Eliza R. Snow taught Relief Society Sisters in her day that if they would continually seek guidance and comfort from the Holy Ghost, they could enjoy peace even in the midst of adversity. She said that the Holy Ghost “satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that Spirit,” she continued, “my soul is satisfied and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of this day do not seem to stand in my way at all. But just let me lose my hold of that spirit and power of the Gospel, and partake of the spirit of the world, in the slightest degree, and trouble comes; there is something wrong. I am tried, and what will comfort me? You cannot impart comfort to me that will satisfy the immortal mind, but that which comes from the Fountain above. And is it not our privilege to so live that we can have this constantly flowing into our souls?” (Daughters in My Kingdom p. 46, emphasis added).
We need comfort and guidance from the Holy Ghost every bit as much today as did the early saints. What trials and longings do we have that leave us feeling empty? When have you felt the comfort of the Holy Ghost and how did you feel? What obstacles stand in your way of having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and how can we overcome these challenges so that we can be blessed by having the Holy Ghost satisfy and fill up every longing of the human heart? (The above was on my Church bulletin this week)
I know for me, I begin to feel overwhelmed and ragged when I don’t begin my day with prayer and scripture study. I know we all know we should and how we feel better when we do, but do we do it? You wouldn’t believe how many women I talk to that don’t! Especially when we have young kids, finding time alone can be nearly impossible, but we know we “can do all things with Christ who strengthens [us]” (Philippians 4:13). So to feel more peace and joy we must start with the source of all peace and go to Him.
Now, on being present. I am an amazing multitasker…but I learned a beautiful lesson when the Spirit helped me realize that I said yes all the time but not very well. I had heard in a parenting class to say yes as often as I could, so I did, but one day the Spirit helped me realize that in trying to do it all I wasn’t doing much of it very well. I was frustrated, frazzled, stressed out and often late. The Spirit also let me understand that the message to my kids was that they and their feelings were not very important to me and even worse, that they were frustrating to me. This was not true! I learned that if I would say “no” to less important things then when I said “yes” I could mean it and follow through! I felt happier and less stressed and the kids felt validated and heard. Win-Win! Learning and applying that one lesson has richly blessed my life. I hope you’ll sincerely give it a try!
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