“Promptings of the Spirit”

Posted on by Mitch Peterson

Last updated on December 23rd, 2023 at 10:53 pm

General Conference Applied

S2 E11 – Sunday, December 17, 2023 | “Promptings of the Spirit” by Elder Gary E. Stevenson; October 2023 General Conference

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Corresponding Talk Outline: “Promptings of the Spirit“

Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Doctrines, Principles, and Christlike Attributes

As we have discussed in previous episodes of General Conference Applied, it is important to identify the fundamental doctrine, principle, and Christlike attribute of each General Conference address. In “Promptings of the Spirit,” I identified Revelation as the fundamental doctrine, The Gift of the Holy Ghost as the fundamental principle, and Virtue as the fundamental Christlike attribute. I have included a detailed breakdown of this doctrine, principle, and Christlike attribute in the talk outline, but I will share additional insights during this podcast episode.

In each episode of General Conference Applied, we are attempting to answer two questions:

  1. What is the speaker inviting me to do?
  2. How might I consider taking action?

What is the speaker inviting me to do?

Invitations

1: “Let me offer four guiding principles that may be of assistance to you in inviting and recognizing the promptings of the Spirit.” (Implied Invitation: “Invite and recognize the promptings of the Spirit.”)

  • What This Means (in 6 words or less): “Prioritize inviting and recognizing spiritual promptings.”

2: “I close with an invitation especially for all youth! Many of you start your day by standing in front of a mirror. Tomorrow, this week, this year, always, pause as you look at yourself in the mirror. Think to yourself, or say aloud if you like, ‘Wow, look at me! I am awesome! I am a child of God! He knows me! He loves me! I am gifted—gifted with the Holy Ghost as my constant companion!'”

  • What This Means (in 6 words or less): “Affirm you are God’s child daily.”

Overview

Deliberate Practice

“Returning to our analogy of gifted performers, it is important to remember that a gift alone does not a master make. Extraordinary natural talent notwithstanding, it is through painstaking and laborious practice and effort that performers refine and hone their craft to reach their highest level of artistry. Even those gifts received and unwrapped are often accompanied by the dreaded language ‘some assembly required.’ … Exercising spiritual gifts requires spiritual exercise.”

  • Church News Podcast Episode 157: Rabbi Joe Charnes on the power of general conference as a member of a different faith
    • “But what immediately I would offer as a wise, wise guide for life was with Elder Gary E. Stevenson. And he spoke in the beginning of his talk about athletes and preparation and how we grow in life; it is through preparation. And then he went on to spirits — they have a gift. It’s clear that they have a gift and a talent. But those talents don’t blossom unless they are worked on. It takes work in life. We have to prepare. And he said so, too, with spiritual gifts. In his language, I believe the exact language was, ‘They need to be assembled,’ something along the lines of — ‘assembly required’; that’s what it was: Assembly required.

      “And I thought — the biggest problem I have at general conference is I want to be a little more vocal with ‘Yes,’ but we have to remain silent. So we give our little vocal movements of hands when we’re sitting there. But ‘assembly required,’ that we play a part in building that beautiful, sacred structure called the spiritual gifts. That world of spiritual gifts requires building, and it requires building from within and receiving from within. But when he said, ‘assembly required,’ what also jumped out at me was, ‘Yes, we have to work on constructing that holy place in our lives and making a holy place for us to live in.’

      “But when he said, ‘assembly required,’ I realized we also need an assembly. We also need a community to have that deep communion with the sacred in that structure that we build so we can receive it more fully. We need each other to build and to dwell so we can have true communion. And I just wanted to say — I know, I know you can’t, but I wanted to scream out — ‘Yes, brother. Yes, Elder. Amen. Hallelujah. Yes, this is now the Baptist portion of the show.’ But I mean it. I loved his words ‘assembly required.’ Thank you, Elder Stevenson.”
  • Three powerful books that reinforce this concept of Deliberate Practice:
    • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
      • “We all face limits—not just in talent, but in opportunity. But more often than we think, our limits are self-imposed. We try, fail, and conclude we’ve bumped our heads against the ceiling of possibility. Or maybe after taking just a few steps we change direction. In either case, we never venture as far as we might have. To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight.”
    • The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin
      • “To my mind, the fields of learning and performance are an exploration of greyness — of the in-between. There is the careful balance of pushing yourself relentlessly, but not so hard that you melt down. Muscles and minds need to stretch to grow, but if stretched too thin, they will snap. A competitor needs to be process-oriented, always looking for stronger opponents to spur growth, but it is also important to keep on winning enough to maintain confidence. We have to release our current ideas to soak in new material, but not so much that we lose touch with our unique natural talents. Vibrant, creative idealism needs to be tempered by a practical, technical awareness.”
    • The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. by Daniel Coyle
      • “Deep practice is built on a paradox: struggling in certain targeted ways—operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes—makes you smarter. Or to put it a slightly different way, experiences where you’re forced to slow down, make errors, and correct them—as you would if you were walking up an ice-covered hill, slipping and stumbling as you go—end up making you swift and graceful without your realizing it.”
“Our Constant Companion”

“The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest spiritual gifts Latter-day Saints enjoy.”

  • See President Henry B. Eyring’s October 2023 General Conference address which was entitled “Our Constant Companion.”
  • Revelation (gospel doctrine): “Individuals can receive revelation to help them with their specific needs, responsibilities, and questions and to help strengthen their testimonies. Most revelations to leaders and members of the Church come through impressions and thoughts from the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost speaks to the mind and heart in a still, small voice (see D&C 8:2–3). Revelation can also come through visions, dreams, and visitations by angels.”
Temples in Japan

“I recently participated in the Tokyo Japan Temple open house.”

Dedicating Homes

“Our temples and homes are the most sacred of these dedicated spaces. In them we more easily invite and recognize the Spirit.”

“Day of Celebration”

“I will never forget participating in a devotional held in a popular sports arena. Usually, this arena was filled with raucous fans cheering their home team and perhaps even jeering their opponent. But on this night, the atmosphere was quite different. The arena was filled with thousands of young people assembled to honor and commemorate the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Their reverent, quiet tone; gratitude; and prayerful hearts filled the arena with the presence of the Holy Spirit. I could literally see it in their faces. It was the gift of the Holy Ghost in action, affirming the testimonies being borne of Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the gospel.”

Important Taxi Rides

“I remember once taking a 45-minute taxi ride in New York City. Having had a warm gospel conversation with the driver for the duration of my ride to the airport, I paid her and prepared to exit the taxi. Then I realized I had not offered a testimony of what I had shared. Pausing, I shared a simple, short testimony, inviting the Spirit and bringing tears to both our eyes.”

Are Our Family Conversations Too Surface-Level?

“I have observed that sometimes His voice is so subtle, or I am so preoccupied, that a loved one captures it for me. Many have been the times when promptings of the Holy Ghost have come to me through my wife, Lesa. Righteous parents or leaders may also receive inspired guidance for you.”

  • 12/16/2023 journal entry: This is why I so thoroughly enjoy sharing learnings, accomplishments, and challenges with my family members. Because when I know what they are experiencing and facing, I find that I receive inspiration to help them because they are in my thoughts and I have a more vested interest in their success.
Heavenly Father Wants Us To Act

“Use your own best judgment. Sometimes we want to be led by the Spirit in all things. However, often the Lord wants us to use our God-given intelligence and act in ways that are consistent with our best understanding.”

  • In a Worldwide Youth Broadcast on May 12, 2015, Elder David A. Bednar stated: “All good emanates from Christ [see Moroni 7:12–13, 16]. So if you have a thought to do something good, it’s prompted by the Holy Ghost.”

Connection

Five of the thirteen footnotes in this General Conference address reference Preach My Gospel. To further study the topic of “promptings of the Spirit,” see Preach My Gospel chapter four (“Seek and Rely on the Spirit“). Here are three resources to learn more about the new second edition of Preach My Gospel:

How might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “Let me offer four guiding principles that may be of assistance to you in inviting and recognizing the promptings of the Spirit.” (Implied Invitation: “Invite and recognize the promptings of the Spirit.”)

  • What This Means (in 6 words or less): “Prioritize inviting and recognizing spiritual promptings.”
  • The Gift of the Holy Ghost (gospel principle): “The Holy Ghost usually communicates with us quietly. His influence is often referred to as a ‘still small voice’ (see 1 Kings 19:9–12; Helaman 5:30; D&C 85:6). President Boyd K. Packer explained: ‘The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear. … While we speak of ‘listening’ to the whisperings of the Spirit, most often one describes a spiritual prompting by saying, ‘I had a feeling …’ He continued: ‘This voice of the Spirit speaks gently, prompting you what to do or what to say, or it may caution or warn you’ (Personal Revelation: The Gift, the Test, and the Promise).”

2: “I close with an invitation especially for all youth! Many of you start your day by standing in front of a mirror. Tomorrow, this week, this year, always, pause as you look at yourself in the mirror. Think to yourself, or say aloud if you like, ‘Wow, look at me! I am awesome! I am a child of God! He knows me! He loves me! I am gifted—gifted with the Holy Ghost as my constant companion!'”

  • What This Means (in 6 words or less): “Affirm you are God’s child daily.”
  • Elder Stevenson’s October 19, 2023, Instagram post:
    • “A few weeks ago during general conference, I asked you to pause as you look in the mirror and remind yourself, ‘I am amazing! I am a child of God! He knows me! He loves me! I am gifted. Gifted with the Holy Ghost as my constant companion!’ So tell me, have you done this? I really would like to know what your experience has been. If you haven’t done it yet, I invite you to do so. I pray you remember these important things about yourself daily. Please share your thoughts with me in the comments.”
    • One powerful comment: “My toddler has said the mantra in the mirror almost every morning since it was suggested, and now is close to having it memorized! It’s provided more opportunities for gospel conversations in our home. She even chose (on her own!) to bear her testimony for the first time about how she is a child of God and that she is loved by Him. Thank you for your direct invitation.”
  • Tony Robbins – Harvard Study on Power Postures.
  • The Intentional Engineer: A Guide to a Purpose-Driven Life and Career For Engineers and Technical Professionals by Jeff Perry
    • “I write in my journal every morning and every night… Sometimes I write about goals. And sometimes I write affirmations in the form of ‘I am’ statements that I am working to make true. As I write them, they become more true for me each day. I then spend some time experiencing the feelings of what it is like to be the person I am writing about.”
Directives (“an official or authoritative instruction”)
  1. “Stand in holy places… If you hope to feel the Spirit, be in a place where the Spirit can easily dwell.”
    • The Power of Jesus Christ in Our Lives Every Day, October 2023 General Conference, Elder Joaquin E. Costa – “This is the kind of faith we saw when we visited the families after the fires in Chile. Their houses had been burned to the ground; they had lost everything. Yet as we were walking in what used to be their homes and they were telling us about their experiences, we felt that we were standing on holy ground. One sister said to my wife, ‘When I saw that nearby houses were burning, I had the impression that our house was going to be burned, that we were going to lose everything. Instead of desperation, I experienced a sense of indescribable peace. Somehow, I felt everything was going to be OK.’ Trusting God and keeping our covenants with Him bring power to our weakness and comfort to our grief.”
  2. “Stand with holy people… The Spirit cannot be restrained from attending a gathering of holy people. If you hope to feel the Spirit, be with people with whom the Spirit can easily dwell… For young people, consider your gatherings of holy people: quorums and classes, FSY and seminary, ward and stake activities—even ward choirs. Choose to be with people and go to places where righteousness is found. Find your strength in numbers. Find good friends. Be good friends. Support one another wherever you are.”
    • Church News Podcast Episode 88: President Steven J. Lund and Sister Rebecca L. Craven on how FSY conferences can strengthen the faith of the rising generation
      • President Steven J. Lund: “There’s a reason that the Lord’s suggested that it’s a good idea for us to come together, to meet together in Church, to have a community of Saints come together, because together, we can draw upon each other’s strengths and knowledge and testimonies, and everybody gets uplifted. Well, that’s the basic foundation of the For Strength of Youth conferences. This is a place where kids can come out of the world for five days and come under the influence of the Spirit and then remain there long enough for that Spirit to soak all the way into their bones and during that period of time they make commitments and make decisions and discover a little bit of who they are and what their place is in the Kingdom of God and as a result, they go away on a much higher plane, better able to deal with the realities of the real world.”
      • Sister Rebecca L. Craven: “President Lund will, I’m sure, agree with me about this, but the number one question that we receive from youth, wherever we go, anywhere in the world, is, ‘How do I know that I’m feeling the Spirit?’ ‘How do I know what the voice of the Lord sounds like?’ Because they know that President Nelson has asked all of us to learn how to hear the voice of the Lord and that we would need that Spirit, the Holy Ghost, to help us in the trying times that we’re in and those times that are ahead and this is a great opportunity for our youth, as President Lund said, to come out of the world and be in an environment where they are with other youth. They’re with young single adult counselors. They’re in a space that they’re surrounded by the Spirit and they will have opportunities, then, to internalize that and see for themselves what it means to live the covenants that they made at baptism and draw upon that gift of the Holy Ghost that they were given at that time to help them throughout their lives.”
    • Church News Podcast Episode 106: The Young Men general presidency on how the new ‘For the Strength of the Youth’ guide helps youth choose Christ
  3. “Testify of holy truths as often as you can… As you seek and take opportunities to share your testimony with others, you will create moments to recognize the Spirit for yourself.”
    • Record my testimony in both English and in Portuguese each year. This will allow me to track how my testimony evolves, as well as to serve as a reminder of what the Spirit has taught me is true so that I will never fall away from the covenant path.
  4. “Listen to the Holy Spirit… I have observed that sometimes His voice is so subtle, or I am so preoccupied, that a loved one captures it for me. Many have been the times when promptings of the Holy Ghost have come to me through my wife, Lesa. Righteous parents or leaders may also receive inspired guidance for you… Find a quiet place, a holy space where you can seek to receive direction from the Spirit.”
    • Elder Neal A. Maxwell stated: “In the economy of heaven, God does not send thunder if a still, small voice is enough, or a prophet if a priest can do the job.” (Notwithstanding My Weakness, October 1976 General Conference)
  5. “Consider the following words of cautionary guidance. Confirm your spiritual impressions… Be certain that the feelings you receive are consistent with your assignment… Spiritual matters cannot be forced… Be patient and trust that you will receive what you need when the time is right. Use your own best judgment.”
  6. “Latter-day Saints should be gifted, covenant-keeping people. Nonetheless, it remains for each of us to seek to exercise our spiritual gifts and then to invite and learn to recognize promptings of the Spirit.”
    • Lasting Discipleship, October 2022 General Conference, President Steven J. Lund: “‘President Lund, what do I do now? What do I do to remain strong?’

      “Well, this is the same question that is on the minds of our youth when they leave FSY conferences, youth camps, and temple trips and anytime they feel the powers of heaven: ‘How can loving God turn into lasting discipleship?’

      “I felt an upwelling of love for this clear-eyed missionary serving the last hours of his mission, and in that momentary stillness of the Spirit, I heard my voice crack as I said simply, ‘You don’t have to wear the badge to bear His name.’

      “I wanted to put my hands on his shoulders and say, ‘Here’s what you do. You go home, and you just be this. You are so good you almost glow in the dark. Your mission discipline and sacrifices have made you a magnificent son of God. Keep doing at home what has worked so powerfully for you here. You have learned to pray and to whom you pray and the language of prayer. You have studied His words and come to love the Savior by trying to be like Him. You have loved Heavenly Father like He loved His Father, served others like He served others, and lived the commandments like He lived them—and when you didn’t, you have repented. Your discipleship isn’t just a slogan on a T-shirt—it has become a part of your life purposefully lived for others. So you go home, and you do that. Be that. Carry this spiritual momentum into the rest of your life.'”
Other Ideas
  • Virtue (Christlike attribute): “Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It is fidelity to God and others. An essential part of virtue is striving to be clean and pure spiritually and physically.

    “Virtue originates in your thoughts and desires. ‘Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly,’ the Lord said (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45). Focus on righteous, uplifting thoughts. Put unworthy thoughts out of your mind rather than dwell on them…

    “As you endeavor to live virtuously, your ‘confidence [will] wax strong in the presence of God; and … the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion’ (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45–46).”

    If your thoughts and/or actions are not currently clean, or would not permit you to honestly carry an active temple recommend, then take the necessary steps now to become clean once more.
  • Commit to acting on spiritual promptings (share the story of Sister Kotter, the Salt Lake City South Mission Leader, that she shared in my December 10, 2023, Stake Conference) – “Always follow the promptings of the Spirit. Promptings often impact others more than they impact you.”

REMEMBER THIS

If you remember nothing else from this podcast episode, remember this:

  • Elder Stevenson extended two invitations which I have summarized as follows:
    • “Prioritize inviting and recognizing spiritual promptings.”
    • “Affirm you are God’s child daily.”

Report on Prior Week’s Action Item

Last week I committed to making my Scripture Listening Schedule available on my website in exchange for an email address. I did not complete this task, but I will make the Schedule available before the start of 2024.

This Week’s Action Item

“That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.”

Karl Pearson, an early 20th-century British mathematician

“Those who measure their progress improve. Those who measure and report their progress improve exponentially.”

Dan Sullivan, founder and president of The Strategic Coach Inc.

“Do something, do anything! But to start, just do ONE thing.”

Mitch Peterson

At least once per day each day this week, I will look in the mirror and state aloud the following: ‘Wow, look at me! I am awesome! I am a child of God! He knows me! He loves me! I am gifted—gifted with the Holy Ghost as my constant companion!’

Let Me Know

How will you take action on this General Conference address? Let me know on social media or email me.

Tags

Gifts of the Spirit | Holy Ghost | Promptings | Testimony

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