One of the most amazing things about being a member of the LDS Church, is the opportunity to have the gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift is not to be used lightly, and can bring us so many blessings if we are willing to make choices worthy enough to have the constant companionship. Since we are all human, we have all listened to and followed those holy promptings, or ignored them. This is today’s challenge:
When did you follow or not follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost?
(And what happened or what did you learn from it?)
You can make a list of many things from both sides, focus on just one or two, or talk about it in general. Scrapbook it, blog it, write it in your journal, write a poem or a song, or even just make a simple list somewhere. You could even write down the promptings as they come! Remember, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort to start recording your history. Little bits at a time can easily add up!
This week we are in for a treat! We now have a team member for the TIMC—LDS! Natalie is going to be sharing her finished challenges with us, so you can have more ideas to go from than just mine! (And I can still use one more, if you are interested!)
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What Natalie did: (Natalie made a blog just to write about her challenges and to share her testimony with the world!)
I remember sitting at a stop light waiting for the light to turn green. Just before the light turned, I heard a voice tell me, "Don't move." For a second I thought, "that's silly." Just as the light turned green, a car ran the red light and plowed through the intersection. Had I not listened, I would have been hurt.
As a missionary, I remember visiting the S. family. This particular night was my first night in the mission field. My companion and I were teaching this family about the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families. I had not studied much of this discussion before leaving the MTC, and was really worried about having to teach it. My companion taught a little bit, and then turned to me. That night the Holy Ghost let me know, through a clear mind, what I needed to say.
I love the words penned by Sally DeFord:
I feel the Holy Spirit as He teaches truth and right.
He comforts me in times of need; He testifies of Christ.
He speaks to me in quiet ways that fill my soul with peace,
And if I listen with my heart I hear the Savior’s voice.
It is important to know that the Holy Ghost speaks to us in many different ways. For this challenge, you could write down the ways that the Holy Ghost has spoken to you. You could write down experiences you have had as you have followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost. You could study topics in the scriptures such as Holy Ghost, Comforter, Holy Ghost, Mission of; etc.
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What I did:
I made a fairly simple digital scrapbook page to write my answer on. I focused on one time that I didn’t follow the Spirit, and one time that I did. I also wrote a bit about how the Spirit usually speaks to me, and how I’d like to listen and follow through better.
In case you can’t read the text, this is what it says:
I wish that I could say listening to and following the Spirit was a strength of mine, but it seems that it’s more of the opposite. It seems that more often than not, I hear those still small whisperings, or have a thought and don’t follow through with it.
Most of those times that I haven’t listened, it’s because I have a thought (often more than once) and then I don’t do anything about it. I make excuses, think that I’ll do it later, feel that I don’t have the time or talent to do it, etc.
Just recently, I kept having the thought that I needed to call a certain friend. A friend who always seems to be on top of things, happy and self-confident. I didn’t call her--I made excuses every time I had the thought. When I saw her a few days later, I instantly felt like the most horrible friend. We talked for a bit, and she told me that she’d been having a hard time lately and told me some of the things she’d been dealing with. They were things that I’ve dealt with recently as well, and right then I knew that I had ignored the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I could have helped her, given a listening ear, etc. I knew that I was supposed to call her, because I could lend an empathetic ear. I hate it when I realize that I could’ve listend and I didn’t.
On the reverse, there have been times that I’ve listened to the Spirit. There were numerous times on my mission of course, but one that really stands out to me was an experience I had when I was only 8.
My family was traveling from Utah to Minnesota to visit my great-grandparents. We had stopped at a rest stop somewhere along the way. After 20 minutes or so, we all hopped back into the station wagon. I was in the very back with my sister, Bethany, and we had just gotten back onto the interstate. All of the sudden, as clear as day, I heard a voice say, “Where is Craig?”. I said it out loud, even before I looked for him. We all looked and he was not with us. We drove another 5 miles before we could get off the freeway and turn around. We found him at the rest stop with a couple of elderly women who’d been kind enough to help a 5 year old boy who’d just been abandoned by his family.
That was the only time that I’d ever heard an audible voice. Most of the time the Spirit speaks to me through my thoughts, and I’ve had to learn to listen to it and not ignore it or think that it was just my thoughts. It’s tough to sometimes know if it’s the Spirit or just me, but one thing I know, is that as I listen to and follow through with the promptings, Heavenly Father entrusts me with more promptings. It’s like a test, and I hope and pray that I can have the faith, patience and wisdom to follow those sweet promptings more often!
Credits: Template: Scrapping With Liz. Papers: Crystal Wilkerson.
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Now I challenge you to record about some promptings you’ve had!
