Day 307 The Holy Ghost: Personal Influence and Power

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. What role does the Holy Ghost play in your life?

Welcome to day 307 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together. I have a big smile on my face today as we go into our reading. Today is about the Holy Ghost.

Today you're going to be reading 3 Nephi 19:1-22. Inside of these verses you're going to have word spread across the people that Christ has come and they're going to work all the night through to gather together and be ready for his coming. And then Nephi and the twelve disciples separate the people and immediately begin teaching the things Christ has told them to teach.

I love that lesson inside of there. And then we get an instance where the disciples and the people pray for the Holy Ghost to be with them. And that's what takes us to our verse today in 3 Nephi 19:14.

The disciples had been baptized at this point and the Holy Ghost fell upon them in verse 13. And then we get this verse. Verse 14 says, "And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire.

And it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it and did bear record. And angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them." My friends, what would our lives be like if every time we saw someone receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, it happened like this? How much more would we take the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives seriously if we were encircled about by fire and angels did come to minister every time the gift of the Holy Ghost was given?

I believe that same gift that is talked about in verse 14 here is exactly what we receive when we are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. We have that same influence and power available in our lives. So for this episode today, I wanted to talk about just a few of the ways that the Holy Ghost influences me in the hopes that it may help you ponder on the ways the Holy Ghost influences you.

And if you haven't felt it in these types of ways, I encourage you to dive in to what it means for you to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost in your life. I experienced the Holy Ghost in a myriad of ways, but a few of them I thought about today in preparation for this episode was the warmth and love that I receive that comes internally. It's like my whole body gets warm and fuzzy, right?

I experience love, love at a level that I think is more than just kind of, you know, I love to go outside or I love watching football or whatever, that type of love. It's a deeper love. In fact, I would even say it's joy at a level so much so that I, while my family would be able to attest to this, I tend to cry sometimes when I just have this intense joy as I'm feeling the Holy Ghost in my life.

I also experience the Holy Ghost through direct inspiration. There are times in my life where I feel and I know I should do something right then, or I should contact somebody, I should reach out to them. I experienced the Holy Ghost in thoughts about others.

And I can't explain that very well other than to explain that there's times where I pause and go, you know what? I need to give a phone call here. I need to drop a text message over there.

I need to reach out and see how they're doing. I also received the Holy Ghost through loving correction. There are times in my life when the Holy Ghost whispers to me, "Allen, come back over here a little bit.

You could probably clean that up in your life." And I'm so grateful for those promptings to help me remember that it's okay. Look, we're here to make mistakes and figure life out. The Lord still loves us through those.

And I'm grateful the Holy Ghost can come and say, "Allen, here's some loving correction. Let's course correct a little bit and continue to be a little more like Christ as you go forward and make those corrections in your life." My friends, these are just a few of the ways that I experienced the Holy Ghost in my life. And today I'd encourage you to take some time to ponder what the Holy Ghost means for you.

For these people, they were experiencing a pillar of fire, angels coming down as they were granted the Holy Ghost. I believe that those experiences are still available to those of us with the gift of the Holy Ghost as well. How will you and I better seek to have its influence in our lives as we go forward?

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.