Promptings of the Spirit

By Elder Iotua Bareeta Tune

Area Seventy

God will use us to do His errand if we listen and respond promptly to the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.

Heavenly Father has blessed His children with many spiritual gifts.¹ As baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we received the gift of the Holy Ghost through the ordinance of confirmation, which is performed by the laying on of hands by “the holders of the priesthood.”² Heavenly Father promised that if we live worthily of our baptismal covenants, the Holy Ghost would become our constant companion.³

The Holy Ghost, who is the third member of the Godhead, testifies of the Father and the Son.⁴ He also reveals to us the truths of all things⁵ and frees us from the evil teachings and philosophies of man.⁶

The Lord describes how the Holy Ghost communicates in a marvellous way:

“Yea, behold, 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.

“Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation.”⁷

One day in July 1989, I was sitting in my office in Tarawa, Kiribati, pondering my ministering responsibilities when a strong impression came to my mind telling me to go to the hospital. It was strange, but I knew the peaceful voice was from the Spirit. I decided to act upon the prompting without delay.

As I was preparing to leave, a former missionary companion, Founuku Kitiona, came by just as I needed him. I asked if he would accompany me to the hospital.

“Someone sick?” he asked. I told him, “I don’t know, I just had this strong feeling that we should go there.”

As we drove up to the hospital, fifteen minutes away, I didn’t know what to expect. It reminded me of the words of Nephi when the Lord told him to return to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates, “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.”⁸

We arrived at the hospital and noticed a white van parked in front of the emergency room. It belonged to Elder and Sister Trethowan, a wonderful and faithful senior missionary couple from Australia. We wondered why it was there!

As we walked into the emergency room, we saw Elder Trethowan on a bed, half conscious and perspiring! His wife was kneeling on the floor beside him, praying.

They had been there for almost an hour waiting for assistance. She was desperate, but never gave up hope for heavenly intervention. You can imagine her relief, at least, when she saw us. “Thank you, brethren. God answered my prayers,” she said.

At that moment, I knew why the Lord sent us there. We laid our hands on Elder Trethowan’s head and gave him a priesthood blessing.

A moment later, several nurses and a doctor arrived. After examining him, the doctor told us that the missionary had a serious heart condition and needed to be admitted.

Knowing the limited medical facilities on the island, I immediately returned to my office and called the area office for advice. The immediate response was to get Elder Trethowan on the next flight out of the country. The problem was, there was only one international flight a week, and the flight for that week had already gone.

As I wrestled further with the issue, the Spirit whispered to my mind again to “go to the travel office.” I left immediately and got there just before the office closed.

I enquired about flights and was surprised to learn about a special flight leaving for Honolulu the very next day. I immediately booked the couple on that flight.

The next morning the couple left Tarawa and landed in Honolulu a few hours later. Elder Trethowan was taken directly to a hospital where he received medical procedures which miraculously saved his life.

A few years later, I was thrilled to see Brother Trethowan at the Sydney Australia Temple. He was in excellent health and he and his wife continued to serve the Lord there as temple ordinance workers. He told me that if he had not left the island on that flight, his mortal life would have ended there.

From that traumatic experience, and many other experiences, my faith and testimony have grown, and I have learned an important lesson: listen and respond promptly to the Spirit.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband said, “The Lord knows the needs of all His children—and He knows who is prepared to help. If we let the Lord know in our morning prayers that we are ready, He will call upon us to respond . . . and we will find ourselves on what President Thomas S. Monson calls, ‘the Lord’s errand.’”⁹

President Russell M. Nelson has pled with us, “to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation”¹⁰ and to “seek, in every way we can, to hear Jesus Christ, who speaks to us through the power and ministering of the Holy Ghost.”¹¹

Remember that our spiritual capacity to receive revelation relies solely on personal righteousness.¹² This does not mean that we have to be perfect. No one who has ever walked this earth is perfect,¹³ except Jesus Christ. But it means that we need to be worthy: “worthy to partake of the sacrament, worthy of temple blessings, and worthy to receive personal revelation.”¹⁴

May we all double our spiritual efforts to be more obedient to God’s commandments and to follow the prophetic counsels and teachings of the living prophet and apostles today. I testify that as we do, we will hear the voice of the Spirit “more frequently and more clearly”¹⁵ and “partake of his goodness.”¹⁶