Listening to the Holy Ghost

January 14, 2014

D&C 8:2-5

Yea, behold, 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.

Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.

Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it, and blessed art thou, for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies, when, if it were not so, they would slay you and bring your soul to destruction. 

Oh, remember these words, and keep my commandments.  Remember, this is your gift. 

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We did an activity at Zone Conference designed to help the missionaries discern between the voice of the Holy Ghost and other voices trying to lead them astray.  We divided the missionaries into groups of six and then asked one person from each group to leave the room.  That person was then blindfolded.  The other members of the group were told to give directions to the blindfolded person and guide them to a designated location in the room.  Each member of the group was told to guide the blindfolded person to a different location.  That meant each blindfolded person had five people telling them to go to five different locations which resulted in a very congested room full of people who didn't know where they should go or who they should listen to.

The blindfolded individuals were then taken out of the room again and one person in every group was assigned to be the designated voice that the blindfolded person should listen to.  The blindfolded people then came back into the room and each designated voice told them they should listen to their voice and they would lead them to the right location.

The object at this point was to have the blindfolded missionaries listen to the designated voice and go to a location in the room where a picture of Christ was on the wall.  Our goal as missionaries is to help others Come Unto Christ.

When I first planned the activity, I envisioned everybody listening to the right voice and walking to the picture of Christ and that would help them understand the importance of having the Holy Ghost as their constant companion and a voice that would never lead them astray.  As the activity unfolded, it was evident that many more lessons were being taught.

One of the blindfolded missionaries was a senior missionary with a hearing aid.  The designated voice in his group was so patient and tender and kept whispering in his ear and giving him the right directions, but the other missionaries were being really loud and obnoxious and trying to get him to follow them.  Their voices carried a lot better and he could hear them, but he really struggled to hear the soft voice that was leading him to the picture of Christ.  It took a really long time for him to finally make it, but he eventually did and everybody in the room cheered when he finally touched the picture.

One of the sister missionaries wound up in a corner far from where she should have been.  When she took the blindfold off, she could see where she should have been.  She really wanted to be there and even asked her designated voice if they could do it again so she could get there and was told "no".  She came up to me after the meeting and said how much that hurt and promised me she would never, ever tell anyone they couldn't have a second chance.

One missionary went straight to the picture and had a huge smile on her face.  A couple of other missionaries made it without too much difficulty and it was obvious they were pleased.

One missionary never moved from his original spot.  There were so many voices telling him different things and he wasn't familiar with the voice he was supposed to listen to.  He was so confused he never even moved. 

I could hear people all over the room shouting "Come with me; I know the way" or "Come with me;  we'll have a really good time" or "Come with me; don't listen to anyone else".

At the end of the exercise, I read the scripture from D&C 8:2-5 that talks about the gift of the Holy Ghost and how it can deliver us out of the hands of our enemies.  As missionaries, we are blessed immensely when we listen to the Holy Ghost and follow the promptings that are given to us.  Our investigators really struggle until they understand the power of that still, small voice that guides us.  Sometimes there are so many other voices giving conflicting points of view that they are confused and have a very difficult time accepting the truths of the gospel.  We need to be patient and listen to the promptings we receive to help guide them and help them Come Unto Christ.