"And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good--yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; and then shall ye know, or by this shall ye know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive."
-D&C 11:12-14
As imperfect beings, we often struggle to know what the Lord would have us do next. We sometimes find ourselves at certain crossroads, unsure of what direction we are to head to be the person that God would have us be. But as this scripture describes, we must first put our trust in the Spirit. Then we can have peace and joy, and then we will come to know the answers to those questions.
"Put your trust in that Spirit"
Several months ago a close friend recounted to me an experience he had which has changed my own understanding of how much the Lord trusts us to act on spiritual impressions when we are given them, when, of course, we put ourselves into a position to recognize them. He told me the following:
"I found myself at a type of moment of decision in my life. I had had stirrings about changing my major, and about changing the course of my life in general. I was dating someone long distance at the time, and it all seemed to be going well, but I also was having some serious second thoughts about that, and what it all meant in the course of my life. On a Friday, I came out of class and felt a distinct impression to do something that didn't at all make sense. I thought about it briefly, thinking it was just in my head, but I quickly realized that it wasn't. There was that burning in my chest that let me know that this was the Spirit. All that was left to do was to act on it. So I acted on that impression, which was to drive back home to California, without exactly knowing why. I recorded this as I went:
'This decision I have made to drive all the way from Provo to [California] may be one of the most important moments of my life. This may be the answer to my prayer of where the Lord would have me be, when he would want me to be there and with whom. Plus, the act of acting on the prompting that I received may become the foundation for how I recognize and respond to the promptings of the spirit for the rest of my life. Driving 600+ miles on a whim is not just something you do--it comes from a serious impression. '
"I would never have imagined what would happen that weekend, for the good and the bad, but I can tell you that the Lord taught me in His own way, and in the way that would best help me to know of His love and concern for me. My plans for my career were reinforced, and I think most importantly, He let me know in the most peculiar way possible (in my mind) that the person I was dating was not who I was supposed to be with. All of that because of a crazy impression, and my willingness in that moment to act on it."
He shared this with me also, a journal entry after the experience:
"A week and a half after this experience I remain grateful for the trust that the Lord put in me to give me this revelation, knowing that I would follow it. There's no better feeling of peaceful, humble satisfaction than that which comes from knowing that you've acted on the trusted prompting of our Father. That peace is Him letting us know that we've done well. Whenever I feel that, I imagine Him saying, 'I'm proud of you. You've done well.'
Now I wonder what more I'm capable of. Whatever that is, I know that the only way I can figure that out is by continuing to live worthily and to act on the promptings given. The Lord will then give me opportunities to figure that out."
If we will trust in that Spirit, even when we don't understand the why, we will quickly find out that the Lord has some incredible things to teach us. As always, he will do it in His own, perfect way.
"Which shall fill your soul with joy"
Despite the stories we hear from friends and other loved ones of their successes in following the promptings of the Spirit, we often struggle. Life is hard. The world, now more than ever in history, provides ample amounts of distractions which complicate our recognition of those promptings, leaving us wondering what we are to do next. In those moments, we often look back on our failures, with the skewed lens of retrospect, and we beat ourselves up. But Elder Jeffrey Holland said the following: "The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We [should] look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future."
If we are to truly have faith, we must look forward. Even in those moments when we don't know what we are to do next, or where we are to go, if we will but have the faith to trust in the promptings that will inevitably come, the Lord will give us something that only He can give:
"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 14:27). That promise is to all of us. That peace brings us joy, because we have a more perfect knowledge of the love that the Lord has for us. Our trust and our faith can then grow even further, and we will be able to overcome the challenges at hand.
Elder Holland said, "Don't give up. Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead....You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."
"Then shall ye know all things"
As we act on impressions with trust in the Spirit, and as our mind and heart are enlightened and lifted by it, we come to acquire precious nuggets of knowledge that help us along. Ammon, one of the great missionaries of the Book of Mormon, declared, "Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing--unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed" (Alma 26:22). As we put ourselves in a position to receive impressions and recognize them, we gain the privilege of having important things revealed to us, such as have never been revealed. What is revealed?
Elder Dallin Oaks said, "A vision...When we have a vision of what we can become, our desire and our power to act increase enormously."
As we go about our lives, we must come to those moments of decision--those forks in the road of life that are ever pivotal in our eternal progression. As we trust in the Spirit, ever willing to act, we will be given those impressions which will shape our lives and help us make the right decision. Sometimes that includes letting us take the wrong path so we can make our adjustments and get on the right path with that peace and reassurance, like in the experience of my friend. (See this Mormon Message featuring Elder Holland on this topic, here.) But as we continue ever forward, we will be able to catch glimpse of what we can ultimately become. As Elder Oaks describes it, "a vision." With that vision in our minds, we can do all in our power to act and to work to become that person. If that means sacrificing certain attitudes or activities, we will do it. If that means letting go of what we want, in favor of what the Lord wants and requires, we will do it. We will do it because our trust in the Lord and in the Spirit will have become unbreakable.
We will do it, because our will will have become one with our Father's.
So trust in that Spirit. It will bring us joy, and it will help us to know what it is that God would have us to next, to continue on our journey to exaltation.
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