Thursday, December 5, 2019

The Power of the Holy Ghost

John Whitmer and his family were some of the first believers in the restored gospel. John was baptized in June 1829, almost a full year before the church was formally organized. He served as a scribe for Joseph Smith and was called to be one of eight witnesses who saw and handled the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. He was an early leader in the church with the faith and confidence of the Lord and his prophet.

When Oliver Cowdery left on a mission in the fall of 1830, John Whitmer was appointed to keep a record and history for the church. Serving as a scribe was one thing; but John hesitated to write an original work. Though he could read and write, John was a farmer, not a writer.

"I would rather not do it," he wrote at the time, but he agreed to accept the assignment if the Lord manifested that it was his will through Joseph the Seer (John Whitmer, History, 1831 - circa 1847," 24). The result is a revelation now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants Section 47.

"Behold," the Lord revealed to his prophet, "it is expedient in me that my servant John should write and keep a regular history, and assist you, my servant Joseph, in transcribing all things which shall be given you... Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by the Comforter, to write these things" (D&C 47:1,4).

We often talk about the Holy Ghost, or the Comforter, as a spiritual influence that brings comfort or guides us to do what is right. The impressions of the Holy Ghost are often understood as conscience or an inner voice. In this four-verse revelation to John Whitmer however, we find inference that the Holy Ghost not only comforts and guides but actually delivers power to act as well. It shall be given him... by the Comforter to write these things.

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the godhead with our Heavenly Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. These three, distinct personages are unified in purpose. It is our Heavenly Father's plan. Through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, power is available for us to be sanctified and redeemed from sin and death. The grace of Christ can also expand our capacity to do good. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught:

"God pours out blessings of power and strength, enabling us to achieve things that otherwise would be far beyond our reach. It is by God’s amazing grace that His children can overcome the undercurrents and quicksands of the deceiver, rise above sin, and ‘be perfect[ed] in Christ’ (Moroni 10:32)” (“The Gift of Grace,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 108).

The Holy Ghost is a messenger. He relays the words of God to our hearts and minds. The Holy Ghost is also the means whereby we receive both sanctifying and enabling power made available through the grace and Atonement of Jesus Christ.

"Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (3 Nephi 27:20, emphasis added).

"Ye are sanctified... [and] justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11, emphasis added).

"For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies" (D&C 84:33, emphasis added).

"By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5, emphasis added).

"And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom. To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge. And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again, to some is given the working of miracles; And to others it is given to prophesy; and to others the discerning of spirits. And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; And to another is given the interpretation of tongues. And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God" (D&C 46:17-26, emphasis added).

Jesus Christ taught that "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." He continued, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:26-27).

The Lord's peace is given to us through the power of the Holy Ghost. Paul wrote to the Galatians that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22). When the Holy Ghost is present in our lives, as evidenced by these fruits, we can be confident that we are worthy to receive sanctification and enabling power also.

Consider the verses that teach us about the stripling warriors. These two thousand faithful young men went to battle with no experience and were miraculously preserved. In preparing to go to battle, these young men poured out their souls in prayer to God. Then, the record states:

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

And we did take courage with our small force which we had received, and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the cause of liberty.

And thus we did go forth with our might against the Lamanites (Alma 58:11-13, emphasis added).

In addition to spiritual comfort and guidance, or as a result of it, the Lord delivered the extraordinary physical strength and mental focus these young men needed. through the Holy Ghost. After quoting the verses as emphasized above, Elder David A. Bednar taught, "Assurance, personal peace, faith, and hope initially might not seem like the blessings warriors in battle might want, but they were precisely the blessings these valiant young men needed to press forward and prevail physically and spiritually" (Power to Become, p. 43).

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear," Paul wrote to Timothy, "but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). God desires to give us greater blessings through the power of the Holy Ghost. Like John Whitmer, these blessings are conditioned on our faithfulness. When righteous action leads us to repent and to become pure through a remission of our sins, we can enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost with all of the the sanctification, peace, strength and power available through the grace and Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is why the sacrament prayers don't ask specifically for the forgiveness of sin or the power to move mountains, but rather "that [we] may have his Spirit to be with [us]" (D&C 20:79).

The Lord kept his promise to John Whitmer. Within a few months of his call to write, John was involved with publishing Joseph Smith's revelations, a hymnal, a Church newspaper and other works. He kept a history of the church through 1838. Modern historians largely agree that John Whitmer's history, "illuminates many important concerns of the early church, including property issues, church discipline," the New Jerusalem, "the treatment of dissidents, and the establishment of a priesthood leadership hierarchy." The history is, "particularly significant for the revelations, petitions, and letters that form a large part of his history" (Revelations in Context, 2016).

Though he perhaps felt inadequate at first, John Whitmer's obedience continues to bless the Church . In recent years, the Saints narrative history series and other works have been released based on the writings of a faithful New York farmer. Though they were young and inexperienced, the Lord answered the prayers of the stripling warriors and gave them the assurance, the courage and the strength they needed to be delivered from their enemies.

The Lord will keep his promise to us, also.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:15-17, 27).