Baptismal talk on the Holy Ghost

Baptismal talk on Holy Ghost

Baptism is a covenant, a two-way promise. When you get baptized, you promise to be a witness of Christ and take his name upon you- meaning to keep his commandments and always remember him. Heavenly Father promises to give you the gift of the Holy Ghost.

You may have already felt the Holy Ghost in your life. Maybe when you hear a beautiful song and feel all good on the inside. That’s the Holy Ghost.  When you do something you know you shouldn’t or have a bad feeling in your heart, and that is the Holy Ghost too. That the Holy Ghost can give you a good feeling or a bad feeling.

The Holy Ghost can do many different things. He can tell you when something is right. He can tell you when something is wrong. He can warn you of a dangerous situation. He can make you feel okay when you’ve been feeling sad. He can help you make the right choices.

But how can he do these things? You can’t see him or touch him or talk to him, and even though we say he speaks with the still small voice, unless it is a very special situation, you can’t really hear him with your ears either. The Holy Ghost has many different ways of communicating with us, and as we learn and have experiences, we learn to recognize the ways the Holy Ghost speaks to you.

For example, if I wanted to tell you I love you but I couldn’t use my words, what do you think I might do? I might give you a hug. I might draw you a picture. I might do an act of service for you. I might send you a note.

So just like there are many way we can communicate with each other, there are many ways the Holy Ghost can communicate with us too.  The Holy Ghost will have reasons to speak to us but we must develop our spiritual receptors to recognize it....but remember that God does not and will not give up on us! 

James S Porter recalls the "story of young Samuel in the Old Testament that depicts the early stages of his acquiring spiritual receptors. You may recall that Hannah was unable to have children and made a vow that if Heavenly Father would bless her with a son, she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life. Hannah did have a son, and true to her promise she delivered him to Eli, the high priest, at the tabernacle in Shiloh. One night as this young prophet-to-be lay down to sleep, he heard a voice call his name. Thinking that it was Eli who had called him, Samuel ran to Eli’s room to ask what he wanted. Eli replied that he hadn’t called Samuel and told him to go back to bed. The author of the Book of Samuel explained, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him” (1 Samuel 3:7). 

A second time Samuel heard a voice call his name, a second time he ran to Eli, and a second time he was told to go back to bed. When Samuel came to Eli a third time, Eli finally caught on that it was the Lord who was calling and told Samuel to go back to his room and when he heard the voice again to say, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9). How many times have we missed a prompting from the Spirit because our spiritual receptors were still developing? Like Samuel, we too require experience and sometimes mentoring to develop our abilities to receive the Holy Ghost...

While the Holy Ghost can sometimes communicate in strong, unmistakable language, more often He communicates through quiet promptings. It was Elijah the prophet who found this out while on a mountaintop:

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. [1 Kings 19:11–12]"

Some of the things the Holy Ghost does.:

 - comforts us when we are sad or scared, during these uncertain times in the world with the pandemic and racial tension, I have felt his comfort...typically through others but I have felt peace. (John 14:26) 

- brings light to us when we are in a dark place. 

- warns of danger. This might be a feeling of discomfort or any negative feeling. All I know is when I get a feeling like that I stop. If you get one of these feelings, you should stop what you’re doing and choose a new path.

- guides us. The more you do what the Holy Ghost tells you, the better we get at hearing the promptings. 

- sanctifies us so we can be worthy to return to the presence of the Lord and to know of Christ's atonement.  Sanctification is the process of Christ’s Atonement cleansing us, healing us, and helping us become more Christlike—but it is only through the Holy Ghost that we can access the Atonement. “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” (Christofferson, “The Power of Covenants,” Ensign, May 2009). The members of the Godhead have separate but complimentary roles. Christ atoned for us and the Holy Ghost brings that atoning power to us. Without the Holy Ghost in our lives, we lose access to the Atonement. How can we know whether the Atonement is working in our lives? Luckily, the answer is simple “If you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost during this day … you may take it as evidence that the Atonement is working in your life.” (Henry B Eyring)

- helps us to have and build our testimony of the Savior.

-  gives us gifts and talents...  Parley P. Pratt said that the Spirit “quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections. . . . It develops beauty of person, form, and features. It tends to give health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man” (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, pp. 101–103). In short, the Spirit can bless us with gifts and talents in every aspect of our lives.

 - lastly, helps us see with new eyes.  

There is one final thing about this special new gift you have. You can take it everywhere with you. Sometimes in your life you will feel alone, but you will not be alone. The Holy Ghost will be with you, and if you are righteous and keep the commandments, if you keep your part of the covenant you’re making today, you will be worthy to have his guidance, and his warnings, and his comfort.

So as we think of the Holy Ghost or the Spirit, think of it as The gift that connects me and you to Heaven.