Learning to Recognize the Holy Ghost, Part 1: Welcoming the Spirit

This is the first of what will be a three part series on teaching our children to recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost in their lives.

Do you know what this is? When you hear it, you know it’s a warning to flee quickly, lest you be subjected to painful, venomous, even deadly bites. It is an audible warning of a physical danger. But what of spiritual danger? Are there warning rattles we can attune ourselves to that if heeded will protect us spiritually? Of course there are. We have the words of prophets, scriptures, and the best guide of all—the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Sister Julie B. Beck taught:

The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.

My goal as a mother is to teach my children to recognize when they are feeling the Spirit, to be immersed in it, so when they are confronted with evil they will know it immediately and flee. The first chapter of Moses illustrates this beautifully. Moses first became acquainted with God and His ways. He felt His spirit and power. When Satan came to Moses, Moses was able to discern Satan’s darkness, but only because he first felt of God’s goodness.

Before we can begin to teach our children how to recognize the Spirit, we need to create an environment and climate where the Holy Ghost feels welcome.

What pictures and artwork adorn your walls?

What our eyes see on a daily basis influences our thoughts whether we like it or not. Why not help influence your family’s thoughts for good?

• Religious artwork certainly directs our thoughts to Christ, the temple, and sacred events in history.
• Family “galleries” of photographs help strengthen positive feelings about the family and can do much to develop attitudes of family unity.
• Heirlooms and cultural artwork create ties with the past. They help give stability and feelings of gratitude toward our ancestors.
• Fine art enriches our understanding of the world around us and draws us closer to God.

The nearer we get to God, the more easily our spirits are touched by refined and beautiful things. If we could part the veil and observe our heavenly home, we would be impressed with the cultivated minds and hearts of those who so happily live there.

Douglas L. Callister

Are the words spoken in your home uplifting?

How we communicate with one another is important! Controlling our tongues when we are angry, directing conversations to that which is inspiring, and complementing others are all good skills to learn and do.

Do you routinely read scriptures and pray together as a family?

Reading scriptures with little children can be hard. It is tempting to skip reading from the scriptures and use scripture readers or other simplified reading instead. While those are helpful they shouldn’t replace the actual scriptures! The language may be hard to understand at first but your children will learn the beauty of it. As you read and discuss the words of the scriptures the Spirit will distill upon all, helping even the youngest of children to recognize the truth that is contained in them.

What movies, music, magazines, books, and tv programs are you, as a parent, letting into your home?

In the world we live in, we have easy access to all types of media – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Satan is sneaky. He knows good parents won’t outright allow their children to view pornography or listen to or read explicit language. So he craftily puts one small thing here and another there. The movie was good, except for that one part. The melody of this song is great, the message not so much.

The length of time we spend on any type of media can dull our sensitivity to the Spirit. It can also take away from the face-to-face interactions we should be having with our family. Don’t let too much media, no matter how good, interfere with your relationships with others.

The Savior was critical of some of the early Saints for their “lustful … desires” (D&C 101:6; see also D&C 88:121). These were people who lived in a non-television, non-film, non-Internet, non-iPod world. In a world now awash in sexualized images and music, are we free from lustful desires and their attendant evils? Far from pushing the limits of modest dress or indulging in the vicarious immorality of pornography, we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. To come to Zion, it is not enough for you or me to be somewhat less wicked than others. We are to become not only good but holy men and women. Recalling Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s phrase, let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon (see Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light [1990], 47).

D. Todd Christofferson, Come to Zion

What we allow or don’t allow into our homes sends a message. Are we inviting the Spirit to come? Or are we telling it to stay away?

Look around your home and see what you can change. Create a refuge from the world, a heaven on earth, where your family feels safe, secure and loved, and where the Spirit of the Lord is welcome to come and dwell.

Additional articles to read and study:

1. “Choose Ye This Day to Serve the Lord,” Julie B. Beck, BYU Women’s Conference 2010.
2. “Your Refined Heavenly Home,” Douglas L. Callister, BYU Devotional address
3. “The Power and Protection of Worthy Music,” Russell M. Nelson, December 2009 Ensign
4. “A Home Where the Spirit of the Lord Dwells,” Henry B. Eyring, October 2019 General Conference