The Holy Spirit

For this post, I want to focus specifically on one topic: The Holy Spirit. There are all kinds of scriptures describing the mission, nature, and power of the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost, depending on your preference) but I want to focus on a few verses found in the 14th, 15th, and 16th chapters of John. As I go through these verses, I will be looking to identify what the verses teach about the Holy Ghost as well as what a disciple need to do to receive the Holy Ghost.

John 14

• v. 16: We first learn that the Holy Ghost (Comforter) is a gift from God. Christ indicates that he would pray to the Father and ask that he would bless the disciples with the Comforter, implying that it is something that is bestowed upon us. 
• v. 17: Christ teaches that the Holy Spirit teaches truth, and even gives the Spirit another name, the Spirit of Truth
• v. 26: Here we learn that the Holy Ghost is a gift from God and that one of his purposes is to teach us and to bring things to our remembrance, specifically things of a spiritual nature.
• v. 27: Bringing the disciples peace is one of the main missions of the Holy Ghost. It is how God reaches out to us and makes us feel safe, comforted, and confident.   

John 15

•  v. 26: John reiterates that the Holy Ghost has divine origins and is intended to come to us to testify of God and Jesus Christ and their mission to have all of us return to their presence. 
• v.27: This is a commandment that comes with the companionship of the Holy Ghost; that as disciples, we have a responsibility to share the gospel and testify of Christ. As we do so, we will be granted an increased measure of the Spirit. 

John 16

• v. 7: Christ needed to leave the disciples to allow them the opportunity to learn and grow by the Spirit, instead of relying on him for answers to their questions. This also provides us the opportunity to watch how they developed the ability to learn by the Spirit so that we can develop similar skills. 
• v. 8: God also uses the Holy Ghost to reach those who are doing things that are against his will. For those that are still sensitive to his promptings, God sends feelings of guilt and wrongdoing so that his children will hopefully use their agency wisely and choose to change the trajectory of their lives. This guiding light is sometimes referred to as the Light of Christ. 
• v. 13: John teaches here that as the Spirit of Truth, he will not teach us something or lead us in a direction other than that which is right. We can always look to him for direction when we are confused about what we should do. 
• v. 14: As one who shares the mission of both God and Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost will glorify them and lead all people unto them. If a feeling or prompting is received that does not point to the Savior or God the Father then it does not come from the Holy Spirit and should be avoided. 

I am so thankful for the gift and blessing of the Holy Ghost and strive to live worthy of his presence. That is also a good point to make here. We can, by improper use of our agency, offend the Spirit and drive him away. We must make every effort to keep the commandments as we understand them to merit the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. If we will do our part, we will receive that wonderful blessing of being guided through mortality by divine influence.