Being able to hear the whisperings of the Spirit, and following the guidance of spiritual leaders, will help young Church members avoid many of the pitfalls and heartaches of this world, said President James E. Faust.
President Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, addressed young adults in a Church Educational System satellite fireside from the Marriott Center at BYU. He discussed the importance of inspiration, which has come to righteous people of all ages. These he described as personal epiphanies.He explained that Christian tradition calls the 12th night of Christmas, Jan. 6th, Epiphany. While this Epiphany is not part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the word "epiphany" means a sudden grasping of the essential nature of something.
"It is thus an intuitive grasp of reality achieved in a quick flash of recognition in which something, usually simple and commonplace, is seen in a new light.
"In our understanding, this can be inspiration," said President Faust. "To be able to perceive by inspiration the common and ordinary things of life in their true meaning is a great blessing."
In his address, President Faust spoke of a few remarkable spiritual events that occurred in history in which inspiration was given.
Among these was the story of Samuel of the Old Testament. Samuel, as a child lived in the temple. One night he heard a voice he thought was Eli, the priest at the temple, but was actually the Lord speaking to him.
" `Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him,' " (1 Sam. 3:7) quoted President Faust. "Many of you dear young brothers and sisters do not yet know the Lord, nor is the word of the Lord revealed to you." After the third time the voice came to him, "Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth." (1 Sam. 3:9-10)
President Faust said: "My dear young friends, there is a profound lesson in this: We are to come to know the Lord so that when He speaks to us we can answer, `Speak, for thy servant heareth.' This is one of the greatest blessings in mortality."
President Faust compared the difficulty of learning to receive inspiration to the difficulty of tuning a simple crystal radio. "One had to literally scratch the receiving wire whisker over the top of the rough crystal to find the right pin point, a little valley or peak on the crystal, where the signal was received," he said. "Over time, with patience and perseverance . . . you could learn to find the signal point on the crystal without too much difficulty.
"So it is in learning to attune ourselves to the inspiration from God and tune out the scratchy static. We have to work at being tuned in. Most of us need a long time to become tuned in most of the time," he said. "To be able to recognize when one is being guided by the spirit is a supernal gift."
Further, President Faust asked, "How can we recognize inspiration when it comes?" He quoted Enos, a Book of Mormon prophet, who stated, "While I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind." (Enos 1:10.)
President Faust said: "The voice is not necessarily audible. The spirit of revelation comes by divine confirmation. `I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.' (D&C 8:2.)
"We believe the Spirit of God can come to all men and women. This is in distinction to the gift of the Holy Ghost. . . .
"However, those possessing the gift of the Holy Ghost can come to greater light and testimony. The Holy Ghost bears witness of the truth and impresses upon the soul the reality of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, so deeply no earthly power can separate him from that knowledge. (See 2 Ne. 31:18.) Indeed, not having the gift of the Holy Ghost is somewhat like having a body without a spiritual immune system."
President Faust continued: "My dear young friends. . . for those of you who do not yet know the Lord, to whom the word of the Lord has yet to be revealed, please open your spiritual ears and eyes. Tune your hearts and souls, as I had to do on my old crystal radio, set to the exact spot in your soul where the spiritual signals are coming through. In so doing you will be able to perceive the simple, ordinary things of life in a marvelous, new light. You will have remarkable spiritual insight.
"To do this you will have to pray fervently, with a clean mind and a humble heart. You will need to earnestly try to keep all of the commandments. You will need to be in harmony with the leadership of the Church, from your bishop and stake president to the First Presidency."
