Spiritual Guidance and Gifts of the Spirit most often feel like this
Some scripture quotes & thoughts by Charles Hunt written in about 1999, that I shared with a youth group in our Church that I was working with, to try to help them to learn to recognize the gifts of the Spirit in their daily lives.
The notes below help us to understand what God said about what his miraculous influence and the God-given gifts of the Spirit feel like, and I am so very thankful that it does, because it sure feels good and brings deep joy and inner peace.
About how many miracles have you personally witnessed in your life?
What do you consider to be a miracle from God?
What is love and inner peace and real joy exactly?
Is it a miraculous gift from God or is it just a chemical reaction going on in our brain cells or heart cells, or exactly what is the source of any real love and inner peace and real joy that we feel?
When we feel any degree of love from anyone, who or what is the real root source? Is it always a miraculous gift that flows from God through another spirit sister or brother and into our inner spirit part of us?
Do we feel the incredible miracle of love and inner peace so often that we actually take it for granted, and don’t even pause inside to accept it as a loving communication from a loving Father in Heaven, and think thankful thoughts toward heaven and toward our loving Father in Heaven, and His Son, Jesus Christ, each time that we feel any love or inner peace or joy inside?
Some helpful scriptures:
Galatians 5: 22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,”
2 Corinthians 13:11 “… be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you”.
Book of Mormon (B of M) Mosiah 2: 21 to 24 “ …I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. … And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever” (Pause for a minute and prayerfully ask yourself and God, in what form do those immediate blessings come? I believe that both the Word of God and also the experience of anyone that chooses to be sensitive and to take careful notice to the feelings that come into our inner spirit, makes it clear that these immediate blessings come in the form of increased inner peace, increased deep real joy, increased ability to love God and others and increased ability to feel real love from God and from others).
B of M: Moroni 7: 16 – 19,”For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil. … And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; …”
B of M: Moroni 7: 48 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ;”
D & C (Doctrine & Covenants book of inspired writings) Section 6: 20 to 23 “ … Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. … I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?” (So he is saying that we will feel encircled by His love and that He will speak peace into our minds concerning the matter that we are praying about or pondering or listening to if it is true).
D & C 8:2 “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.”
D & C 9: 8 “But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.”
B of M: Mosiah 4: 3 “And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come”
B of M: Alma 5:12 “And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart.” — so we will feel a mighty and joyful positive change and softening within our hearts.
B of M: Alma 32: 26 to 28 “Now as I said concerning faith – that it was not a perfect knowledge – even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection any more than faith is a perfect knowledge. But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves – It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.”
Psalm 46:10: ”Be still and know that I am God.”
It seems clear to me that our loving Heavenly Father has taught us clearly in his Word that each time that we choose to think or do a good or kind or thoughtful or loving thing, that He will bless us with a little bit more inner peace, joy and love inside of our inner spirits, and that if we will just pause a minute to be still inside and really feel of His influence, that we will feel flows of love, inner peace, and increased joy. When we feel these incredible feelings and flow of increased inner peace, increased love, and increased real joy inside; then is it a miraculous gift from an incredibly loving and fair Heavenly Father and from Jesus Christ or exactly what is it if it is not?
If we choose to think or do anything that goes against the teachings of joy and happiness that Jesus Christ taught, then what exactly happens inside of our inner spirits? If we were to actually really pay close attention to what we feel inside of our inner spirits, and honestly evaluate what we feel, would we notice that the incredible feelings of increased or decreased inner peace, love and real joy that our inner spirit is allowed to feel is exactly in accordance to how well we try to come closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and their teachings? Someone may say, “but even people that live in China and have never read a Bible or Book of Mormon, feel love and inner peace and joy inside, so what are you talking about?”
You are exactly right, people all over the world can feel love, inner peace, and joy inside, but they are also feeling those gifts and rewards inside in exact proportion to how well they follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as taught to them and witnessed to them by the light of Christ within their inner spirits. (Moroni 7: 16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil). Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair if some of us received that guidance and the rewards of increased inner peace, love, and joy inside of our inner spirits and others did not – – simply because they did not have access to a Bible or Book of Mormon. If we stop to really think about it, we can all realize that the times in our life that we tried hardest to “come unto Christ and His teachings”, are the times when we felt the most inner peace, love and real joy inside. Isn’t that right?
What would happen if we thought that we knew more about what would bring real joy and inner peace, and love into our inner spirits than Jesus Christ knows, and we chose to live another way? Exactly what kind of feelings could we expect to feel inside of our inner spirits, if for a period of time in our lives we choose to go against the teachings of Jesus Christ? Would we feel confusion, frustration about life, anger, resentment, inner turmoil instead of inner peace, lack of love for and from others instead of feeling a joyful flow of love from and for others, lack of real joy inside instead of feeling real joy inside? If some of the light, and joy and inner peace, and love have left us, then what do we need to adjust?
D & C 1:33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
What did the children of Israel eat while out in the wilderness for 40 years? – – – Manna as an incredible gift from heaven 6 days per week, and enough on the 6th day to last for the Sabbath and that incredible miraculous gift from God kept showing up on the ground 6 days a week for 40 years.
After the first few days, do you think that a big share of the people no longer recognized and appreciated it as a loving miracle from God? Do you think Satan and his team might have whispered to them, something like, “Oh, that manna on the ground is not a miracle or miraculous gift from God; it is there on the ground every day”. Was it though actually still a miracle from God each time, even though it happened six days a week for 40 years?
If the incredible witnesses of the influence of our loving Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ always came as miraculous things that we could see each day with our eyes, such as manna on the ground each day, instead of as miraculous things such as inner peace, love, and real joy, that we would feel in our inner spirits as a witness of our loving Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ, would you prefer that God worked his miracles that way or are you really incredibly thankful like I am, that he allows each of us to feel it inside of our inner spirit instead of just seeing his miracles each day?
What if you walked outside every morning and saw the miracle from God of manna on the ground every day, but you felt nothing inside?
Would you prefer to see miracles from God with your eyes or to feel the incredible miracles from God inside of you each day, such as the inner peace, joy and love that he promised to give us when we diligently seek him, or when we think or do something kind, or loving, or good? When the amazing and miraculous miracles of increased love, joy, and inner-peace come as promised by Jesus, why do we sometimes doubt that it is from God? Is Satan whispering to us to look for something different than what Jesus promised to send?
Which type of miracle would you be more likely to accept and believe as being from God?
For example, how many of you have ever seen a magic show? Did you see totally incredible things with your eyes? What did it feel like inside? Did it feel as good inside of your inner spirit to see incredible wonders of a magic show as it feels inside of your inner spirit to feel incredible wonders and miracles of increased love, joy, and inner-peace that our Heavenly Father has chosen to use as a witness of his influence and of true principles.
Another point to consider is that Satan could counterfeit and fool us with incredible wonders that we could see with our eyes, just like a cheap magic show, but Satan can not counterfeit or fool us with increased inner peace, love, and joy inside our inner spirit part of us to guide us on a certain path, because he has no love, joy or inner-peace to give. I for one am incredibly thankful that our loving and wise Heavenly Father has decided to allow us to feel incredible miracles inside of our inner spirits such as inner peace, love, and joy in order to guide us on the path that brings the greatest real joys, rather than just allowing us to see miracles with our eyes. When you and I are allowed to feel any degree of inner peace, love and joy inside — shouldn’t we pause and express deep thanks to our loving Heavenly Father in prayers of gratitude and thanks and recognition for such a wonderful miraculous gift? I am also extremely thankful each day for the miracles of nature that I am allowed to see every day with my eyes, but even those miracles that my eyes see wouldn’t have the richness and meaning without our loving Heavenly Father also touching our inner spirits with joy when we choose to pause to appreciate and recognize the source of the beauties of nature all around us. Also, do we pause each day to just enjoy and be incredibly thankful to God for each of our senses. It is so incredibly amazing, for example, if you pause to think about it, that these eyes work the amazing way that they work, and that our other senses work the way that they work. Our whole body is an incredible miracle beyond comprehension, even if it isn’t as good looking or pretty or working quite as perfectly as some of us might wish it were.
B of M: Jacob 4: 14 “But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall …”. Do we feel often of the miracles of God clearly working inside of your inner spirit bringing love, joy, and inner-peace and do we look beyond the mark, and do we allow Satan to get us to look for some other kind of a sign for a witness of God and of Jesus Christ? Satan tries to whisper to each of us to expect something more, something different than what God promised he would give as a witness of truth and of what is right. In order to try to confuse us, Satan sometimes tries to whisper to us that we should expect to witness something that we see with our eyes, instead of feeling with our inner spirits.
Is the incredible way that a flower or vegetable seed grows each day any less of a miracle and witness of a loving Heavenly Father each day than seeing manna on the ground each day? When we see a flower or a tree or a garden growing, do we pause for a minute to think heavenward with incredible thanksgiving for his influence and His gifts of miraculous beauty all around us.
How many times do we pause each day, just to think really thankful thoughts of appreciation to a loving Heavenly Father that keeps giving miracles all around us and inside of us.
If you experience miraculous gifts from a loving Heavenly Father such as love, joy, and inner-peace for enough days in a row, then do we still continue to recognize it and appreciate it as a miracle?
A wise person said, “we are spiritual beings going through a human experience, rather than human beings occasionally going through a spiritual experience.” If we will just pause more often to recognize it and to appreciate it, we will recognize the incredible gifts of the Spirit coming from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost many times per day.
One of my favorite books is called, “Joni, an unforgettable story”, by Joni Eareckson Tada. It tells of the true story of Joni Eareckson Tada, and the trials that she went through and overcame with a lot of God’s help in dealing with her challenges after a swimming/diving accident that left her body paralyzed about 30 years ago from the neck down. I would recommend that you read that book, and I hope that it will make a positive impact on your life like it did on mine.
Our body and circumstances are likely working a whole lot better right now, than Joni Eareckson Tada’s body and circumstances were working after her accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down, and she found the love, joy, and inner-peace and purpose beyond description from Jesus Christ, so certainly we can too, can’t we? Or is inner peace, joy, and love a matter of chance? Are our problems as severe or complicated or as difficult as Joni had in her life after her accident? Do we have as much appreciation, thankfulness, and joy for living as Joni has now? If not, then why not? What could we adjust in our lives, in order to obtain the degree of appreciation, thankfulness, and joy for living that Joni has? After Joni’s accident, she was feeling so discouraged, and desperate, that she no longer had any desire to even go on living, and she begged her friend to help end her life. What was it that later caused such an incredible transformation in her inner spirit that she became more joyful and thankful than ever before? Joni was being turned over every two hours in her stryker frame so that she wouldn’t get bed sores. The stryker frame held her in place, and she would see either up at the ceiling or down at the floor. Joni was feeling totally desperate and needed answers to life’s tough questions because she was quickly losing her will to live. Joni’s parents placed a bible on a stool under her when she was facing down, so that she could read the pages and start seeking answers and peace from God. Joni searched diligently and she prayed hard for a miraculous “physical healing”. Then gradually a different type of totally miraculous “spiritual healing” took place inside of her inner spirit, and she received the exact same flows of amazing love, joy, and inner-peace that can come to each one of us, if we will just spend time in the word of God and seek to come closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Joni became so very thankful that God miraculously healed her in the way that He did, instead of in the way that she had prayed for, because she learned ever so much more and matured so much more through the way that God chose to heal her in the areas of her life that she most needed healing. Which miracle was more needed or crucial if you look at things with eternal perspective? Is the miracle that God chose to do inside of her inner spirit any less awesome or miraculous of a witness of a loving Heavenly Father’s love, and influence, and power, than if He had chosen to heal her body of the paralysis? We all need to seek the almost continuous flow of daily miracles that God would love to give us – – – if we will just sincerely seek it and seek a relationship with Him.
Joni had only the word of God in the Bible, which is a great and wonderful thing, but we have not only that wonderful gift of guidance and source of answers to life’s tough questions, and the inner peace from God that comes when we spend time in the bible, but we also have the Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants (D & C), and Pearl of Great Price. Let me ask you a serious question. If Joni spent some time each day in the Word of God from the Bible that she had, and we spend no time each day in the Bible or in any of the other scriptures that we have been blessed with, such as the Book of Mormon, and D & C; who do you think will feel more of the inner peace, love, joy, and guidance in their lives? If God were to give us more of His miraculous gifts of inner peace, joy, and love than he gives to Joni even though we give less effort than Joni, just because we happen to be members of His Church that he restored on earth, that wouldn’t be very fair would it? One thing about our loving Heavenly Father, He is always fair and even extremely generous to give us more than we deserve; even though it may not look like it on some days when he is allowing us to be greatly challenged with growing experiences, but when we seek Him, then he always allows His inner peace, joy, and love to start to flow through our inner spirits. For a while, when Joni was first trying to understand the answers to the tough questions of life, she didn’t feel that God was very fair, but she gradually learned like we all can, that God is incredibly loving, kind, fair, and more generous than any of us deserve.
Many people that have not made as much effort for a while to stay close to Jesus Christ and His teachings, find incredible joy in trying a 30 day experiment on the words of Christ. That just means that for 30 days, they choose to test the words of Jesus Christ to see if they really work or not; meaning by trying hard to follow the words of Christ better than ever before for 30 days, and spending time in the scriptures each day, will they feel greatly increased inner peace, love, and real joy, and purpose in their life or not? They figure that there is certainly nothing to lose, because if Jesus Christ was not speaking the truth, and if they don’t feel increased inner peace, love, and real joy, and far more purpose in their life, then they can always just go back to their old ways. Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. John 7: 17”, which means to me that if we are willing to just try the 30 day experiment on the words of Christ, by spending time in the scriptures and more sincere prayer, and then trying harder to try to live it by being kinder to others and showing more love in service to others, following all of the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ better, etc.; then we can just notice carefully inside of our inner spirits to see if we start to feel the miracle of increased inner peace, increased love for and from others including for and from God, and increased real joy and increased purpose in life. If Jesus spoke the truth, which I have learned without any doubt that He did, then surely the miracles inside of our inner spirits will come, and we can soon learn to be rejoicing more each day with appreciation and thanksgiving for the incredible influence of a loving Heavenly Father and Savior in our lives.
I believe that it is very important that each of us try to always spend at least a little time in the scriptures each day for the rest of our life. It is not so much that I feel that I need to learn something more each day, but because I so badly need to feel of the spiritually uplifting influence that accompanies the word of God each day. I read some in the scriptures as a young person, but I didn’t learn to really love the scriptures deeply, until the first part of my mission at age 19, when I started to search the scriptures more prayerfully and to try to search for at least one thing on each page to mark or underline that spoke something meaningful to my inner spirit. I believe that if we will do that and read prayerfully and ponder over what we read, then we will start to feel the scripture power that we should feel while reading and pondering on the scriptures.
I love each of you very deeply and I am so very thankful that I am allowed to feel love, because it feels so good, and I know that it is a joyful gift from our loving Heavenly Father, and from Jesus Christ. Are there other miracles or gifts that I would prefer over the love, inner peace, and joy that I feel? No, none of us could live joyfully without the miraculous gifts from God of inner peace and love and real joy.
Through careful study, sincere prayer, careful observation, and following the teachings of Jesus Christ; and you can gain your own strong testimony that both the. Bible and the Book of Mormon are true, and from God through His prophets. You will also thereby gain scripture power in your life, that will give you the wisdom and strength to live as Jesus Christ wisely taught us to live, for a very joyful and thankful life on earth and eternity afterward.
I say these things in all sincerity and love, and in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Charles Hunt