1 Corinthians 2

Understanding Spiritual Things

What worldly ideas surround you that sometimes make it difficult to discern truth? The Saints in Corinth were confused by worldly ideas, and the Apostle Paul tried to help them see how they could learn lasting spiritual truths. This lesson can help you invite the Holy Ghost to help you learn spiritual things.

“Tell me how you know”

President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the following account:

I sat on a plane next to a professed atheist who pressed his disbelief in God so urgently that I bore my testimony to him. “You are wrong,” I said, “there is a God. I know He lives!”

He protested, “You don’t know. Nobody knows that! You can’t know it!” When I would not yield, the atheist, who was an attorney, asked perhaps the ultimate question on the subject of testimony. “All right,” he said in a sneering, condescending way, “you say you know. Tell me how you know.”

(Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan. 1983, 51)

• How have you seen this type of questioning in the world today?

• How might you respond to the man’s question?

As you study, ponder how well you understand how to learn spiritual truths and search for insights that can help you learn more.

Learning spiritual truths

The Saints in Corinth had confused worldly ideas and practices with living the gospel. As a result, they fell into many errors. Paul wrote to them to help them understand how to learn spiritual things.

Read 1 Corinthians 2:9–14, looking for insights that can help us learn spiritual truths.

Note that the “natural man” in verse 14 is “a person who chooses to be influenced by the passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh rather than by the promptings of the Holy Spirit” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Natural Man,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

• What verses or phrases stood out to you? What did you like about them?

• What did you learn about Heavenly Father and His love for you in verse 9?

• What truths did you find about how Heavenly Father reveals knowledge to His children?

One truth taught in these verses is that we can know and understand the things of God only through His Spirit.

As a possible example of not understanding how to learn spiritual truth, read what happened as President Packer tried to explain how he knew God was real to the atheist on the plane:

When I used the words Spirit and witness, the atheist responded, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” The words prayer, discernment, and faith, were equally meaningless to him.

(Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan. 1983, 51)

Learning by the Spirit

1. Create a list of truths in your study journal as instructed in the following paragraph. Then answer the two questions that follow.

In your study journal, list some spiritual truths you have learned through the Holy Ghost. Also list some truths you want to obtain a witness of. Some examples could include the following: Heavenly Father is real and loves me, Jesus Christ is my Savior, and Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

Select one of the truths you identified and answer the following:

• How would the world tell you to discover the truth about this subject?

• What did you do, or what could you do, to come to know this truth through the Holy Ghost?

If you would like to learn more about learning truth through the Holy Ghost, consider studying some of the following resources:

• Galatians 5:22–23; Doctrine and Covenants 8:2–3; 9:7–8; 11:12–14, 21–22; and 138:1–4, 11

• entries with such titles as “ Holy Ghost ” in the Guide to the Scriptures, the Topical Guide, or the Gospel Topics pages found on topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org

• talks and articles about learning by the Spirit, such as David A. Bednar, “Learning in the Lord’s Way,” New Era, Oct. 2018, 50–53; or Richard G. Scott, “How to Learn by the Spirit,” New Era, Sept. 2014, 48

• the video “How Does the Holy Spirit Guide?” (3:25), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Helping others learn by the Spirit

Read the following to complete the story of President Packer. When the man on the airplane rejected President Packer’s explanations, President Packer felt inspired to ask the man to describe the taste of salt:

After several attempts, of course, he could not do it. He could not convey, in words alone, so ordinary an experience as tasting salt. I bore testimony to him once again and said, “I know there is a God. You ridiculed that testimony and said that if I did know, I would be able to tell you exactly how I know. My friend, spiritually speaking, I have tasted salt. I am no more able to convey to you in words how this knowledge has come than you are to tell me what salt tastes like. But I say to you again, there is a God! He does live! And just because you don’t know, don’t try to tell me that I don’t know, for I do!” …

From that experience forward, I have never been embarrassed or ashamed that I could not explain in words alone everything I know spiritually.

(Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan. 1983, 52)

2. Respond to the following questions in your study journal:

• Why is the Holy Ghost a better source of knowledge than the wisdom and reasoning of the world?

• What can you do to seek knowledge from Heavenly Father?

Consider writing in your study journal what you would like to do to continue to learn truth by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Optional: Want to Learn More?

What can I do to learn spiritual things?

Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy stated:

Answers to spiritual questions are given to individuals who don’t harden their hearts; who ask in faith, believing they will receive; and who diligently keep the commandments.

(Paul V. Johnson, “A Pattern for Learning Spiritual Things” [Seminaries and Institutes of Religion satellite broadcast, Aug. 7, 2012], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

Can things like the scientific method and logic alone be used to understand gospel truths?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency stated:

When we seek the truth about religion, we should use spiritual methods appropriate for that search: prayer, the witness of the Holy Ghost, and study of the scriptures and the words of modern prophets. I am always sad when I hear of one who reports a loss of religious faith because of secular teachings. Those who once had spiritual vision can suffer from self-inflicted spiritual blindness. As President Henry B. Eyring said, “Their problem does not lie in what they think they see; it lies in what they cannot yet see” [Henry B. Eyring, To Draw Closer to God: A Collection of Discourses (1997), 143].

The methods of science lead us to what we call scientific truth. But “scientific truth” is not the whole of life. Those who do not learn “by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118) limit their understanding of truth to what they can verify by scientific means. That puts artificial limits on their pursuit of truth.

(Dallin H. Oaks, “Truth and the Plan,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 25)

How might the Holy Ghost communicate truth to me?

Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated:

You can learn vitally important things by what you hear and see and, even more, by what you feel, as prompted by the Holy Ghost. Many individuals limit their learning primarily to what they hear or read. Be wise. Develop the skill of also learning by what you see and particularly by what the Holy Ghost prompts you to feel. Consciously and consistently seek to learn by what you feel. Your capacity to do so will expand through repeated practice. Significant faith and effort are required to learn by what you feel from the Spirit. Ask in faith for such help. Live to be worthy of such guidance.

(Richard G. Scott, “How to Learn by the Spirit,” New Era, Sept. 2014, 48)