Welcome to the Come Follow Me podcast for teens and for parents of teens. A podcast to supplement your weekly study of the Come Follow Me curriculum. with thoughts, ideas, principles, stories and questions all geared towards helping teenagers better follow Christ through their teenage years. Hey everybody, welcome back to another edition of the Come Follow Me for Teens podcast. I'm your host, Josh Downs.
This week's episode is episode 111 and we're going to be taking a look at Doctrine and Covenants sections 10 through 11 that you may come off conquer.
And young people, this is going to be a very important episode for you for so many different reasons that we'll get into in just a moment. Just as a reminder, if you've not had a chance to leave me a review, on either this podcast or the come follow me for teens shorts podcast please do that it goes a long ways in just helping others to be able to find it and access these podcasts for themselves
That being said, here's the background of this week's study. As the translation of the Book of Mormon continued, a question came up. What should Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery do about those lost pages of the translation? It might make sense to retranslate that portion, but the Lord saw something that they could not. Their enemies were planning to alter the words on those pages to cast doubt on Joseph's inspired work.
God had a plan to avoid that problem and keep the work moving forward. Thousands of years earlier, God inspired Nephi to write a second record that covered the same time period for a wise purpose in him. My wisdom, the Lord said to Joseph, is greater than the cunning of the devil. That's a reassuring message in a day like ours when the adversary is intensifying his efforts to weaken faith.
Like Joseph, we can be faithful and continue on in the work God has called us to do. Then we will find that He has already provided a way so that the gates of hell shall not prevail against us. Love that. The story of the 116 pages is really one of my favorites, just for so many reasons. I know we covered a lot of that in a previous episode, but this is kind of the follow-up, where the Lord does reveal to Joseph, look, this is the reason why you can't just go back and...
retranslate there was a plan put in place uh to to alter the words and to yes cast doubt on the inspired work the restoration everything that you're doing and um and so he basically put this plan in place thousands of years before Joseph was ever born to fix the mistake before he ever made it.
And to me, that just speaks absolute volumes of how amazing God is. And I have had to fall back on that so many times in my life where I just remember thinking to myself, how is this going to work out? I don't understand. how this is going to...
come together, how I'm going to be able to get through this, how a solution could ever be found. And I just had to remind myself, God really does know all things. And He knew exactly where I was going to be. He knows exactly where you're going to be, any situation. that you're going to be in, problem that you're going to face, obstacle that you're going to have, challenge to overcome thousands of years before you were ever there. And so he has already put everything in place that you need.
To solve it. To get through it. To overcome it. See, God does not work from a reactionary standpoint. Something doesn't happen and then He has to scramble to fix it. Because He knows all things. He works from a preparatory standpoint. He has already put things in place. And knowing and understanding that truth, young people, will just serve you so well throughout your life, especially when you get in those.
moments that are filled with with doubt are filled with fear worry concern you can be at ease knowing that god knows and he knew long beforehand exactly what you're going to go through which means he's already provided the way for you to get through it and overcome it now there are a couple things though that we we need to make sure that that you understand especially as it relates to this story.
In this section, again, the Lord reveals to Joseph why those 116 pages were lost and exactly what Satan's plan was with them. But the value of this chapter in particular is recognizing Satan's reality.
influence, recognizing his power, and that he does put plans in place to destroy the work and to understand how he works. And so, especially with section 10, I would invite you to read through this section and mark all of the things that you see that Satan does in this situation or what he does just in general.
Elder James E. Faust once taught that I think we will witness an increasing evidence of Satan's power as the kingdom of God grows stronger. I believe Satan's ever-expanding efforts are some proof of the truthfulness of this work. in the future the opposition will be both more subtle and more open it will be masked in greater sophistication and cunning but it will also be more blatant
We will need greater spirituality to perceive all of the forms of evil and greater strength to resist it. But the disappointments and setbacks of the work of God will be temporary, for the work will go forward. Kind of foreshadowing a little bit in that statement of President Nielsen's.
teaching that it will not be possible to survive in the coming days without a greater increase of the Spirit. Satan is going to become just that good at confusing people, at exploiting weakness, at tempting others. And so we need that.
outpouring of the spirit and we will need it more than ever continuing on in his statement about satan and what he does he said it's not good practice to become intrigued by satan and his mysteries no good can come from getting close to evil playing with fire it is too easy to get burned that the knowledge of sin tempteth to its commission president faust said that the only safe course is to keep well distance from him and any of his wicked activities or nefarious practices
However, he said Brigham Young taught that it is important to study evil.
and its consequences so i think that's one of the things that i want to do here in section 10 is again just invite you to go through read that section and and just identify for yourself what methods devices lies deceptions that satan basically uses to destroy this work that the lord in many ways is warning us about i'm going to pause here for a moment give you a chance to do that and come back and we'll cover some of those things that hopefully you found
Okay, now hopefully you had a chance to do that. There's just a lot of different things, but a lot of these things kind of tie together. You may have noticed some things like in verse 10, how the Lord says that Satan... put it into their hearts like this whole idea this whole plan it wasn't really their own that satan was behind this number 12 is that the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan that he may destroy this work
That he, in verse 13, hath put it into their hearts. Again, that same phrase in verse 15. He has put it into their hearts. Verse 20, that Satan has great hold upon their hearts. Verse 21, that they love darkness rather than light. Same verse, that their deeds are evil. Verse 22, Satan stirreth them up. Verse 24, that he stirreth up their hearts.
25, he saith unto them. And I mark that phrase anytime I saw that he saith unto them. Like he really is talking to them. He is whispering to them. It says also that he flattereth them. He telleth them.
Verse 26, He flattereth them, leadeth them along. Verse 27, Thus he goeth up and down to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men. Verse 29, Satan saith unto them, again and he flatteth them away all of those statements should speak volumes to each and every one of us that satan is absolutely real
and heavily involved in trying to deceive to overcome to tempt he has actual plans that he has put in place and sometimes those plans are a lot of times we we look at satan you guys as whispering to us trying to tempt us
to do things but here is a direct evidence that he also uses other people to do his bidding that he he works through others sometimes to destroy us and to destroy our faith In fact, the most direct and powerful statement that I want you to mark comes in verse 33, when the Lord says, in this generation that the work may not come forth in this generation there's the end game
There is everything that Satan is trying to do. That he was trying to do with Joseph and all of those in the early restoration and that he is still trying to do today. He thinketh to overpower your testimony. And he has very real... Very calculated ways and plans in place to do that. Not just for the church, but for you as an individual. Do you understand what...
I'm telling you here in what the Lord is teaching about the power and the reality of Satan. Young people, you need to understand that Satan is very real and that he is very cunning and that he has power to not only try to influence you, but again to... influence others to influence you. Have you ever thought about that? There's a very real possibility that some of his greatest temptations will not come directly to you, but will come through others to you.
And that's him. He's involved in that. Of course he knows where your weaknesses are. He knows where you'd be most likely to give in to that temptation. And so if he thinks he can get to you through others better, he will do exactly that. And so you have to be prepared to face him. But you also need to be aware of how subtle he is and all the ways that he will try to get to you because you've got to believe that he is coming for your testimony.
President Faust, in speaking about Satan, the great deceiver, He said, My principal reason for choosing this subject is to help young people by warning them, as Paul said, lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. He said that, but I have at times been able to identify his influence and his actions in my life and in the lives of others.
he said when i was on my first mission satan sought to divert me from my future path and if possible to destroy my usefulness in the lord's work that was almost 50 years ago and i still remember how reasonable his entreaties seemed Who has not heard and felt the enticings of the devil? His voice often sounds so reasonable and his message so easy to justify. It is an enticing, intriguing voice with dulcet tones.
It is neither hard nor discordant. No one would listen to Satan's voice if it sounded harsh or mean. If the devil's voice were unpleasant, it would not entice people to listen to it. he said shakespeare wrote the prince of darkness is a gentleman think about that for a moment and of course as i mentioned before the prophet joseph related from his own experience with satan that the nearer a person approaches the lord
A greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of his purposes. However, young people, we need not become paralyzed with fear of Satan's power because... The other aspect of this is that he can have no power over us unless we permit him. I'm reminded of an old parable that I've always loved called The Tale of Two Wolves, in which an old Cherokee Indian chief sat down with one of his grandsons and basically told him, grandson, a fight is going on inside me.
a terrible fight between two wolves one is evil full of anger sorrow regret greed self-pity and false pride the other is good full of joy peace love humility kindness and faith the same fight is going on inside of you grandson and inside of every other person on this earth the grandson ponders this for a moment and then asks grandfather which wolf will win
To which the old man smiled and simply replied, The one you feed. The one you feed. And I've always loved that. Very simple, but also very powerful in its message. Yeah, there is good. There is evil. There is light. There is dark in each of us. Satan is real. And he is fighting to destroy you. And God is real. And he is fighting to preserve you. And the one that will win in the end will be the one. spirit inside of us that we feed.
Now, it's important to recognize, as Joseph taught, that all beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. That the devil has no power over us only as we permit him. He can't make us do anything. The moment that we revolt at anything which comes from God, Joseph said, the devil takes power. And I love how Elder Paul V. Johnson taught it. He said, when we follow Satan, we give him power. When we follow God, He gives us power.
And then to conclude, President Faust also taught that I wish to testify that there are forces which will save us from the ever-increasing lying, disorder, violence, chaos, destruction, misery, and deceit that are upon the earth. Those saving forces are the everlasting principles, covenants, and ordinances of the eternal gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
These same principles, covenants, and ordinances are coupled with the rights and powers of the priesthood of Almighty God. We of this church are the possessors and custodians of these commanding powers which can and do roll back. much of the power of Satan on the earth. We believe that we hold these mighty forces in trust for all those who have died, for all who are now living, and for the yet unborn. Back when I was little, I remember my mother taking me to a grocery store.
I wasn't quite good enough to get a treat. I think that was kind of the deal, that if I had cleaned my room or done some things at home, that when I went to the store, she'd get me a treat. Well, I didn't, and I wasn't. And I remember she said, that she wasn't going to get me some at this store. Well...
This particular grocery store, I remember, had a bunch of nickel candies, and there were so many in there. I just wanted one, and I just begged and pleaded with my mom, but she held her ground to her credit, held her boundaries. And I remember from an early age, she was walking down the aisle to get some of the other groceries she needed. Just a soft, subtle voice just whispered into my mind, just take one.
She'll never know. Nobody will know. It's one piece of candy. It's not a big deal. Look how good it looks. Imagine how great it must taste. And I remember as a young person just thinking, it's true. No, it's not a big deal. And I did. I took one of those nickel pieces of candy and I just slipped it in my pocket.
I walked out of the store with her and I'm sure my mom was wondering, why are you not fighting anymore for any treats? You seem to be a little bit more accepting of my decision than what you normally would be. Little did she know I had a piece of candy in my pocket. And then when I got into the car with her sitting in the back seat.
that same little voice you know go ahead and eat that candy it must taste so good imagine how good it would taste and i couldn't resist and so i took it out of my pocket and i just kind of secretly put it in my mouth my mom noticed that I was chewing on something from the rearview mirror sheet.
Pulled the car over. Well, at that point, I knew that I had been busted. And so I told her what had happened. And when she asked, why did you do that? I remember I couldn't think of anything else but to say, The devil made me do it, Mom. It was the devil. The devil made me do it.
And I remember she taught me a very important lesson. She said, oh, really? Did the devil take your hand and make you grab a piece of candy? And then did he make you put it in your pocket? And then did he make you take it out of your pocket and eat it? She helped me to learn through that experience and to repent from it too, that the devil doesn't have power over us, that we really do have power over him.
That our choices are our choices. And yes, He can entice. He can flatter. He can do all those things. But in the end, we have the power to choose. And that's so important to remember. Young people, I want you to know that I absolutely have a testimony. of the reality of God, and of the Savior, and of this church that we belong to. But I also have a testimony of the reality of Satan. From a very young age, I started to feel his influence. And I have felt it so many times.
throughout my life, and I'm sure in ways that I didn't even know or recognize were coming from Him. I have seen very subtle plans put in place to destroy me. I have seen Him influence and impress others to say things, to do things. It's just the right time to try to bring me down. He is more well organized, I believe, than we have any idea. And you need to be prepared for him.
Because he thinketh to overpower your testimony, just like mine and everyone else's, and to destroy this work. Now some journal discussion questions for you to consider about this is, again, why is it important that we have a testimony of Satan? sometimes it sounds weird to say that but i believe that that's very important to have why is it important that we understand the methods that he uses in trying to deceive us why is it so important that we recognize how organized his forces are
And have you ever considered that he has a very specific plan on how to destroy your faith and your testimony? After all, he has known you for an eternity. So he absolutely knows where you're strong and where you're weak. And have you ever considered how he will try to use and influence others in your life to carry that plan out? And do you understand that he can and that he does do that?
And so why is it vital that we understand how subtle he is, how patient he is, how soft-spoken he can be? Why is it so important to understand, as Joseph taught, That despite all of that, all beings who have bodies have power over those that do not. That Satan has no power over us, only as we permit him.
And to apply this particular section to your life or in principle, I would invite you to maybe just write down how you have seen Satan's attacks in your own life. Is there a specific thing that he has attacked you on or with? Can you recognize that? If so, what is it or was it? And how have you been able to overcome it? For our second principle today, I want to take a look here in the same section.
before outlining satan's plan and his methods and just how involved he was in in everything that had transpired with 116 pages The Lord gives really what I consider to be one of the greatest solutions and resources to combating Satan's influence in our lives, to combat his plans and whatever efforts that he is putting to overcome.
overcome our testimonies in particular. The great counsel that the Lord gives here is, again, in section 10, verse 5. That's the verse I want to look at. And I want to invite you to mark that verse and, in particularly, the counsel that He gives in it. The verse simply reads,
simple verse. It's a very simple statement, young people, but please consider the implications of it because there's nothing simple in what it's teaching. Notice that the only thing that the Lord says, that we need to do in order to conquer satan from this verse is to pray always
Notice he doesn't say that you need to be perfect, that you need to attend church every week, that you need to be a seminary graduate or go on a mission or get married in the temple or attend the temple every week or serve faithfully in the church or anything like that in order to conquer Satan. Sometimes we kind of overpower ourselves with these lists of things that we feel like we need to do. But here the Lord is just, again, very simple and just direct. You just need to pray always.
to conquer satan because prayer is the lifeline to god and it provides the avenue through which he can guide us he can direct us he can protect us and look again at the first vision as a pattern What was it that helped Joseph conquer Satan in that particular moment? It was simply prayer, praying to God. In Moses chapter 1, the pearl of great price moses also had a very real confrontation with satan and moses felt a great deal of fear as he felt and experienced satan's power
But in a similar way as Joseph, in a similar pattern, in Moses 1, verse 20, it states that nevertheless Moses... calling upon god he received strength which led him to be able to command satan to depart in the name of the only begotten and he departed he conquered satan through the power of Christ that was accessed through prayer. Someone once simply said, in referencing the power of prayer, that prayer keeps man from sin and sin keeps man from prayer. Now think about how true that statement is.
Remember, you guys, that when you feel least like praying is when you need to pray the most. When you feel like God is most displeased with you because of what you've done, that's the moment that He wants you to come to Him and talk to Him. Talk to him so he can help you to fix it.
But Satan doesn't want us to do that. And he didn't attack Joseph until he started to pray. That's when he really came after him. He doesn't want us to pray. So he will do everything that he can, whisper every lie that he can think of. to also keep you from praying to God. Because He knows what that prayer can and will lead to in your life. It will lead to God's light.
coming into your life, which will force the darkness away. Praying will always lead to those good things that follow prayer. An outpouring of the Lord's Spirit and protection. Access to His wisdom and His guidance. The power that we have access to through prayer.
leads to all of those good things that I already mentioned. It will help you want to make better choices. It will help you want to read your scriptures. It will help you want to go to church and to partake of the sacrament. It'll help you want to serve a mission.
get married and attend the temple prayer is where it all starts and where everything good stems from so pray always you guys that you may conquer satan in referencing that one of my favorite quotes came from heber j grant when he said and it's from a prophet and i think it's very important and insightful and i want as i share this with you guys i want you to kind of think how you're doing and if there's room to improve improve If there isn't, well, just keep it going.
Because again, Satan does not want you to do this. Which Heber J. Grant taught, I have little or no fear for the boy or the girl, the young man or the young woman, who honestly and conscientiously supplicate God. twice a day for the guidance of His Spirit. I am sure that when temptation comes, they will have the strength to overcome it by the inspiration that shall be given to them.
Supplicating the Lord for the guidance of His Spirit places around us a safeguard, and if we earnestly and honestly seek the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I can assure you that we will receive it. Isn't that a just great statement and a great thought? Twice a day to pray and to help your prayers become even a little more powerful maybe than what they are. I remember Elder Holland taught that our prayers ought to be vocal.
when we have the privacy to so offer them. And I've noticed a huge difference in my own prayers when I pray vocally as opposed to how we sometimes do, just tend to pray in our minds. There is greater clarity. There is greater power in the words that we speak. President Nielsen. speaking on prayer, taught that our prayers can be and should be living discussions with our Heavenly Father. And that's helped kind of reshape my prayers a little bit as well. Instead of the typical, just ask or express.
gratitude and thanks for like we kind of tend to do, I've tried to develop a little bit more of a discussion, like just to talk with him, tell him some of the things that I'm thinking and feeling. and maybe ask questions related to him. Help me to understand, or do you know why, or can you show me why this is happening, or this is how I'm feeling. It is very, very helpful, you guys, to approach our Heavenly Father in that way. Just talk to him like he's there.
with you in the room. Have a discussion with them about what you're thinking and feeling and going through. Bishop Dean M. Davies said that sharing our thoughts and feelings and desires with God through sincere and heartfelt prayer should become, to each of us, as important and natural as breathing and eating. And I can attest to you the difference that prayer makes when it's in place in my life and when it is not. I can always go back to those times where Satan's done a really good job.
at keeping me from from praying and i have felt a palpable change in the amount of light that was in my life as opposed to darkness and i can tell you from personal experience that there have been multiple times where satan has kind of won the battle in convincing me that God didn't want to hear my prayers because of a sin that I had recently committed or a poor choice or decision that I had made. And it was so easy to convince myself that I'm not worthy to pray.
I feel like a hypocrite if I were to get down on my knees and pray after some of the things I had done or said or thought of. But I've also come to recognize how silly that thinking is. As a father of children, I can tell you from personal experience that the time that I want to hear from them the most is the time where they need the most help.
when they're in the most trouble, when they've made those poor choices, because I want to help guide them through it. I want to help them overcome it. I want to help them heal from it. No matter what they've done or how bad of a choice they've made, I will never turn them away because I know. it's in those moments they need me most and your heavenly father is the same way i promise you that
Some journal discussion questions for you guys to consider might be, what impresses you the most about the principles of prayer that we've discussed so far? What individual thoughts have you had about it? What have you felt directed to do in your own life to apply these truths? Why and maybe how has prayer been an important part of the gospel to you so far? How have you experienced power in your own life through prayer?
And what has been your biggest challenge or obstacle to daily prayer both morning and night? And what can you do to make prayer more of a top priority so that you too may conquer Satan in your own life? To apply this. I don't know, I might encourage you to just write of a time that you experience the power of prayer to help you make a good decision or to conquer Satan in your life. I think we've all had them in some big and some small ways, and it's good to remember those and reference them.
For the last principle today, it's in Doctrine and Covenants section 11, which is a revelation that was given to Hiram Smith. directing him what he should do to prepare basically for those things that were coming to fulfill his mission and his part of the restoration of the gospel of jesus christ it's a very personal section in Revelation that was given just to him.
But in it, the Lord teaches some amazing things for all of us to better understand how to fulfill our own individual missions and our part in the restoration. And it really is one of those sections where you guys could just be turned loose to go and discover.
these powerful truths and principles for yourself they are principles and truths that again can help ensure that you personally discover and fulfill your purpose and part in the restoration principles and truths that will help you prepare for your mission
So I want you to read through it on your own and mark anything that impresses you in the counsel that was given to Hiram Smith and think of how it can apply to you currently in your life. And then again, come back and we'll go through some of those key points.
Okay, so now that you're back, section 11, I want to start with a verse that's a little bit further down because I think this kind of sets the stage for everything else in it. In verse 27, of section 11 he says the lord says behold i speak unto all who have good desires and have thrust in their sickle
to reap in other words all those that want to do good and are starting to try to do good in their life to make a difference in the world and really to all those that want to serve a mission and so there's lots of counsel in here we're just going to hit on a couple key key ones um many of which hopefully you've saw and marked if not mark them as we go verse seven is a great one simple where the lord says to hire him seek not for riches but for wisdom
Or in other words, don't let the worldly pursuit of things that don't matter that so many people get caught up in become something that you get caught up in. Verse 8, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. Again, he just wants your heart. He just wants you to desire it and he can take care of the rest. Verse 9, say nothing but repentance unto this generation.
We'll take a look a little bit more into why that's so important in some upcoming sections. But obviously the focus is help. people to change. Tell them that the time is now to change, to repent, and to come closer to God. Verse 19, Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart. That's what I want you to do, Hiram, right now, is just cleave unto me. Stay close to me.
me and things will work out things will fall into place and you'll be able to perform all that you need to do all that you want to do and all that i have for you to do verse 20 behold this is your work to keep my commandments yea with all your might mind and strength and i like that counsel in particular because Not all of us are going to have big tasks that the Lord has to do all the time. Sometimes our work is just simply...
to keep his commandments. Hiram played an integral part in the restoration, but at this point in time in his life, his only work, while Joseph was doing all these incredible, amazing things, was just simply to keep the commandments. The time hadn't come for him to yet fulfill some of the other things that the Lord had for him to do. So for right now...
Just keep my commandments. And sometimes that will be your work as well. And I should point out it's not just to keep them, but to keep them with all your might, mind, and strength. Do everything that you can to keep them. Verse 21, the Lord also says,
One of the great missionary preparation verses of all time, young people. Make sure you mark verse 21. The Lord is telling you that the time to prepare for your mission is right now. That the more time you put in learning the gospel, studying His Word, internalizing His Word, the more power that you'll have to be able to teach it. that it will be able to be more easily coupled with the Lord's Spirit. Because, as he says, it's His Spirit coupled with His Word.
that will find the power of God unto the convincing of men. And then last, verse 24, build upon my rock, which is my gospel. Just live it, Hiram. Build upon it. Make it a part of your daily life. Make it a priority. Make me a priority. That is the work that I have for you to do. That is what is going to help you to find your purpose and fulfill your mission and your part in the restoration. But there's one that I want to emphasize a little bit more, and that is in verse 12.
in which hiram is told in this verse and now verily verily i say unto thee put your trust in that spirit which leadeth to do good yea to do justly to walk humbly to judge righteously and this See, it's through prayer. you guys, that we speak to God, but it's through His Spirit that He speaks back. And in that verse, Hiram is being reminded and taught to put his trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good and to allow his life to be led by that Spirit which leadeth to do good.
and to put your trust in that Spirit even during those times when, like Nephi, he didn't know beforehand the things which he should do there will be times young people in your life there have been in mine there will be in everybody's where we really don't know what to do but the spirit will gently be kind of encouraging us forward, prodding us forward, inviting us to take steps and to trust that things will work out.
Elder Perry shared a great example of this and what it's like and how he learned to put his trust in that spirit which leadeth to do good, even though it was hard to understand the reason why he was being directed to do so. he said i remember a critical time in my life how grateful i was when a still small voice gave me a direction to make an important decision he said i had been with the retail firm for a number of years and we had enjoyed extraordinary success
We wanted to expand the business but needed a great deal of capital. And in an attempt to raise the money, we contacted the best financial advisors that we could find. And they encouraged us to merge with a larger firm. well the merger was successfully completed and he said i was asked to sign a five-year contract to give continuity to management within a matter of months i found myself in a very difficult situation
The new owners wanted me to violate a trust that I felt I just cannot do. After long discussions, they continued to insist and I continued to refuse. Seeing there was no way to break the deadlock, I agreed to leave the company. The timing for me was devastating. I had a wife who was seriously ill and required a lot of medical attention, a daughter away to college, and a son on a mission. He said I spent the next year just getting enough consulting work to pay my expenses.
After struggling for about one year, a company called me from California and invited me to come out and talk to them about working for them. I went out and negotiated a very good contract. I was delighted with the opportunity, and I told them that I had to return home and discuss it with my family before I could give an answer. He said I returned home, and after a careful discussion, I convinced my family that it was the right thing to do.
in the process of calling the firm to accept the offer a voice he said just as strong and powerful as i have ever heard came to me and said say no to the offer What would you do in that situation? He said, I could not ignore the voice, so I turned down the offer. But I was distressed. I could not comprehend why I had been told to do such a thing. I went upstairs in my bedroom, sat on the bed, opened the scriptures, and they fell open to the Doctrine and Covenants section 111.
And this was the only section given in the state of Massachusetts where my home was at that particular time. These words literally jumped out of the page and met my eye. Concern not yourselves about your debts. I will give you power to pay them. Tarry in this place and in the region's roundabout. He said, a great peace came to my soul. Within just a few days, I was offered a fine position in Boston.
And a few months later, I had the great privilege of hosting a conference in which President Harold B. Lee and the First Counselor in the First Presidency was the featured speaker. The conference was a glorious success and we feasted on the words of President Lee. The following July, President Joseph Fielding Smith passed away and presently became the prophet. Three months later, I was asked to come to Salt Lake where I received a call to leave my profession and join the General Authorities.
He said, I've often wondered what would have happened if I had not heeded the Holy Spirit in its counseling to me not to leave Boston. Well, you guys, there will be times where you'll have to exercise the same kind of faith. You'll receive a prompting, have a thought, hear a voice in your mind, just have a feeling in your gut.
to do something or not to do something and sometimes it won't make any sense and the other option or the other decision seems so much more logical but it's in that moment where we will learn hopefully to follow that Spirit, to put our trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good and to have good things done to us. Parley P. Pratt gave us a vision of what the gift of the Holy Ghost really could mean to each of us.
when we receive it and trust it and follow it when he said the gift of the holy ghost quickens all the intellectual faculties increases enlarges expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections and adapts them by the gift of wisdom to their lawful use it inspires develops and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity.
It develops beauty of person, form, and features. tends to health vigor animation and social feeling it invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man it strengthens and gives tone to the nerves in short it is as it were marrow to the bone joy to the heart light to the eyes music to the ears and life to the whole being have you ever thought of the holy ghost being able to do all of that for you It can and it does. And I just bear testimony of that fact and truth.
that when we follow the spirit good things happen i've had multiple experiences throughout my life from making decisions where to live to what jobs to take where to be at certain places and at certain times There have been gentle promptings and nudges that have led me to good things and to good places. And I can testify to you of the Spirit's ability to do that. As long as we just learn to put our trust and our faith. in it which is in essence putting our faith and trust in god
Now, some journal and discussion questions to end with today. Why does the Lord invite us to put our trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good? Why is trust a part of learning to follow the Spirit? What can we trust it will always lead us to do and lead us to? And how will it help us to do justly? Or how will it help us to walk humbly? Or how will it help us to judge righteously? In what ways can you use the guidance of the Lord's Spirit right now in your own life?
What decisions do you have to make currently in your life that the Spirit can help you to make and to make correctly? To apply this, I just invite you to right of a time. that you simply put your trust in the Lord and His Spirit, and it led you to do something good, or to experience something good.
Those are such great experiences to remember and to reflect on. And I invite you to do that. I hope that this has been helpful this week, you guys. There's some things that you learned, some thoughts that you had. will help you just in your life directly and personally. Please remember as always that that person is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely approaches the pattern of the Christ.
It has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, prestige. The only true test of greatness and blessedness and joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ. He is the right way, the full truth. and the abundant life and he invites us all to come follow me so once again let's follow him better this week by applying these principles and become better as we follow him until next week everyone i'm josh downs and you've been listening to come follow me for teens