Mormon Musings

You can make every decision in your life correctly if you can learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This you can do if you will discipline yourself to yield your own feelings to the promptings of the Spirit. Study your problems and prayerfully make a decision. Then take that decision and say to him, in a simple, honest supplication, “Father, I want to make the right decision. I want to do the right thing. This is what I think I should do; let me know if it is the right course.” Doing this, you can get the burning in your bosom, if your decision is right. . . . When you learn to walk by the Spirit, you never need to make a mistake. President Marion G. Romney, General Conference October 1961

“One cannot honestly study the scriptures without learning gospel principles because the scriptures have been written to preserve principles for our benefit.” President Marion G. Romney -”The Message of the Old Testament” [CES symposium on the Old Testament, Aug. 17, 1979], 3; quoted in S&I  Gospel Teaching and Learning  handbook (2012), 26

Some members assume that one can be in full harmony with the spirit of the gospel, enjoy full fellowship in the Church, and at the same time be out of harmony with the leaders of the Church and the counsel and direction they give.  Such a position is wholly inconsistent, because the guidance of the Church comes not alone from the written word but also from continuous revelation, and the Lord gives that revelation to the Church through his chosen prophet.  It follows, therefore, that those who profess to accept the Gospel and who at the same time criticize and refuse to follow the counsel of the Prophet are assuming an indefensible position.  Such a spirit leads to apostasy. President Marion G. Romney, April 1983 General Conference

The hallmark of the church of Christ, distinguishing it from all other churches and forms of worship, has ever been the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the membership of the Church. This is what distinguishes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from all other organizations. Following an interview with President Van Buren, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Elias Higbee wrote in 1839 from Washington, D.C., a letter to Hyrum Smith, in which they said: “In our interview with the President, he interrogated us wherein we differed in our religion from the other religions of the day. Brother Joseph said we differed in mode of baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. We considered that all other considerations were contained in the gift of the Holy Ghost. …” ( Documentary History of the Church,  vol. 4, p. 42.) Marion G. Romney, General Conference April 1974

If we are to be on the side of truth, we must have the Spirit of the Lord. To the obtaining of that spirit, prayer is an indispensable prerequisite. Praying will keep one's vision clear on this question of loyalty as on all other questions. By praying I do not mean, however, just saying prayers. Prayers may be said in a perfunctory manner. Access to the Spirit of God, which is a directing power, cannot be so obtained. The divine injunction to pray is not to be satisfied in a casual manner nor by an effort to obtain divine approval of a predetermined course. A firm resolve to comply with the will of God must accompany the petition foreknowledge as to what His will is. When one brings himself to the position that he will pursue the truth wherever it may lead, even though it may require a reversal of his former position, he can, without hypocrisy, go before the Lord in prayer. Then, when he prays with all the energy of his soul, he is entitled to and he will receive guidance. The mind

In his flight from persecution at Thessalonica and Berea, Paul waited at Athens for Silas and Timotheus. While there, “his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.” ( Acts 17:16 .) Paul, as you remember, had, in a great experience, gained for himself a knowledge that the Lord was not an impersonal essence, but rather an individual so near that He could and did speak to Paul, and gave instruction as to what Paul should do for his own welfare. (See  Acts 9 .) it was this knowledge which caused Paul’s spirit to be stirred in him as he beheld the idolatry of the city. Not only did such knowledge stir his spirit, but it also gave him the desire and the strength and the courage to do what he could to enlighten the people of Athens. He took every occasion to teach “them Jesus, and the resurrection .” ( Acts 17:18 .) Some called him a babbler; others said, “He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods.” ( Acts 17:18 .) So much attention did he attract that m