Speaking by the Power of the Holy Ghost

My beloved brethren and sisters : I have repeatedly and earnestly sought the Lord that His spirit would be with me while I occupy a few minutes of these precious moments, and I ask you if you will please join your prayers with mine, that this time may be profitable to us all. ¶

I believe the phrase most frequently spoken in this Conference has been "the spirit of the Lord." Nearly every speaker who has addressed us has expressed his wish, his prayer, that the spirit of the Lord would direct what he said. Nearly every man who has offered a prayer, either an opening prayer or a closing prayer, has prayed for the same thing. I am persuaded that in these Conference sessions we have had a rich outpouring of the spirit of the Lord. ¶

Speaking by the Power of the Holy Ghost

The other day Brother Joseph Fielding Smith spoke of the spirit of the Lord that enlightens every man who comes into this world. I think the spirit of the Lord which we seek in administering the affairs of the Church is more than that spirit. When I pray for the spirit of the Lord to direct me in this talk, I pray for the spirit of revelation, the help of the Holy Ghost. You know, the Lord said that we should have this spirit by the prayer of faith, and He said further if we did not have the spirit, we should not teach. ¶

Nephi said on one occasion that "when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." I am persuaded that one of the deepest truths, the most glorious principles, revealed to the world through the restoration, by the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, was the doctrine that every man and every woman and every boy and every girl who has reached the age of accountability and has joined the Church may have the spirit of the Lord, that is; the gift of the Holy Ghost, to guide him through his life. I mean by this direct communication with, revelation from, God our eternal Father. ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught this in a wonderful way. In the last chapter, quoting Moroni, he told us how to get a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. We are not left to take the word and testimony of the Prophet and of the three and eight witnesses only, but he there told us that when we read the book, if we will ask God the eternal Father in faith, He will manifest the truth of it unto us, individually, I take it, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. ¶

The Exercise of Faith Necessary

You remember the occasion when Brother Newell K. Whitney was called to be a bishop in Kirtland. Brother Partridge was over in Zion at that time, as I recall. Brother Whitney was a great man, measured by the standards of the world, but when the Prophet told him that he was to be a bishop, he said that he could not see the qualifications of a bishop in himself. The Prophet said : "You need not take my word alone. Go and ask Father for yourself." At that slight rebuke, Brother Whitney went and asked the Lord. He heard a voice speak to him saying : "Thy strength is in me." This was a revelation to him, and "he straightway sought the Prophet, told him he was satisfied, and was willing to accept the office to which he had been called." ¶

Then you remember when the Prophet was asking for volunteers to come out to this western country to make a survey looking for a place where the Saints might come, he described what kind of men he wanted. He described what their equipment must be, and then he said : "I want every man that goes to be a king and a priest. When he gets on the mountain, he may want to talk with his God." ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith knew this doctrine was true; he knew from experience. He knew because he had had the experience of talking with God, our eternal Father. This great latter-day work, the restoration, opened up with a grand vision, referred to by President David O McKay this morning, in which the Father and the Son came and appeared to the boy prophet, Joseph Smith. It came as a result of his prayer and his faith. ¶

About a year and a half ago, I was given an assignment in the Welfare work to travel around the Church into all the stakes. I took with me the first volume of the Documentary History of the Church. As I read, I observed that when questions came to the mind of the Prophet Joseph, he straightway went and in mighty prayer asked the Lord for an answer to the questions. Then he would come back with an answer from the Lord in direct quotations. These quotations were the revelations which came during the restoration of the Gospel. ¶

Experiences of Wilford Woodruff and Brigham Young

Now, it is very important, my brethren, that we each live so that we can have this spirit of the Lord. Its importance did not cease with the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In 1879, two years after the Prophet Brigham Young had died, President Wilford Woodruff was down in the mountains of Arizona traveling with Lot Smith. On one occasion, he had a vision or a dream in which he saw Brigham Young and Orson Hyde, and he asked Brigham Young if he would not come with him to Arizona and speak to the people. Brigham Young answered that he had done his talking in the flesh and that work was now left for Elder Woodruff and others to do. In "his diary, President Woodruff quotes President Young as saying : "Tell the people to get the spirit of the Lord and keep it with them." ¶

Brigham Young had a similar experience in his lifetime. In February, 1847, he had a dream in which the Prophet Joseph Smith appeared to him. It was a glorious dream. You will find it in the history of the Church written by Brother Cannon. Brigham Young expressed his sorrow that he was separated from the companionship of President Smith, the Prophet, and asked him why he could not come with him. The Prophet told him he would have to wait awhile. ¶

Then Brigham Young asked him if he had a message for them, and the Prophet stepped toward him, looking very earnestly, yet patiently, and said (I quote from the words of the Prophet in that dream of Brigham Young's) : Tell the brethren to be humble and faithful and be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord, that it will lead them aright. Be careful and not turn away the still, small voice ; it will teach them what to do and where to go ; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. ¶

That is one way, brethren, to get the spirit of the Lord, and it is one absolute requirement to keep our hearts open to conviction, so that we can hear the word of God and receive the Holy Ghost's promptings when they come. It is a terrible calamity for men or nations to become laws unto themselves. You know, the Lord said: "That which seeketh to become a law unto itself . . . cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment, therefore they must remain filthy still." ¶

The Prophet, in this statement to Brigham Young, continues : They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits — it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts, and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness, and build up the kingdom of God. ¶

The Prayer of Enos

When I read that, I thought of the experience of Enos, the son of Jacob, as related in the Book of Mormon. He went into the forest and prayed with all the energy of his soul that he might have a knowledge of the goodness of the Lord about whom his father, Jacob, had told him, and the Lord spoke to him and said : "Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee." And Enos then asked how it could be, and the Lord told him because of his faith on Jesus Christ whom he had never before seen nor heard. Then there came over Enos the feeling for his brethren, and he prayed with all the energy of his soul for them, first for the Nephites and then for the Lamanites. I thought how true this is, that when a man has the spirit of the Lord, his whole desire is for righteousness and to build up the kingdom of God. ¶

The Prophet Joseph continued : Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord, they will go right. Be sure to tell the brethren to keep the Spirit of the Lord ; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion. ¶

Now, I skip a part and close with this statement : "Joseph again said to him, 'Tell the people to be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and follow it and it will lead them just right.' " ¶

Brethren, if we are to be led just right, through these perilous times in which we live, we must keep our minds open and have the spirit of the Lord. The gift of the Holy Ghost must be operative in us. God bless us to this end, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶