When I think of times in my life where I have felt the Holy Ghost strongly, and knew that I was being guided, I cannot help but think of my mission. Before my mission, I had felt the Holy Ghost many times. Of course I had to have that confirmation from the Lord to even go on a mission. So, in some aspects, I knew what the Holy Ghost felt like. But, it wasn’t until I was a missionary that I really learned how to not only truly seek the Holy Ghost, but to recognize the promptings of it, and then follow them. So, I can’t help but go back to that time in my life when it was crucial that I was listening to the promptings of the Spirit daily. But, it is just as crucial that we listen to the promptings of the HG in everyday life as well.
My mission was small. It was only 20 miles x 20 miles. So, our areas were even smaller. Usually just a few streets made up one of our areas. We did not often get member referrals, and since I was Spanish speaking, our wards were largely made up of converts. So, much of my mission was spent knocking on doors. Many times I would sit in the car with my companion with our area map in our laps, and we would pray about what street to knock on that day. We would pray together, and then silently look at our map and try to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost. We usually had the same general idea of where to go, and we were almost always led to some sort of spiritual experience. I taught a lot of 1st discussions on my mission.
Wouldn’t it be nice if our lives were like little road maps, and we only had a few roads to look at and choose from? If we had a map that we knew we had to stick to, and we would be OK, then it would be a lot easier to make decisions. We could simply pray over that map, and know that there was no wrong choice really, because that little map of our lives were all we were responsible for, and if we stuck with that, we were bound to have a spiritual experience. But, life isn’t that simple.
Stay Tuned to Part II of this Series where I will talk about Seeking the Spirit.