Why does the Lord Jesus Christ refer to the Holy Ghost as “my Spirit” in D&C 36:2?

Joseph C. Lundwall, instructor at the Ogden Utah Institute of Religion.

God the Father has given all things relative to our probationary experience into the hands of his Son (see John 3:35; Heb. 1:2–3; D&C 93:16–17). Even the Holy Ghost is to reveal the light and truth of that which Christ has received (see D&C 93:8–11, 26; Luke 10:22; JST, Luke 10:23). In this sense, Christ can call the Holy Ghost “my Spirit”—the agent or medium whereby the Savior reveals his Father’s truth to mankind, for Christ is the chosen spokesman, “the Word, even the messenger of salvation” (D&C 93:8), whose “words … are spirit” (John 6:63).

Since the fall of Adam, revelation received by prophets and Saints through prayer to the Father in Jesus’ name has come through the administration of Christ (see D&C 84:1). This intelligence is conveyed through the “power of the Holy Ghost” (Moro. 10:4–5; D&C 90:11), which power “carries a conviction of the truth into the heart of the hearer” (LDS Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Holy Ghost”; cf. 2 Ne. 33:1). For a modern-day example of this, see D&C 68:3–6.

Notice how scripture describes the Holy Ghost’s falling upon Adam: “And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever” (Moses 5:9).

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Every worthy soul is entitled to a revelation, and it comes through the Holy Ghost” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball [1982], 23). “No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations,” said the Prophet Joseph Smith, and “no man can know that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 328, 243).

Though the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate and distinct individuals, one aspect of their unity of purpose is seen in the truth they speak—truth accompanied by the convincing witness of the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit (see D&C 20:17–28; D&C 130:22–23).

The Holy Ghost may be considered Christ’s “Spirit” in the sense that the Holy Ghost “beareth record” of the Savior and of his doctrine, which is “the doctrine which the Father hath given” to his Son (3 Ne. 11:32).

One of the principal purposes of the Godhead as noted in the Book of Mormon is to convince Jew and Gentile not only “that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD” (Book of Mormon title page) but also “that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith” (2 Ne. 26:13; emphasis added).

Thus, in his role as Advocate and Mediator, Christ works his “mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men” as he manifests himself to us through the Holy Ghost, which he has called “my Spirit.”

Jesus of Nazareth, by Robert T. Barrett