What
is THE ESSENTIAL Role of the Holy Ghost?
By
Anthony Sweat
Let
me start by asking some questions:
-How can you know if the atonement
is working in your life?
-How can you know if you’ve been
cleansed of the sins for which you’ve repented?
-How can you receive the Lord’s
grace—his strengthening and enabling power—in your everyday life?
-What makes it possible for the
Savior’s healing and understanding power to come to us?
-How can we have our hearts
purified, our very natures changed and transformed into better people?
I’ll
get back to the answer in a moment…
Often when
we teach and speak about the roles of the Holy Ghost we overlook perhaps his
most important function. He is the comforter, yes. Gratefully, He
guides us. He testifies of eternal truth, of course. All of those
roles are very, very important. However, if we only teach these things
(which, in my experience, is the most common way people discuss the Holy Ghost in church settings), I
think we miss his most essential duty: to deliver the blessings of the
atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives. Elder D. Todd
Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve taught, “The gift of the Holy Ghost
… is the messenger of grace by which the blood of Christ is applied to take
away our sins and sanctify us” (“The Power of Covenants,” Ensign,
May 2009).
Did
you catch that?
It is the Holy Ghost that cleanses
our sins and purifies us. Most people, especially most youth, don’t seem
to grasp that concept. For example, ask this question to your
class: Who cleanses our sins? Most people will say, “Jesus.”
While it is Jesus’ atonement that made it possible for us to be cleansed from
the stain of sin, it is the Holy Ghost—as the messenger or deliverer of the
atonement—who actually does the cleansing. Take a look at these
scriptures (the 3 Nephi 27:20 one is listed in the YM/YW learning outline next
to “The reception of the Holy Ghost sanctifies us”; emphases added in the
following scriptures):
- • 2 Nephi 31:17 “For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.”
- • Alma 5:54 “they have been brought into this church, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit”
- • Alma 13:12 “Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence”
- • 3 Nephi 27:20 “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.”
This isn’t just a Book of Mormon
doctrine. Paul referred to it multiple times as well in the New Testament:
- “That the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 15:16)
- “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Perhaps my favorite one does come
from the Book of Mormon, however:
- “And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ” (Moroni 6:4).
If
I were facilitating this learning outline on the roles of the Holy Ghost, I
would emphasize this doctrine as clearly and with as much holy passion as
possible!
(Can I get an Amen?! Who can
say, “Hallelujah?!). Why, you might ask? Because not only is this
truth (that the Holy Ghost delivers the atonement into our lives) perhaps the
single most important function of the Spirit, it is also perhaps the least
understood, and possibly the most applicable in our lives. Just look at
this quote from President Eyring (one of my favorites): “If you have felt the
influence of the Holy Ghost during this day, or even this evening, you
may take it as evidence that the Atonement is working in your life. For
that reason and many others, you would do well to put yourself in places and in
tasks that invite the promptings of the Holy Ghost. …The reception of the Holy
Ghost cleanses us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” (CES Fireside for
Young Adults, September 10, 2006, Brigham Young University). On another
occasion President Eyring said, “Reception of the Holy Ghost is the
cleansing agent as the atonement purifies you…. And when
he is your companion, you can have confidence that the Atonement is working in
your life” (“Come Unto Christ,” Brigham Young
University Fireside, 29 October 1989).
So, who wants to be cleansed from
sin? Who wants to know if they have been forgiven? Who wants to be
strengthened and helped by Jesus’ grace? Who wants to be understood and
guided? Who wants to be healed from hurt? Who wants to be changed and
transformed into a better person? Who wants the atonement? Then get
the messenger of mercy, the deliverer of divinity, the agent of the
atonement: The Holy Ghost.
____
Anthony
Sweat received his PhD in education from Utah State University and is a
full-time religious educator for the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He is a regular speaker at Especially For Youth, Education Week, Time Out For
Women, and other LDS conferences, as well as an adjunct professor in the
department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University. He
is the author of several books and audio CD’s, including Mormons, An Open
Book, Why? Powerful Answers and Practical Reasons for Living LDS
Standards, and I’m Not Perfect. Can I Still Go To Heaven?
