Grieve
Not the Holy Spirit, Lest We Lose It
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1978/04/grieve-not-the-holy-spirit-lest-we-lose-it?lang=eng
James
A. Cullimore
My brethren and sisters, I bring greetings to you from the
Saints in Great Britain and South Africa. It’s exciting to see how the work is
moving forward in this area. There are now twenty-seven stakes in Great Britain
and one in South Africa. The leadership is generally strong and the work is
moving forward and blessing the people.
And now, to have a General Authority from this area! I’m sure
the people will be excited. And Brother Cuthbert, I think I can safely assume
to bring to you the congratulations and the blessings of the people in your
native land. We congratulate you.
It’s a pleasure to serve in this area. As I visit the stakes
each weekend, I often ask the stake president what his greatest concern is in
the stake. So often he replies: “The lack of commitment by the individual
members, the lack of determination to put the work of the Lord first in their
lives.” I think of the words of Nephi:
“And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of
my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall
be saved.
“And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this
straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you,
Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with
unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to
save.
“Wherefore, ye must press
forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope,
and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward,
feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the
Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” (2 Ne. 31:15, 19–20.)
How very important it is to have the light of the Holy Ghost to
give us direction. The Holy Ghost functioning through the priesthood can
greatly enrich our lives.
“And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through
him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your
understandings;
“Which light proceedeth
forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space.” (D&C 88:11–12.)
The Lord said to Frederick G. Williams:
“Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have
appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and
strengthen the feeble knees.
“And if thou art faithful
unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the
mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father.” (D&C 81:5–6.)
God gives to each of his children his Spirit to help them keep
the commandments and fulfill the purpose of life. But as it is written:
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. …
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to
us of God.
“Which things also we
speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
teacheth.” (1 Cor. 2:9–10, 12–13.)
From President Lorenzo Snow we learn the benefits of seeking the
Spirit:
“There is a way by which
persons can keep their consciences clear before God and man, and that is to
preserve within them the spirit of God, which is the spirit of revelation to
every man and woman. It will reveal to them, even in the simplest of matters,
what they shall do, by making suggestions to them. We should try to learn the
nature of this spirit, that we may understand its suggestions, and then we will
always be able to do right. This is the grand privilege of every Latter-day
Saint. We know that it is our right to have the manifestations of the spirit
every day of our lives. … The spirit is in every man and every woman so that
they need not walk in the darkness at all, and it is not always necessary for
them to come to the President of the Church, or to the Twelve, or to the Elders
of Israel, to get counsel; they have it within them. … From the time we receive
the Gospel, go down into the waters of baptism and have hands laid upon us
afterwards for the gift of the Holy Ghost, we have a friend, if we do not drive
it from us by doing wrong. That friend is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost,
which partakes of the things of God and shows them unto us. This is a grand
means that the Lord has provided for us, that we may know the light, and not be
groveling continually in the dark.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1899, p. 52.)
The apostle Paul admonished us about grieving the Holy Spirit
lest we lose it. He said:
“Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption.
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
“And be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake
hath forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:30–32.)
President Harold B. Lee has said:
“I have learned something
of what the Spirit has taught, and I know now that the place of safety in this
world is not in any given place; it doesn’t make so much difference where we
live; but the all-important thing is how we live, and I have found that security
can come to Israel only when they keep the commandments, when they live so that
they can enjoy the companionship, the direction, the comfort and the guidance
of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, when they are willing to listen to these men
whom God has set here to preside as His mouthpieces, and when we obey the
counsels of the Church.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1943, p. 129.)
The lifeblood of the Church is the Holy Ghost functioning
through the holy priesthood. The Church is guided in every move by revelation.
The Lord said to Oliver Cowdery:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord
liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a
knowledge of whatsoever thing you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing
that you shall receive.
“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.” (D&C 8:1–3.)
This is the way direction comes to the President of the Church.
This is the same spirit that gives direction to the stake
president, to the bishop of the ward and the individual members of the Church.
I like the verse of one of our hymns:
Thy
Spirit, Lord, has stirred our souls,
And
by its inward shining glow
We
see anew our sacred goals
And
feel thy nearness here below.
No
burning bush near Sinai
Could
show thy presence, Lord, more nigh.
“Did
not our hearts within us burn?”
We
know the Spirit’s fire is here.
It
makes our souls for service yearn;
It
makes the path of duty clear.
Lord,
may it prompt us, day by day,
In
all we do, in all we say.
May I leave with you my witness, my brothers and sisters, of the
truth of this great work, which I have received in this same manner, through
the Holy Ghost as it has witnessed unto me. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
“A Gift to Behold and
Honor”
cji
9/1/19
So few have received
this gift
especially from proper
authority
then to treat it lightly
or scoff
desperately seeding in
the dark
light fading far away
to blank
treasuring instead gifts
worldly
how vacant are our
lives
if we repent not and
return
to this eternal gift
given
a gift to behold and
honor!
Copyright © 2019 – cji
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