Ronald A. Rasband - Led by Divine Design: Seeking for and Recognizing the Spirit

How Do We Always Remember Him?

Each week as we partake of the holy sacrament, we make a covenant to always remember him, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His atoning sacrifice. When we keep this sacred covenant, the promise is given that we may always have his Spirit to be with [us] (D&C 20:77).

How do we do that?

First, we strive to live worthy of the Spirit.

The Holy Ghost accompanies those who are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day (Alma 58:40). As the Lord counseled, we must lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better (D&C 25:10), for the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples (Helaman 4:24). We must always try to obey Gods laws, study the scriptures, pray, attend the temple, and live true to the thirteenth article of faith, being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and... doing good to all men.

Second, we must be willing to receive the Spirit.

Elder Rasband and Elder Weidner with Marti and Sister Schaffer.

The Lord has promised, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart (D&C 8:2). I began to understand this as a young missionary in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. One hot July morning my companion and I felt prompted to look up a Temple Square referral. We knocked on the door of the Elwood Schaffer home. Mrs. Schaffer politely turned us away.

As she began to shut the door, I felt to do something I had never done before and have never done since! I stuck my foot in the door, and I asked, Is there anyone else who might be interested in our message? Her sixteen-year-old daughter, Marti, did have an interest and had fervently prayed for guidance just the day before. Marti met with us, and in time her mother participated in the discussions. Both of them joined the Church.

Resulting from Martis baptism, 136 people, including many of her own family members, have been baptized and made gospel covenants. How grateful I am that I listened to the Spirit and stuck my foot in the door on that hot July day.

Third, we must recognize the Spirit when it comes.

Elder and Sister Rasband with Brother Weidner and Martis family.

My experience has been that the Spirit most often communicates as a feeling. You feel it in words that are familiar to you, that make sense to you, that prompt you. Consider the response of the Nephites as they listened to the Lord pray for them: And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed (3 Nephi 19:33). They felt in their hearts the words of His prayer. The voice of the Holy Spirit is still and small.

President Thomas S. Monson taught, As we pursue the journey of life, let us learn the language of the Spirit (The Spirit Giveth Life, Ensign, May 1985). The Spirit speaks words that we feel. These feelings are gentle: a nudge to act, to do something, to say something, to respond in a certain way. If we are casual or complacent in our worship, drawn off and desensitized by worldly pursuits, we find ourselves diminished in our ability to feel. Nephi said to Laman and Lemuel, Ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel [the] words (1 Nephi 17:45).

On Our Fathers Business

Once, on an assignment to South America, we were on a tight ten-day schedule visiting Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. An enormous earthquake had killed hundreds, injured tens of thousands, and damaged and destroyed homes and communities in the Ecuadorian cities of Portoviejo and Manta. We felt prompted to add to our schedule a visit to members living in those cities. With damage to the roads, we werent sure we could get there. In fact, we had been told we could not get there, but the prompting would not go away. Consequently, we were blessed and were able to visit both cities.