Seeking the Holy Ghost

We need the Holy Ghost more and more as the last days progress, but how can we make our desire for the Holy Ghost steady and intense?

I wanted to stop my own pride cycle. I wanted to seek God without having to be reminded by my spiritual lows. I wanted to embody Alma 32:25, which declares, “There are some among you who would humble themselves, let them be in whatsoever circumstances they might.”

There had to be some way to cut out the systematic backsliding in my journey toward God. Years after I first felt this desire, I read a BYU–Idaho devotional address titled “Raise the Bar,” by Elder Henry B. Eyring. It taught me that I could live the gospel more consistently by cultivating a constant desire for the Holy Ghost. Elder Eyring says that the foundation for keeping the Holy Ghost with us “is a burning desire to qualify for that gift. Most of us who are members of the restored Church have enough faith to want the Holy Ghost at times. That desire may be weak and intermittent, but it comes, usually when we are in trouble. For us to be led upward to safety in the times ahead, it must become steady and intense.”

But how can we make our desire for the Holy Ghost steady and intense? One way Elder Eyring does so is by often reminding himself of the light and happiness he feels when the Holy Ghost is with him. He teaches that once we desire the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we can invite and keep his companionship through the following steps:

1. Pray for the Holy Ghost with faith that God wants us to have the Spirit’s companionship.
2. Read the words of Christ to become familiar with the voice of the Holy Ghost (see 2 Nephi 32:3-5).
3. Quickly obey what the scriptures and the Holy Ghost say.

Elder Eyring warns that casually praying and reading a few verses of scripture will not be enough to qualify us for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. However, by following these three steps we will create a positive (rather than prideful) cycle: when we feel the Holy Ghost, we will desire to be closer to him and will pray more earnestly for that companionship, thus beginning the cycle again.

Elder Eyring’s address teaches us that seeking to live the gospel is seeking the sweet companionship of the Holy Ghost. Elder Eyring also gives us hope that our journey toward Heavenly Father can be steady: “Heavenly Father is inviting you upward, and you can move there if you have the determination and the grit to say to yourself, ‘I don’t have to be forced by circumstances to seek the Holy Ghost.’”

Read Elder Henry B. Eyring’s full devotional address, “Raise the Bar,” to learn how to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost by raising the bar for personal preparation.

Source: BYU–Idaho Speeches

—Christy Eck, Mormon Insights

feature image by martin jernberg

Find more insights

Discover what the Mormon Channel’s Q&A has to say in response to the question “How Can I Better Listen to the Holy Ghost?”

To learn about the commandment to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, read Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “Receive the Holy Ghost.”