Today I spent some time studying a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott called, “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance.” (Read it here.) Elder Scott is one of the 12 Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As part of my study, I wanted to summarize some thoughts.
Elder Scott began with a few questions.
1“What can you do to enhance your capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life?”
2“What are the principles upon which spiritual communication depends?”
3“What are the potential barriers to such communication that you need to avoid?”
Throughout his talk, he discussed the answers to these questions through quotations and experiences of others and also some of his own personal experiences. Here I am adding my thoughts to his.
“Never … arise in the morning without bowing before the Lord and dedicating myself to Him during that day.”
I rarely miss my morning prayers, but many of them are far from effective, I’m sure. My mind is still in the ‘roll out of bed, figure out where I am’ stage when I begin my prayer, which doesn’t help at all. I’ve found myself a few times repeating the same line multiple times. I’m sure God is thinking, “Okay Nolan, I get point; what else?” I think it’s important to specifically dedicate myself to God and His service. Also for me to pray for spiritual guidance, for opportunities to serve, for opportunities to receive personal revelation, and even with an increased spiritual awareness to be in tune with the Holy Spirit. It’s been my personal experience that when I pray with sincerity, especially for the opportunities to serve and increase my testimony, that I find those opportunities throughout the day. And as an added bonus, I typically am happier and less abrasive during the day when I take a sincere moment out of my morning to speak with God.
“[Heavenly Father] expects [me] to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ.”
I could write forever about this one, but I’ll spare myself; after all, it’s fairly late at night. Although I typically appreciate most things if they’re just handed to me, I’m prouder and more fond of things that I work toward. Gaining a deep personal relationship with deity isn’t easy, and if God always gave to me at the drop of a hat, I think I’d find myself distanced from Him. It’s part of our Heavenly Father’s plan to test us, to stretch our faith and grow deeper rooted in His gospel, and without that proving ground (or if everything were just given) we would not progress. Honestly speaking, we’d probably all become spiritual brats.
“What may appear to be … [daunting] … will be much easier to manage over time as [I] consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit.]
I don’t find the thought of acquiring spiritual sensitivity and consistency daunting, just time consuming. But why should time be an issue? I don’t get it. I have time to work on this blog. I have time to sleep in, I have time to kick it on facebook, so why do I not have the time to deepen my spiritual relationship with God? I know if I did my life would be better, more pleasing, more joyful–more righteous. I think it’s time to be 100% honest with myself. I’m scared of committing my life to God and his Holy Son, Jesus Christ. I’m scared of what I may be asked, that it may be inconvenient or non-enjoyable. Man, I’m such a wuss. Suck it up and be a man. I would lose nothing–NOTHING–that would be more valuable than a closer relationship with Heavenly Father my Savior, He who gave His life for me. Hmm, writing this kind of pumps me up. But I’m still a wuss. I guess this is what Elder Scott is talking about. It takes time. It’s not easy. I guess the path really does appear seem daunting. Here’s my first act of faith: take the step towards greater spiritual guidance by believing it will get easier over time. And something especially neat that Elder Scott said was, “as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.”
“God answers prayer and gives [me] spiritual direction when [I] live obediently and exercise the required faith in him.”
I believe God answers all prayers, regardless of spirituality, but when I’m especially obedient and am constantly working toward a more righteous life, God gives me more spiritual direction and I recognize more clearly.
“I began to receive personal impressions as an extension of the principles taught. [...] As each impression came, I carefully wrote it down. [...] strong impressions began to flow to me again. I wrote them down.”
This was elder Scott speaking of a personal experience he had with attending priesthood meetings in Mexico. I think there’s two points here to remember: 1) spiritual impressions can be sprouted from hearing (or studying) divine truths, and 2) writing those impressions down allows me to more clearly listen to the spirit which in turn enhances my ability to humbly serve God. For 8 years or more I’ve been writing down spiritual impressions off and on (more off than on) and from experience I know that when I write those impressions down, I feel a spirit of confirmation letting me know that it’s personal revelation that will bless my life. I’ve frequently received revelation to serve a specific individual or to solve a problem at home or at work, and sometimes it’s the calm reassurance that I’m loved and am walking on the right path, though I’m far from perfect.
Elder Scott continues, “After each powerful impression was recorded, I pondered the feelings I had received to determine if I had accurately expressed them in writing. As a result, I made a few minor changes to what had been written.”
A critical step to acquiring spiritual guidance is to spend the time pondering on the meaning of my impressions. I’ve heard it said that Joseph Smith received countless revelations while pondering and meditating. Since then, I’ve meditated a lot and have learned much about myself, and in the moments that I add some time onto my prayer to ponder what I’ve said and felt, I receive personal guidance.
Think about it logically and from past experience. When two people are conversing, do they talk at the same time? What about a Q&A session? Sure, it can be done, but when 50% of your resources are geared toward talking and 50% toward hearing the other person, it’s likely something will be missed or you’ll not remember anything the other person said. For a deep, personal conversation to take place, there must be periods of reflection, silence, questioning, and answering. Thus it is with prayer. Can I really expect to receive inspiration from God if I talk His ear off each night in prayer, then jump into bed immediately thereafter? I think not. Sometimes God must think he’s listening to a 3-year-old, and right when He wants to give a response, zoom I’m gone.
I need to take more time to listen. Prayer is a chance to receive help from the the All-Knowing, and I all-too-often treat it like a chore. Wow. I can be a real turd. I hate it when my toddler does that to me. I want to continue with Elder Scott’s quotation.
“Subsequently I prayed, reviewing with the Lord what I thought I had been taught by the Spirit. When a feeling of peace came, I thanked Him for the guidance given. I was then impressed to ask, ‘Was there yet more to be given?’ I received further impressions, and the process of writing down the impressions, pondering, and praying for confirmation was repeated. Again I was prompted to ask, ‘Is there more I should know?’ And there was. When that last, most sacred experience was concluded, I had received some of the most precious, specific, personal direction one could hope to obtain in this life. Had I not responded to the first impressions and recorded them, I would not have received the last, most precious guidance.”
“I believe you can leave the most precious, personal direction of the Spirit unheard because you do not respond to , record, and apply the first promptings that come to you.” – Elder Richard G. ScottDoes the Lord trust me enough to continue giving me inspiration when I ask? Do I trust the Lord enough to continue giving me inspiration if I ask? Do I have enough faith to accept what He tells me? The popular phrase, “Ask and ye shall receive” comes to mind. Something that scares me about that quotation, I suppose, is the what shall I receive? I fear I may not be 100% willing to accept what I feel impressed to do. But Elder Scott says he “had received some of the most precious, specific, personal direction one could hope to obtain in this life.” Do I want that? Yes! So what do I have to do? Have faith that if I follow the council I receive during prayer, that it will be for my good. Can I do that? We’ll see, but I’m sure as heck going to try.
Back tracking just a little bit… I find it important to remember that Elder Scott confirmed through prayer that the inspirations and feelings he had were indeed God’s will for him, and not just a random thing that popped into his head. As a humorous example, my 3-year-old has in the middle of her bedtime prayer, stopped and said, “I need ice cream.” It’s important to know what thoughts are inspired and which ones may truly be personal revelation.
“The Lord will not force you to learn. You must exercise your agency to authorize the Spirit to teach you.”
I think this goes with what I said just above. God isn’t going to force-feed me inspiration. Yes, he wants me to receive that inspiration, but I must be willing, otherwise it does Him no good to give it to me, and it does me no good to receive it.
“The inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit can be overcome or masked by strong emotions, such as anger, hate, passion, fear, or pride.”
I’ve seen this all-too-often in my personal life, especially the strong emotions or passion. When I’m angry, first I’ve got to pray to calm down, after that, my prayers are a little smoother. It’s the passion that kills me. I can be so passionate about a subject that I’m wanting God to give me the answer I want, and basically shut my mind to any other answers. These times have an uncanny way of coming back around to haunt me… and thankfully, I’m learning to bridle my passions at the door before kneeling in prayer. Elder Scott continues on how sin is also a spiritual blockade, especially pornography (which deserves it’s own few posts), but I want to write a portion of what he says down, so I can remember it: “… pornography … is one of the most damning influences on earth.”
“Have patience as [I] am perfecting [my] ability to be led by the Spirit. By careful practice, through the application of correct principles, and by being sensitive to the feelings that come, [I] will gain spiritual guidance. [...] The Lord, through the Holy Ghost, can speak to [my] mind and heart. Sometimes the impressions are just general feelings. Sometimes the direction comes so clearly and so unmistakably that it can be written down like spiritual dictation.”
What can I say? I know that this is the truth because I personally have experienced numerous times, some of them being very personal to myself. Patience is key. I need to take the time to spend time deepening my relationship with Heavenly Father and listening to His councils. What’s another few minutes in the grand scheme of things, or even in the course of the day? It makes me wonder, when Christ walked the earth, would I have been one who spent the time listening to Him as He preached? Or would I just ‘be around’ when I found the time or it was convenient? I can’t really say, but my habits lean toward the latter. Time to change.
I found this talk very encouraging and humbling at the same time. Encouraging because I know I’ve done it before and I know that it works, but humbling because I don’t spend enough time seeking guidance and personal revelation. There really are simple steps, and I’d like to draw a diagram of this sometime, but basically, Here is what I must do to acquire spiritual guidance:
Be willing to listen → (Write down inspiration ↔ Pray) → Give thanks → Apply
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