What We Believe

The Holy Ghost Comforts, Inspires, and Testifies

The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest blessings we can receive in this life, for the Holy Ghost comforts, inspires, warns, purifies, and guides us. He can fill us “with hope and perfect love” (Moroni 8:26). He teaches “the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). We receive revelation and spiritual gifts from God through the Holy Ghost. Most important, we receive our testimonies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost.

Before you were baptized, you could feel the Holy Ghost from time to time. But only by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost after your baptism could you enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, provided you are worthy. This gift was given by a Melchizedek Priesthood holder by the laying on of hands (see Acts 19:6; D&C 33:15). Each Sabbath day thereafter, you can renew your baptismal covenants as you take the sacrament and thus receive the Lord’s blessing that you may “always have his Spirit” to be with you (D&C 20:77).

The Holy Ghost, often referred to as the Spirit, is the third member of the Godhead. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (D&C 130:22).

“Because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples” (Helaman 4:24), we must be worthy of His companionship. We do so by, among other things, having virtuous thoughts, living with integrity, and seeking to keep the commandments.

After receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can do many things to invite His influence into our lives:

• Pray.

• Study the scriptures.

• Worthily partake of the sacrament.

• Worship in the temple.

• View wholesome media, use clean language, and have virtuous thoughts.

For more information, see 2 Nephi 31:13, 17; 32:5; 3 Nephi 27:20; Moroni 10:5–8; Joseph Smith—History 1:70.

We Must Not Take This Gift for Granted

“As with all gifts, this gift must be received and accepted to be enjoyed. When priesthood hands were laid upon your head to confirm you a member of the Church, you heard the words, ‘Receive the Holy Ghost.’ This did not mean that the Holy Ghost unconditionally became your constant companion. Scriptures warn us that the Spirit of the Lord will ‘not always strive with man’ (Genesis 6:3). When we are confirmed, we are given the right to the companionship of the Holy Ghost, but it is a right that we must continue to earn through obedience and worthiness.”

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Unspeakable Gift,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2003, 28.

Photo illustrations by Christina Smith, Eve Tuft, Cody Bell, and Matthew Reier