They did pray for that which they most desired: The Holy Ghost – 3 Nephi 19:9 – Come, Follow Me Ponderize and Commentary
And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.
This is so powerful. Of all the things the disciples could have prayed for, they chose to pray for the Holy Ghost! And if the Holy Ghost was so important to them, should it not be equally important to us?
It got me thinking though, why was the Holy Ghost so important to them and why should it be so important to us?
I believe there are several reasons, but let’s start our search by turning to Acts 1. Here the disciples are being taught by the resurrected Lord, with these words:
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Next let’s go to Kirtland, Ohio, June 1, 1833:
Doctrine and Covenants 95:8–9
8 Yea, verily I say unto you, I gave unto you a commandment that you should build a house, in the which house I design to endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high;
9 For this is the promise of the Father unto you; therefore I command you to tarry, even as mine apostles at Jerusalem.
At first glance, it may seem that the Holy Ghost is merely a prerequisite to the power or promise of the Father that they are to receive. Although, the Holy Ghost must be given first, it is so much more than a prerequisite, for it is the greatest gift that we, as mortals, can receive in this life.
In Douglas D. Holmes talk titled, “What Every Aaronic Priesthood Holder Needs to Understand” he said this,
Thus, the Aaronic Priesthood, with the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel, prepares the way for God’s children to receive, through the Melchizedek Priesthood, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the greatest gift we can receive in this life.
If we look at his footnotes, we find several other prophets and apostles testifying of this as well.
President Dallin H. Oaks said, “To have the continuous companionship of the Holy Ghost is the most precious possession we can have in mortality” (“The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 38; Liahona, Jan. 1999, 44).
Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Speaking from the perspective of eternity, eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God. But narrowing the perspective to this life only, the gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift a mortal can enjoy” (“What Is Meant by ‘The Holy Spirit’?” Instructor, Feb. 1965, 57).
President Wilford Woodruff testified: “If you have the Holy Ghost with you—and every one ought to have—I can say unto you that there is no greater gift, there is no greater blessing, there is no greater testimony given to any man on earth. You may have the administration of angels; you may see many miracles; you may see many wonders in the earth; but I claim that the gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon man” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff [2004], 49).
Elder David A. Bednar added: “The commandments from God we obey and the inspired counsel from Church leaders we follow principally focus upon obtaining the companionship of the Spirit. Fundamentally, all gospel teachings and activities are centered on coming unto Christ by receiving the Holy Ghost in our lives” (“Receive the Holy Ghost,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 97).]
That last statement really resonates with me, “all gospel teachings and activities are centered on coming unto Christ by receiving the Holy Ghost in our lives,” and specifically the companionship of the Holy Ghost. This is where true conversion is born, as explained by Bruce R McConkie in these words:
A convert is one who has put off the natural man, yielded to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and become “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” Such a person has become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19.) He has become a new creature of the Holy Ghost: the old creature has been converted or changed into a new one. He has been born again: where once he was spiritually dead, he has been regenerated to a state of spiritual life. (Mosiah 27:24-29.) In real conversion, which is essential to salvation (Matt. 18:3), the convert not only changes his beliefs, casting off the false traditions of the past and accepting the beauties of revealed religion, but he changes his whole way of life, and the nature and structure of his very being is quickened and changed by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I simply love these words, and hopefully it stirs within you a desire to have such a conversion for yourself. With true conversion comes the awesome responsibility to be a witness of Christ.
President Joseph F. Smith said: “ ‘The gift of the Holy Ghost,’ is a special blessing sealed upon baptized repentant believers in Jesus Christ, and is ‘an abiding witness.’ The spirit of God may be enjoyed as a temporary influence by which divine light and power come to mankind for special purposes and occasions. But the gift of the Holy Ghost, which was received by the apostles on the day of Pentecost, and is bestowed in confirmation, is a permanent witness and higher endowment” (L. Tom Perry quoting Joseph F. Smith, CR 2002 Apr; Becoming Men in Whom the Spirit of God Is, Ensign, May 2002, p.39).
I want to always have that “permanent witness and higher endowment.” This is where we start to see why the Holy Ghost was needed before the disciples could receive power from on high and the promise of the Father. The Holy Ghost plays a major role in preparing us to receive the Melchizedek priesthood with all the blessings and powers that flow from that, including the blessings of the temple and having our callings and elections made sure and receiving the second Comforter. Here are the words of Joseph Smith:
There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost, the same as given on the day of Pentecost, and that all Saints receive after faith, repentance, and baptism. This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge, of a man who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon one of the literal seed of Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. That man that has none of the blood of Abraham (naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost. In such a case, there may be more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence.
The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted.
When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses. [Note verses 16, 17, 18, 21, 23.]
Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions – Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn. — “The Two Comforters,” Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith (1938), pp. 149-151
So, again I ask you, should we not desire the Holy Ghost, even the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, above that of all things? For by it we will know of Christ and Christ will be revealed unto us, and we will become new creatures in Christ, and eventually we will have the second Comforter with us always, and even the Father will make His abode with us.
Craig
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