Today I’m going to continue re-sharing the short video series the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been publishing. Today M. Russell Ballard shares how he hears the voice of the Savior. It seems like we don’t give ourselves enough quiet to hear the influence of the Spirit. I recognize that I don’t give the Lord enough time as I’m often on my digital device not allowing the Lord to speak through the quiet promptings.
Image Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Some of the greatest times in which I’m feeling the love of the Lord are in those times when I’m serving others. To reach our as the Savior reaches out to each one of us individually.
I know that I’ve reposted several of these videos, but they’re great. Check out hearhim.org for some more ideas on how to hear the Spirit in your own life.
This video reminds me of the times in my life when I have felt the need to change my course of travel or to make a different choice and have later benefitted from that prompting that was given by the Spirit.
When We Follow the Spirit
One such experience that comes to mind was on a walk with my girlfriend now wife. We were walking around my neighborhood and we were going to walk through a park. I had the prompting that we shouldn’t walk through the park, so we passed the park on the sidewalk by the street. We continued with no thought to any dangers we might have faced in the park. On our way back to my house we passed by the park again and police officers were dealing with something that had happened in the park. I firmly believe this was a warning from the Spirit to keep us safe from any dangers.
When We Don’t Follow the Spirit
Conversely, I received a prompting one day that I ignored and had to pay a heavy price as a result.
A couple of years ago we were visiting my wife’s sister. After our visit, my brother-in-law called and said that I should take a look at our van because it had left a large oil spot in his driveway. It was Sunday, so I was going to put off checking the van until after work on Monday. The business of life took over and Monday afternoon came and I forgot about the van.
The following Saturday morning we were on our way for another activity with my wife’s family up at a lake. As we passed a grocery store I had the impression that I should stop and check the oil then I could buy some in the store if I needed to top off the oil. I didn’t want to delay our trip by stopping and I thought to myself, “I can check it tonight when I get home.”
You know the rest of the story, but I’ll still tell it.
We were up in the mountains when the car began to act weird then it began to overheat. We stopped and I checked the oil… There wasn’t a drop left. I had allowed my oil to run dry… I feel like there is something in the scriptures about that…
We had to get my wife’s brother to backtrack to come and pick up my wife and kids. They went to enjoy a day at the lake while I had to wait for a tow truck to come pick me up. Since we were so far from home the tow truck was going to cost a fortune. To save some money I had the tow truck driver take me back to his city and drop me off at the train station and he took the car back to his shop.
The end of the story? The van’s engine had seized up and it would have cost more than what the vehicle was worth to replace the engine. We had to sell the van for parts. If only I had listened to the prompting of the Spirit instead of telling myself that I would check the engine when we got home…
Does God allow you to blow up your car so you have a story to tell about not following the Spirit? This is one expensive post.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a short video yesterday featuring Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Elder Bednar shares how he is able to hear the voice of the Lord in his own life. I feel it is universal to all who are trying to learn how to feel the Spirit in their life. We could all use a spiritual boost from the Spirit every day.
I like how he says that “the scriptures are the prerecorded voice of the Lord” and then describes the spirit as a non audible voice and a feeling in the mind and heart. I can attest to that as I’ve felt that feeling in my mind and in my heart at times when I have felt the Holy Ghost giving me guidance in my life.