Principle 4
Spiritual guidance comes as a provision to help us receive answers to decisions
that are beyond our own ability to decide correctly
Heavenly Father wants us to CONSISTENTLY use that power for our success, peach and happiness.
How to enhance the power to be lead to correct decisions?
1. Consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit
2. Exercise faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
Heavenly Father wants us to be independent not dependent on Him. Instant answers would make us weak. Personal growth comes through the struggle to learn how to be lead.
Our experiences and success with personal revelation will lead to us trusting spiritual senses more than our physical ones.
TWO FRUITS OF SPIRITUALITY
1. INSPIRATION to know what to do
2. POWER or capacity to do it
IF we are 1. OBEDIENT and 2. EXERCISE FAITH
THEN 1. God answers our prayer and 2. Gives Spiritual Direction
Answers come after prolonged asking, at this time they came during spiritual study
SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION CAN INCLUDE:
1. Precious truths
2. Specific directions
3. Instructions
4. Conditioned promises
STEPS TO RECORD PROMPTINGS:
1. Immediately record as faithfully as possible the feelings that flood into your mind and heart
2. Ponder feelings and determine if they are correctly recorded
3. Study the meaning and determine the application in your life
4. Receive feelings of peace and thanks
5. Ask if there is more
The result of asking "Is there more?"
It lead to the most precious, specific, personal direction he could hope to obtain
If you don't record the first, you will never get the deeper guidance.
* You MUST 1. RESPOND to 2. RECORD and 3. APPLY if you don't want to miss out.
God judges men according to the use they make of the light which He gives them.
Have patience as you are perfecting this skill. It takes time.
Careful practice + sensitivity to feelings = Gained spiritual guidance
Sometimes direction is a
1. Feeling
2. Spiritual dictation
MY THOUGHTS:
Never in my life has this principle been more important and significant to me. I began recording those promptings right after Scott died and this principle has given me great peace and understanding about his death. In the absence of my husband, I have turned to the Lord for help with my children, spiritual guidance and direction with temporal matters. I have found that these principles have given me guidance that has often surprised me, but has turned out to be very wise and has lead us down a much better path than I had initially expected. Personal revelation has become a lifeline to me. The key has been to write. I emphasize that to everyone I talk to now about this principle. Before Scott death, I would get little bits of personal revelation sporadically, but when I showed the Lord that I was willing to write down his counsel and take it very seriously, more began to come. The more diligent I have been in IMMEDIATELY following it the more that has come. The more completely that I am obedient to his commandments, especially inwardly obedient, the more that has come. I have learned that at times I have to struggle and wait on the Lord for those answers. When I continue in faith they have always eventually come. I have learned to count on that as much as I count on the sun rising to lighten the day. Thinking about my life recently I wrote....
All of my plans were hinged on our move. In a new city and new home I knew I would be busy getting the house and kids settled. I had planned to go back to school. When our house didn't sell, I said to The Lord, "I can't just spend a year cleaning my house and keeping up the yard. I have to have more of a purpose to my life during this waiting period." I knew we needed to be here for a purpose. As the asking and the pleadings began I gradual came to understand why we needed to be here and I began to find new purposes for my life. I looked at this waiting time as a chance for me to spiritual fill my reservoir, a spiritual sandbar on which to catch my breath before beginning to swim again. That knowledge was not given to me all at once, but one piece at a time. It gradually began to come together. Then as I began to act on those prompting more came...missionary opportunities, chances to reach out to people locally and online, opportunities to write the things I was learning, work in my callings, new friendships, a chance to paint the picture that had been in the back of my mind, experiences to teach me new things. Every day, instead of starting with my temporal list I started with my spiritual study. Then I listened as ideas came to do this and this. I followed those promptings and watched my day unfold into lots and lots of chances to serve The Lord. Sometimes I got very little done in the way if the world, but everyday I saw the hand of The Lord working through me. I saw miracles happen in the lives of people around me. I knew that I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do and following those daily promptings. I have reflected on how much more peaceful and complete my life feels this way, how much happier I am, how much more fulfilled I am. I like myself better too and the person that I am becoming. Listening to the Lord and following Him is the best thing to do.
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