah.
Well, that's that's awesome.
Anyway, I've enjoyed reading the book, the tiny big book.
I'll get you a bigger copy if it's a strain on your eyes.
No, it's perfect.
It takes up no space by my bed.
But to really offer that prayer of faith as described in forty two fourteen, I think you
have to go just a little further into the revelations in the doctrine comments and the revelation
on the gifts of the spirit in forty six.
And I've always thought this was the key to prayer of faith and to receive revelation
in our lives connected with receiving.
How can I receive the Holy Ghost and answers to my prayers?
Verse twenty eight and it shall come to pass that he that asketh in the spirit shall receive
in spirit.
First thirty I'm skipping a verse.
He that asketh in the spirit asketh according to the will of God asking in the spirit you
ask according to the will of God.
Wherefore it is done even as he asketh.
That's that's that's the faith of power, Scott.
The faith of power is not getting what we want or think we need the prayer of faith and
the faith of power is to know the will of God and seek to carry it out.
In verse thirty one again I say unto you all things must be done in the name of Christ
whatsoever you do in the spirit and we need to talk about that sometimes Scott again.
I know we did last season we have a little bit probably this season but I I just think
that's so important to really know the power in the name and what what that really means
to pray in the name and to use the name and the difference between faith in Christ and
faith in the name of Christ.
I I mentioned that before and I hope our listeners have picked up on that in their scripture
study is that there is a difference between having faith in Christ and having faith in
the name of Christ.
So again prayer of faith is not just faith in Christ or in the father it's faith in
the name in which you pray anyway verse thirty two and you must give thanks unto God in the
spirit for whatsoever blessing you are blessed with and you must practice virtue there's
that word again and holiness before me continually even so amen.
So this is a revelation forty six on how to receive the gifts of the spirit.
So if we're to receive the spirit which administers all of the gifts of the spirit in our life
this is the key is to know how to pray and to pray in the spirit in the name of Christ
with faith in his will not ours to to pray according to the will of God and to he mentions
gratitude in here Scott I probably have said that too many times but gratitude is the beginning
of desire and gratitude is absolutely essential to receiving the spirit and the gifts of the
spirit is to give thanks to acknowledge the hand of God in all of the good things in our
life and then to practice virtue and holiness that's how we receive the Holy Ghost Scott
I I I know there's a lot of other things we can do and specific things that we need to
do and there's routines that help us to be able to live a life of virtue and holiness
but I think we just need to somehow organize our our time and organize our life to be able
to do better at living a virtuous wholesome life of holiness so what any any other scriptures
we well before I have a thought you know before we move on I'm sure there's some other scriptures
that we can talk about but I have a thought that I want to talk about real quick first
this is this is this part about having the Holy Ghost and what do we need to do in order
to have the Holy Ghost with me and and and all of that this is so important such an important
part of the entire season this entire season of the podcast to have the Holy Ghost with
us and I think it's something that it's we've talked a little bit about it as we talked
about receiving the Holy Ghost of baptism how the gift of the Holy Ghost was given to
us and and I think that it can be something that we just take for granted and when I say
we I'm guess I mean me I take for granted I can take this for granted and and sometimes
they've I can find myself and I think that this is true perhaps with maybe all of us
but I can find myself just a little bit off and when I do a self-assessment or when I
get back into my personal inventory and when I'm just a little bit off we all feel that
I can tell that I'm not feeling the spirit like I should be feeling the spirit now you
notice I didn't say the spirits left me I just said I'm not feeling the spirit the
way I think I should feel the spirit and so I mean we can go through and and so much of
this so much of these answers do feel perhaps like the Sunday school and the primary answers
but you know what the Sunday school and the primary answers are the most important ones
when it comes to this the stuff that I have to do or the stuff that I'm invited to do
by the spirit so that I can fill his companionship it's just so important but it but because
of its simplicity sometimes I think that we just brush past it oh yeah I'd say my prayers
okay I say my prayers yeah but did you pray you know there's a difference did I say my
prayers or did I pray you know did I did I go to the temple or did I worship in the temple
did I partake of the sacrament or did I partake and so so much of this you know we can have
this intellectual exercise which is extremely important for us to do in going through these
scriptures but where's our heart you know that's to me that's really where this needs
to be taken places where in my heart have I made space for the spirit to dwell so Scott
so Scott this is important so I'm glad you're bringing it up but you said sometimes you feel
off yeah so I know you're old enough I'm old enough we've we've experienced that umpteen
times in our lives yeah where we feel off what have you learned about why usually you may be
off so and and this is important this is kind of what I'm getting to when I feel off it's one of
a couple of things and it's usually the first the first is is that somehow I become casual in my
approach to deity you know somehow something has slipped you know and and I'm not talking about
big sins I'm just talking about my casual approach yeah and that can look different for everybody
so that's a big one you know that sometimes helps me or makes me feel off makes me feel like I'm not
in in touch or I'm not feeling the effects of the atonement of Jesus Christ because in my life
because I don't necessarily feel the spirit with me all the time so that's a big one is my casual
approach obviously the other one sin you know anytime that we allow sin to enter into our
lives that creates a difficult situation for us to fill the spirit you know so there's that one
but um you know Dave I think that that first one just being casual in my approach really could pretty
much uh encompass everything else reminds me of a a quote by president Kimball when he said quote
I find that when I get casual so even he did in my relationships with divinity
how all the prophets do sure they fight this too it's it's again we're just all fallen we're all
mortal we're all sinners we're all natural man so you know there's there's nothing shocking about this
um he says when I get when I find that when I get casual in my relationship with divinity
and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking
that I am far far away this is the answer if I immerse yeah myself in the scriptures
the distance narrows and spirituality returns I I just always thought that was so simple and so
profound yeah and it's been really true in my life I noticed that when I'm off it's because I
think oh yeah it's been been been uh a while since maybe I really immersed myself in the scriptures
not necessarily that I didn't read the scriptures or whatever but I haven't immersed I haven't
cherished I haven't treasured the word of God and for me that seems to be a big part of my
spirituality for sure Scott so this idea of the word and the the role of the word of Christ and
us having how can I have the Holy Ghost in my life I need to immerse myself in the scriptures and
the reason I do Scott is because it changes my relationship with God it's not just because I'm
reading that that I mean a lot of people read the scriptures right and they don't feel the Holy Ghost
maybe maybe they're reading the scriptures to disprove that they're true or maybe they're reading
the scriptures for a hundred thousand other reasons but but one who is sincere as Moroni tells us
in his promise one who does so in faith and with real intent they will know by the power of the
Holy Ghost this Moroni 10 verses three and four right they will know by the Holy Ghost that it's
true and I think for me the real power in reading the scriptures I've at least I think the pattern
that I've noticed in my life and in the lives of of family and loved ones and other members
it's Alma chapter 32 you know we've talked about a prayer of faith and then Alma's amazing discourse
on faith in Alma chapter 32 when he's talking to a bunch of Zoramites who are really off
and these apostate Zoramites who are cast out of their their synagogues and end up on a hill of
Oneida with Alma and Amulet and Alma tells them well it's a good thing you're humble it's a good
thing you've been forced to be humble right this is Alma 32 like 13 14 15 Scott now I'm glad you're
forced to be humble but it would have been better if you would have been humbled by the word can you
is that are you looking at yeah and now as I said unto you that because you were compelled to be
humble you were blessed you did not suppose that you are more blessed who truly humble themselves
because of the word so it's the word that humbles us and I think the real key to spirituality
my spirituality is this attribute of humility that when I'm not humble when I get when I get full
of pride and I I'm full of vain ambition and my ego is kind of ruling and reigning in my life
as it does in all of our lives it's hard for me to fill the spirit Scott even though again you
may you made a great point it's not necessary that he left me it's just that I just don't feel
him because of the the conditions of my heart my mind and because of the lack of my humility
so and there's just a couple verses on that on on the connection of humility in the spirit
one is to Thomas be marsh in doctrine comes section 112 verse 10 I mean and Thomas you know
he's he struggled we we all know the story and there's there's some controversy now about about
the story or the accuracy of the story told years ago about his wife and a you know a little milk
and cream that was skimmed off the top and and him leaving the church over that anyway but Thomas
be marsh confessed that he had a real problem with pride and he and he left the church for a while
he would have been the president the quorum of the 12 he he possibly could have been the next
president of the church now I know that wasn't for ordained or whatever and God knew that he wouldn't
but nevertheless he was the senior senior member of the 12 apostles and he struggled with pride
and the Lord seems to kind of warn him of this God in verse 10 be thou humble
just repeat be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give the answer
to thy prayers the connection of prayer in the spirit and the connection of humility to prayer
I mean the reason we fill off sometimes in our prayers Scott is because we're not we're not
humble and to me humility comes how not by being forced I hope I hope it doesn't sometimes it has
in my life it's better not to be compelled to be humble but to become humble because of the word
and then there's that scripture in section 136 Scott is it 136 verse 33 do you have okay so this
is dnc 136 33 for my spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and
contrite and to the condemnation of the ungodly so the spirit is sent to enlighten the humble
and contrite those who are repenting those who have a contrite heart spirit contrite spirit
broken heart those who are humble and how do they become humble well I hope that they didn't have to
be compelled I hope it was by the power of the word so what's the connection between reading our
scriptures saying our prayers and receiving the Holy Ghost seems pretty obvious yeah yeah and it's
not primary answers and primary I'm not talking about the organization I'm talking it is primary
it's absolutely primary because it's the fundamentals it's absolutely fundamental
that we learn how the connection between immersing ourselves in the scriptures and learning how to
really pray with a prayer of faith by and under the direction of the Holy Ghost in order to be led
and receive the gift receive and respond and recognize the Holy Ghost in our life so
that's that's I think what the scriptures teaches and I love what Paul teaches in Galatians about
walking in the spirit and what the spirit feels like and what the fruits of the spirit are
which I think is Galatians chapter 5 is one of the one of the great chapters I think on this topic
but I think there's some practical things too Scott that we can just quickly mention
in regards to how to receive the Holy Ghost and the spirit in our lives how to receive
personal revelation really that's what we're talking about is how to receive him recognize him
and respond to him and I years ago made a kind of as I was seeking to receive personal revelation by
magnifying my calling as a patriarch in the church and we talked so much about this last week that I
won't repeat it but I had written down seven keys to receiving personal revelation and the first one
was identify fears and other negative emotions and replace them with faith and love that was
number one number two and I got this from president I rinks talk talk on pavilions
remove the pavilions of selfish inappropriate motives and prideful desires by replacing them
with not my will but dying be done that's number two what's our motives
number three increased purity and confidence in the presence of God
letting virtue govern your thoughts watch what you view this is this from an old sign I I
I read in northern Minnesota I was going down this little two-lane road in the middle of this
windy road in all these farms surrounding me and this one farmer had made a homemade sign
and had put this up in his lawn and it said what and I had to stop back up and write it down
watch what you view because what you watch will become your view
you know sure pure we just I couldn't watch commercials when I'm a patriarch given blessings
I can't watch commercials there's just too many things that are just raunchy that we that we
let into our homes and we need to take control of those things so increase that our purity
in the presence of God so here's number four use instruments of grace such as scriptures prayer
sacred art music well that they've sacred music fills me with the spirit
it's got ordinances we haven't talked about the temple we need we need to do that maybe next time
how how the temple can can bring us the gift of the fullness of the holy ghost
fasting magnifying callings and rendering service are all instruments of grace that we need to
use these are instruments that God has given us that that'll help us bring the spirit into our
lives number five ask learn to ask the right questions learn to ask inspired questions
ask for those things that are expedient not that just the things that I want but what is
expedient that's the word Nephi uses in third Nephi and six eliminate distractions and distortions
in our life do not become over programmed by technology
wow I think that's so important do not be over programmed by technology and seventh
meditate and listen and then record impressions elder scott said that if we don't record
the impressions that we receive from the holy ghost he may not trust us with more
impressions and revelation so it's important that we try to capture not just sometimes in our mind
but also on paper or not on paper but in computer whatever we're using to record our impressions
so those are I think seven important keys that I've used throughout my life and in in regards
to that last one when I would pray about the individuals I was trying to receive revelations for
in giving patriarchal blessings and it's really just got not so much unlike praying for some of my
children who are challenged and troubled and praying for them and trying to get revelation for them
I mean I mean if we have stewardship over our children it's no different for a parent to be
praying for revelation for children than for me as a patriarch to be praying to know the will of God
for that for his child that maybe I've never met before and one thing I had to learn was that when
I had an impression about that child that child of God or whether I receive an impression for my own
child that I should record those impressions and and and act on them right try to do all I can to
remember them and teach and treat them as though they are sacred and are coming to me from a sacred
source I think those things are really important to do and will help us to be able to receive
the Holy Ghost and personal revelation more in our life the whole purpose behind what we're
doing here in this podcast is to help us develop a relationship with with deity help us to return
and live with our Heavenly Father and know where we stand and with them right yeah yeah good point
you know and that's just so important and we can know that and we can and we can have that
that opportunity revealed to us or that experience live in our lives as we recognize
the Holy Ghost in our lives really you know when we talk about receive recognize and respond to the
gift of the Holy Ghost we receive it that's a process we've talked about it we recognize it we
talk about that today and now our now our our goal I guess or our quest our objective going
forward now is how do I respond how do I respond to that relationship how do I respond to the
promptings how do I respond to the revelations that come to me through the Holy Ghost in my life
and I think that that you know will be an extension of our invitation this week is if we could just
recognize and realize and and respond when we fill the gift of the Holy Ghost or the
promptings of the Holy Ghost in our lives I would be remiss if I didn't mention this we have a
weekly opportunity as we partake of the sacrament to have his spirit with us in great abundance
and I just challenge invite brother I just invite each of us that as we also partake of the sacrament
this week and every week that his spirit may always we strive to have that always being with us
that's all I got today Dave how about you yeah we should talk more about that and the
ordinances of the temple and okay and how that helps us to be connected to deity divinity and
the Holy Spirit next time as well we'll do it all right well hey thanks Dave thanks everybody
for being with us of course we look forward being with you again next week we pray that you'll
always strive to have his spirit with you that'll be our our goal in our invitation this week we
look forward to being with you again next week until then be well