The Holy Ghost

[_ajax18]

I've heard the Holy Ghost or the Spirit explained as simply knowing something is true. For instance, I know it's wrong to randomly start inflicting pain on another person. Nobody had to tell me this. I already knew. I suppose you could argue that I've been conditioned this way, and that if other people didn't assert their rights I wouldn't feel an obligation to honor those rights.

The part I don't understand is that I've always felt it wrong to kill animals for sport ever since I can remember, age 3 or 4. The truth is that I've been conditioned to believe the opposite since my Dad is an avid hunter. It never really caught on. While I don't hold any contempt for people who hunt for sport and am by no means an animal rights activist, I still don't hunt for sport. I don't enjoy it in all honesty. I hate having to kill something, not because someone thinks I should or fear of eternal consequence, I just don't like it. There aren't many things like that. One could argue that I evolved to be this way, but why wouldn't evolution make me more aggressive and merciless as most wild animals are including most human beings, especially more primitive ones.

If you asked me if I don't fornicate simply because I don't enjoy it, I'd have to say no. That's more fear of consequence, afterlife, etc. Even with all the conditioning, the Church isn't completely successful at overcoming evolutionary influences that drive people to copulate.

The Holy Ghost gets really hazy for me in nonmoral questions. Even as a devout TBM I questioned to myself, people saying, "I just knew I had to get out of the that grocery store. Then, five minutes later, the building imploded." How do you explain when people don't feel they need to leave and the building falls on them, or when you leave and there is no apparent reason. At this point it almost seems like a disease and paranoia to me. This is where I think that misconceptions can start to do damage to people. Right now in my life I'm extremly skeptical of revelations from the Holy Ghost that are not in response to a moral question. For example, the Holy Ghost showed me where the gold was buried.

[_Gazelam]

We know through scripture that the Holy Ghost is himself God, and a member of the Godhead, that being The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.

It is generally understood that the Father is just that, The Father of our spirits. To Jesus is given the care and protection of all of us, the children of God. He is our Advocate to the Father, and our Example, he living a perfect Life and calling and ordaining Prophets to guide us throughout time.

The Holy Ghost is the testifier and comforter to us. It is to the Holy Ghost that God has given power to testify and reveal to us what is true.1 Corinthians 12:3-7 tells us that the Spirit is given to us to know that Jesus is the Christ.

The question then is, how does the Holy Ghost do this? How is revelation received? We have the scriptures as our guide. What do they testify of? How is scripture received?

I keep hearing that the Holy Ghost manifests as a feeling, and some say that this is merely emotion. How do we distinguish between emotion and the true testimony of the Holy Ghost?

Gaz

[_gramps]

We know through scripture that the Holy Ghost is himself God, and a member of the Godhead, that being The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Gaz

See, Gaz, you did exactly what I thought you would do. You can't prove the truth of the Holy Ghost by quoting the scriptures, without it turning full-circle on itself. You see that, don't you?

[_Who Knows]

How do we distinguish between emotion and the true testimony of the Holy Ghost?

Gaz

It's simple. If the 'emotion' tells you that the church is true, then it's the Holy Ghost. If it tells you something different, then it's just an emotion.

What do i win?

[_harmony]

How do we distinguish between emotion and the true testimony of the Holy Ghost?

Gaz

It's simple. If the 'emotion' tells you that the church is true, then it's the Holy Ghost. If it tells you something different, then it's just an emotion.

What do i win?

If the Holy Ghost tells you something, out of the blue with no preparation or expectation on your part, and it is helpful, then you can be sure it's the Holy Ghost and not some random electrical charge inside your head.

Been there, done that... have a live daughter today to prove it.

[_Who Knows]

If the Holy Ghost tells you something, out of the blue with no preparation or expectation on your part, and it is helpful, then you can be sure it's the Holy Ghost and not some random electrical charge inside your head.

Been there, done that... have a live daughter today to prove it.

I assume there's a couple reasons you believe that:

1 - Because that's what you've been taught
2 - Because you can't explain it any other way (In other words, science can't explain it adequately)

So I would ask, how do you know that's the holy ghost? The best reason, in my opinion, is that it can't be explained (at least not yet, or not to your satisfaction). So why default to the holy ghost explanation?

I've had this conversation with my wife a few times, and I have yet to hear why I should accept that the things like you describe should be attributed to the holy ghost. Why not the flying spaghetti monster? Why not some, as of now, unexplained scientific phenomena?

Seems more like wishful thinking to me...

[_harmony]

If the Holy Ghost tells you something, out of the blue with no preparation or expectation on your part, and it is helpful, then you can be sure it's the Holy Ghost and not some random electrical charge inside your head.

Been there, done that... have a live daughter today to prove it.

I assume there's a couple reasons you believe that:

1 - Because that's what you've been taught
2 - Because you can't explain it any other way (In other words, science can't explain it adequately)

So I would ask, how do you know that's the holy ghost? The best reason, in my opinion, is that it can't be explained (at least not yet, or not to your satisfaction). So why default to the holy ghost explanation?

I've had this conversation with my wife a few times, and I have yet to hear why I should accept that the things like you describe should be attributed to the holy ghost. Why not the flying spaghetti monster? Why not some, as of now, unexplained scientific phenomena?

Seems more like wishful thinking to me...

Holy Ghost is shorter, and culturally specific to my background. For all I know, it could be the Creator. The phenomena is the same, no matter what you call it.

[_OUT OF MY MISERY]

So culturally specific to me would be women's intution????

[_Dr. Shades]

If the Holy Ghost tells you something, out of the blue with no preparation or expectation on your part, and it is helpful, then you can be sure it's the Holy Ghost and not some random electrical charge inside your head.

Been there, done that... have a live daughter today to prove it.

That sounds like an interesting story.

Since this is the Celestial Forum, do you feel up to sharing it?

[_Nortinski]

We know through scripture that the Holy Ghost is himself God, and a member of the Godhead, that being The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Gaz, which scripture are you referring to? Because it USED to be Mormon doctrine that the Holy Ghost was nothing more than the shared mind of the Father and the Son. (I'm referring to Lectures on Faith 5:2. You can see a photocopy of the 1835 version of the page this "scripture" is on right here: http://www.irr.org/mit/D&C/1835dc-p53.html

Please, don't insult my intelligence by claiming the Lectures on Faith were never actually canonized "scripture" in Mormonism. They sure as h*** were from 1835 to 1921. In fact, the Lectures on Faith were considered to be the "Doctrine" part of the "Doctrine & Covenants".

So, are you saying that current scripture claims the Holy Ghost "...is himself God, and a member of the Godhead" or are you referring to the scriptures and doctrines as they were from 1835 to 1921?

Nort