One Way, Commandment and Love through the Holy Ghost

https://newheartinchrist.org/one-way-commandment-and-love/

“In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” -President Nelson
“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” (2 N 32: 3, 5)
How do we feast upon the words of Christ? By seeking personal revelation from Him through His Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost.
How do we obtain the Holy Ghost as our guide and constant companion? Nephi explains how in the following versus:
“And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” (2 N 32:8, 9)
Only by constant prayer (consistent, continuous mental prayer) to Heavenly Father in Christ’s name can the Holy Ghost guide and direct us throughout the day. Christ commands us to pray in all things (3 N 18:31) to the Father, doing so allows the Holy Ghost to guide us “in all things”. We must learn to keep a mental communication of prayer open for everything and about everything with God in order to do just this.
This can be how to talk with one’s spouse, siblings, parents, children or friends.
This can be how to better take care of our bodies, what to eat, when to sleep, how to exercise.
This can be how to best serve and love others moment to moment. The exact way God would want us to. Etc..
We should have the Holy Ghost as our constant, guiding companion FOR EVERYTHING my dear sisters and brothers. This can only happen by learning to have a continual open mental prayer to the Father in Christ’s name throughout the day.
We don’t obey and sustain the prophet out of blind obedience, we do it because the Holy Ghost confirms his calling and words and tells us to listen and to follow. We go to church because the Holy Ghost guides us there.
We serve because the Holy Ghost shows us how.
We forgive because the Holy Ghost prompts us to.
We don’t do drugs or harm our body because the Holy Ghost pleads with us not to. Etc. etc. etc. (Moroni 10:3-5)
By learning to obey the Spirit we walk the best, personal path for ourselves to become our very best self. Leaving the “natural man” and becoming a child of God (Mosiah 3:19).
If we are going through the motions of “obeying the commandments” but not doing so under the direction of the Spirit then we are really not being obedient. This is because our motivation is not “the love of God” but some other reason. If we truly loved God we would seek His will in all things which only can be known by His Holy Spirit.
This is how we show our love or actually live the first great commandment (Matt. 22:37-38).
If we don’t do it the Lord’s Way, by His Spirit, then we are wasting our time and at the end Christ will profess sadly “He does not know us”. (Matt. 7:22-23)
(To check ourselves and the fruits of others the Holy Ghost will never prompt us or others to speak against or criticize Christ’s apostles or prophets as a body. “Mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God” D&C 132:8.)
And it came to pass that Jesus … went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and he said:
“Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen. …
“Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words” (3 Nephi 19:19–21). Then only by taking the Holy Ghost as our guide will we be sanctified…
“By the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.” -Elder David A. Bednar
To have a remission of our sins is to partake of the love of God, the tree of life (1 Nephi 8), to obtain the gift Moroni calls “charity” (Moroni 7:44-48).
This IS the gift the Holy Ghost guides us to (the iron rod IS personal revelation OR direction from the Holy Ghost) and not only that but then it will help us maintain it and expand it once we partake!
Moroni 8:26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.
President Brigham Young had a vision, a dream, in which he visited with the Prophet Joseph Smith where the prophet counseled brother Brigham of the importance of the Holy Ghost for all members of the church:
“‘Brother Joseph, the brethren … have a great anxiety to understand the … sealing principles; and if you have a word of counsel for me I should be glad to receive it.’
“Joseph stepped toward me, and looking very earnestly, yet pleasantly said, ‘Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.
They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord they will go right. Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord…’”
Dear sisters and brothers let’s make seeking the guidance of the Spirit our main focus in everything we do by constant mental prayer (Alma 33). Only by following the “word of Christ” which is the Holy Ghost/Spirit will we safely be His (Mosiah 2-5) and heed the council of our dear prophet, President Nelson.
If we do this we will be filled with the love of God and Christ will truly be our Shepherd. Love
YbiC
Josh
President Nelson’s talk on the subject of seeking the Holy Spirit:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2018/05/sunday-morning-session/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives

“The Lord is my Shepherd” by Yongsung Kim