Hello and welcome!
This is the second presentation in Sister Stoddard's new series called, "The Lord's Higher Blessings."
Is "the Spirit" different from "the Holy Ghost?" What is the difference between "the Spirit of Christ" and "the Light of Christ?" How about "the Holy Ghost" and "the Gift of the Holy Ghost?" "The Holy Ghost" and "the Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost?"
The answer to these deeper doctrine, and more, are unraveled by Sister Stoddard.
Enjoy the presentation.
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The Lord’s Higher Blessings Series –#2 Baptism of Fire
By Jodi Stoddard
…. from the perspective of a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
While the primary content of this presentation consist of scriptures and quotes from the Prophets and Apostles, my additional commentary is my own and in no way represents an official position of the Church.
I admonish everyone to pray for the power of discernment in ALL things, including this presentation, and seek to be taught by the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and/or the Lord.
SLIDE: The Lord’s Higher Blessings series: #2 The Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost
SLIDE: Jodi Stoddard
SLIDE: The Spirit verses the Holy Ghost
SLIDE: Elder Joseph Feilding Smith taught:
“The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit and a member of the Godhead. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith taught that “the Holy Ghost should not be confused with the Spirit [the Light of Christ] which fills the immensity of space and which is everywhere present. This other Spirit is impersonal and has no size, nor dimensions; it proceeds forth from the presence of the Father and the Son and is in all things. We should speak of the Holy Ghost as a personage as ‘he’ and this other Spirit as ‘it,’ although when we speak of the power or gift of the Holy Ghost we may properly say ‘it.'"
SLIDE: “Spirit of Christ” and the “Light of Christ”
“There is a spirit—the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Christ, the light of truth, the light of Christ—that defies description and is beyond mortal comprehension. It is in us and in all things; it is around us and around all things; it fills the earth and the heavens and the universe. It is everywhere, in all immensity, without exception; it is an indwelling, immanent, ever-present, never-absent spirit. It has neither shape nor form nor personality. It is not an entity nor a person nor a personage. It has no agency, does not act independently, and exists not to act but to be acted upon.” (McConkie)
SLIDE: “The Spirit of Christ (or Light of Christ) is the agency through which the Holy Ghost operates”
“The Light of Christ is the agency of God’s power; it is the means and way whereby ‘he comprehendeth all things,’ so that ‘all things are before him, and all things are round about him.’ It is the way whereby ‘he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things.” The Holy Ghost makes use of the Light of Christ to perform his work. “The Spirit of Christ (or Light of Christ) is the agency through which the Holy Ghost operates,” Elder McConkie explained. Moroni wrote that all spiritual gifts come through the Spirit of Christ, meaning that when the Holy Ghost works with us, he transmits his gifts by the agency of the light of Christ.
SLIDE: “There are three phases of the light of Christ that I want to mention,”
“The first one is the light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world;
“The second phase is the gift of the Holy Ghost;
“And the third is the more sure word of prophecy.” Marion G. Romney, General Conference April 1977
SLIDE: The First Phase is the Light of Christ also known as ‘The Spirit’
The first phase of the Light of Christ is referred to in the Doctrine and Covenants: “Whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
“And the spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world.” Mormon taught that “the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil.” In this respect, the Light of Christ is associated with what we often call conscience. Everyone who is born into mortality receives the Light of Christ.
SLIDE: The Second Phase is the Gift of the Holy Ghost
The gift of the Holy Ghost is received through obedience to the first principles of the Gospel of Christ, and by the laying on of hands of the servants of God. It is a “a greater and higher endowment of the Light of Christ which conveys to the Saints such gifts of the Spirit as testimony, revelation, healing, prophecy, and many others.” (Penrose)
Romney also explained that “one is born again by actually receiving and experiencing the light and power inherent in the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
SLIDE: The Third Phase is the More Sure Word of Prophecy
This is obtained by making one’s ‘calling and election sure’
2 Pet. 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “after a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, … then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John.”
SLIDE: “Unlike the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Ghost does not fill the universe and cannot be personally present everywhere at the same time; however, his power and influence, through the Light of Christ, can be manifest at the same time throughout all the immensity of space.” (Doctrines of Salvation 1:38)
(Jodi) The best thing I can relate the Spirit to is like wireless phone service. (Not to sound too simplistic) but the Spirit is everywhere and all around us. We cannot see it and yet it allows us to communicate. The Spirit (or Light of Christ) is the medium or energy/power that allows us to connect and communicate with the Holy Ghost and/or with the Lord.
SLIDE: Sacrament Prayer Pattern
…that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.
Note: ‘his Spirit’….. Is that the Holy Ghost? OR is that ‘his Spirit’?
First we have the Light of Christ, then the Holy Ghost…. Is this referring to the third phase of his light? ...Which is the ‘more sure word of prophecy’? Is the Sacrament prayer inviting us to that third level?
I don’t know for sure. Does it matter? Maybe. I am finding that knowing what Light I am tapping into helps me to discern revelation more easily.
For me, intuition and insights are from the Light of Christ. The Holy Ghost is more of an audible voice, or strong admonition – a more direct communication….. What does the ‘more sure word of prophecy’ look, sound or feel like? Something to consider…
SLIDE: “Hear Him”
Pres. Nelson has stated in two recent talks that we should:
1 – Seek to be taught by the Lord Himself
2 – Hear Him
Is he asking us to work to receive the ‘more sure word of prophecy’? Or perhaps just to fine tune what revelation we have and seek more….. Pray about that.
SLIDE: That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (D&C 50:24)
SLIDE: The Holy Ghost vs. the Gift of the Holy Ghost
Joseph Smith explained:
There is a difference between the Holy Ghost, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the Gospel; but he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized. Had he not taken this sign or ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him.
(Millennial Star August 1842)
SLIDE: Receive the Holy Ghost - Bednar, GC October 2010
Worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holders place their hands upon the head of an individual and call him or her by name. Then, by the authority of the holy priesthood and in the name of the Savior, the individual is confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this important phrase is uttered: “Receive the Holy Ghost.”
The simplicity of this ordinance may cause us to overlook its significance. These four words—“Receive the Holy Ghost”—are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a priesthood injunction—an authoritative admonition to act and not simply to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26). The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because hands are placed upon our heads and those four important words are spoken. As we receive this ordinance, each of us accepts a sacred and ongoing responsibility to desire, to seek, to work, and to so live that we indeed “receive the Holy Ghost” and its attendant spiritual gifts. “ For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift” (D&C 88:33).
(Jodi) So in this we see that just because we undergo the ordinance of receiving the Holy Ghost, it is only operative in our lives as we seek after it. We may have it with us and we may not. But it goes farther than that – let’s continue on.
SLIDE: Is there a difference between the Holy Ghost and the Baptism of Fire & the Holy Ghost?
SLIDE: 3 Nephi 12:1
"Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost”
(Jodi) Here it says that ‘HE’ – the Lord will be the one to baptize us with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
3 Nephi 9:20
"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not."
(Jodi) Somehow the Lord is involved with that. There seems to be a difference between the gift of the Holy Ghost and what happens later in the Baptism of Fire and of the Holy Ghost.
SLIDE: Description of the Baptism of Fire
Bednar:
At Baptism we enter a gate which puts us on the path. We put off the natural man. We obtain the mind of Christ.
The Baptism of Fire Sanctifies us.
Our Garments are washed clean in the blood of the lamb.
Romney (quoted by Bednar):
We are changed.
It converts us from carnality to spirituality.
Baptism of Fire is a consummation.
(Jodi) From this I think we can see that the Holy Ghost leads us to the Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost.
SLIDE: Moses 6:60
"For by the water (or Baptism) ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified."
(Jodi) The Holy Ghost justifies us and lets us know if we are in the path, and we know if we aren’t because the Holy Ghost withdraws from us. So he justifies our path. He justifies our actions. He lets us know if we are still in the straight and narrow way.
The blood is the Atonement of Christ. Through this we are sanctified. So, through the Atonement and as Bednar said in the earlier slide, our garments will be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
I also want to take a minute… there are three higher blessings than Baptism of Fire. In future videos in this series we will talk about Calling & Election, Second Comforter (and then there’s Translation). The Baptism of Fire is in essence what we have been discussing here in scripture and quotes. Others often see it as more and pull in some of the elements from the other blessings and wrap it all into the Baptism of Fire. But I see it as a process. Baptism of Fire is the first step – or the first of the higher blessings. It is cleansing. You are motivated like the people of King Benjamin… this is the first step in moving towards the higher blessings.
SLIDE: 2 Nephi 31:13
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel."
(Jodi) We need to pay attention to those semi-colons. They are important. They separate different ideas or events that will happen. They may all happen at once, but it is a sequence of events. So when you read this (or any scriptures) we need to pay attention to the semi-colon.
‘then he shall receive the Holy Ghost’ (semi-colon); then sometime later it says ‘then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost’ (semi-colon); ‘then ye can speak with the tongue of angels…..’
We need to pay attention to the semi-colons, and sometimes even the commas. For example in Revelation, multiple things can happen in just one chapter…and there is likely time that passes in between those items. Even in this single verse here in 2 Nephi 31:13 there are multiple things that take place and may take an entire lifetime to complete.
SLIDE: So, in this verse we just read, one of the last things it says we can do is speak with the tongue of angels. What does that mean? If you click on the word ‘tongue’ in your online scriptures (or look up the footnotes in your hand held scriptures), It will take you to 2 Nephi 32:2-3.
2 Nephi 32: 2-3
(Jodi) The tongue of angels – if we are speaking with the tongue of angels, we are speaking the words of Christ. We may even be being taught by angels. Dig deeper and study more about this. I believe it relates directly to the third phase of light which we are told we can receive which is ‘more sure word of prophecy’. Isn’t that what we see in this scripture? We become convinced of the words of Christ, angels speak by the words of Christ, and then we can, so it’s the more sure word of prophecy.
The same pattern is there of the way we receive light and knowledge.
SLIDE: Helaman 5 – Nephi & Lehi cast into prison. A mob of 300 come to slay them.
(Jodi) I will be summarizing and starting in about verse 22 or 23. One of the things that you will start to notice as you learn more about the higher blessings is that you will begin to see them everywhere in the Book of Mormon and I mean everywhere. Keep that in mind as you go forward.
Nephi and Lehi are cast into prison and there is a mob of 300 Lamanites coming to slay them. When they get there, they see that Nephi and Lehi are encircled about as if by fire.
Verse 24 – this gives Nephi and Lehi courage. They see that the Lamanites are afraid to lay their hands upon them. This has given Lehi and Nephi courage and hope.
Verse 26 – Nephi and Lehi begin to speak to the Lamanites. They are encircled about by fire. Is this part of the tongues of angels.
Verse 27 – Fear not – it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing in the which ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us. The earth shakes and the walls shake as if they are about to fall.
Verse 28 – the Lamanites are overshadowed with a cloud of darkness and solemn fear comes upon them. They are afraid. A voice came from heaven and tells them to repent and seek no more to destroy the servants. Still small voice as if a whisper. Then the earth shook again. Voice came again – repent ye.. the kingdom of God is at hand. Seek no more to destroy my servant.
Verse 33 – voice came again – spoke marvelous words which could not be spoken by man. The earth shook again and the walls.
Verse 34 – the Lamanites couldn’t flee because of the cloud of darkness. They were immovable because of fear. There was a Nephite there in the group who was named Aminadab. He was able to see through the cloud of darkness, and saw the faces of Nephi and Lehi.
Verse 36 – they did shine exceedingly as the faces of angels. They did lift their eyes to heaven and were in the attitude of speaking to someone who they beheld. Aminidab turned to the multitude and told them to look and see what was happening and they did turn and look. They also saw the faces of Nephi and Lehi. They asked Aminidab – behold what do these things mean? And who is it with whom these men do converse? He said they do converse with the angels of God. The Lamanites asked, “What shall we do that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?”
Verse 41 – Aminidab said – you must repent or cry unto the voice – even until you shall have faith in Christ. Then the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
Verse 42 – so they did begin to cry unto the voice until the cloud dispersed. They then cast their eyes round about and now they were encircled about – yea every soul by a pillar of fire.
Verse 45 – the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven and did enter into their hearts and they were filled as if with fire. So there they have the baptism of fire. They could speak forth marvelous works – they were speaking with the tongues of angels.
And it came to pass that a voice came unto them – a pleasant voice – As if it were a whisper saying – ‘peace, peace be unto you because of your faith in my beloved’.
Verse 48 – now when they heard this they cast their eyes to the heavens and the heavens opened and angels came down out of heaven and ministered to them.
So here we see a group of people who have what looks like all the elements of Holy Ghost and Baptism of Fire. Incredible that they were ready to slay Nephi and Lehi – and yet they still had this incredible experience. What does that say about us where we are already seeking the Lord and trying to be righteous and follow the commandments. Do we need to have more faith in the promises that have been given to us? On the Lord’s time seek some of these blessings that might be ours.
Also – on the way to Zion the saints will be protected by a pillar of fire by night.. Is that the spirituality that will be developed by those people in conjunction with heaven to create this powerful protection of fire and light as the saints head back to the New Jerusalem. Are these connected?
SLIDE: Born Again & Baptism of Fire – A Powerful Desire to Change
King Benjamin taught his people of the Savior’s advent and Atonement. The Spirit of the Lord wrought such a mighty change in the people that they had “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”
(Jodi) – We can desire something, study about it, seek it, try to understand it, practice it, and often we fail. But as we do that, we learn some of the elements of that change that we need to learn, and then one day the Savior will bestow upon you a complete and full understanding of that. Then you suddenly know. You’ve had this wonderful gift and you know that you would never go back to that previous behavior because you completely understand why it is important to follow that commandment, despite previous failures.
Now you have this endowment of knowledge and understanding like a capstone, it finishes off what you have worked on – but it isn’t something you could have finished by yourself. It needed to be completed through the Atonement and through Jesus Christ. Once you have that experience even with a small thing – like patience, or yelling at your kids – or whatever the issues is that you have been working to overcome – once that gift is endowed upon you to finish that off, then you know that you would never go back to that again.
Just like Nephi was given the Lords power to do whatever he wanted because the Lord knew that Nephi would never abuse that. Even with a small thing you get to the point that with a full understanding, the Lord can trust you in that thing.
Mosiah 5:2
"And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."
SLIDE: Fire & The Holy Ghost - Loren C Dunn (Seventy), Ensign June 1995
The use of the word fire suggests that those who receive this gift with the right heart can expect something more than mere acceptance of certain principles or even baptism by immersion. The use of this expression elsewhere in scripture bears this out...
While one definition of this expression refers to a cleansing by the Holy Spirit as if by fire, still the scriptures and the writings of the prophets indicate there is something more.
The new convert who has accepted the gift of the Holy Ghost with the right spirit will experience not only a cleansing but a feeling that will give him a new heart and make of him a new person. Sometimes this is immediate, and sometimes it happens over a period of time. But always there is a change for the better. For the longer-standing member of the Church who has become preoccupied with the world or in little ways has allowed his religious life to be more procedural than of the spirit, there is something to be rediscovered (and for some, discovered for the first time) with the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost.
SLIDE: What Constitutes a Baptism of Fire?
(Jodi) As I have heard the Baptism of Fire experiences of others (and if you think back over your life there’s a good chance that you’ve had at least one), but there is a difference of opinion on what that looks like. Nobody’s wrong. The Spirit speaks to everyone on an individual basis. What you receive and how your spirit interprets what it receives may be completely different than what someone else does.
For example: Some people say you need to see the fire descend over you and consume and burn everything clean. Okay. I can see that. Moses had the burning bush experience on Mt. Sinai the first time he went up.
Others have said, no you need to see the Spirit descend on you like a dove. You need to see that Holy Ghost like when Jesus was baptized enter into you and become part of you. I can see how it might happen like that. They even went on to say that if someone was with you they would also see that happen. Well, that would depend on the spiritual eyes of those present. Not everyone would see that. And the dove is symbolic of the Holy Ghost.
Some say they feel cleansed like the people in King Mosiah’s story. They felt that the dross had been burned out of them. We see scriptures that speak of the refiner’s fire. For some people that’s how it feels. Like they have been cleansed with fire.
For Alma the younger, he likely went beyond the baptism of fire and talks about how wretched and horrible he felt – and then the joy as he was cleansed, and it was indescribable for him.
So we really need to be careful in judging other people’s experiences. It won’t be a one-size-fits-all. The Spirit will speak to us in a way we can hear and understand. Here is what is a testimony to me – when I have spiritual experiences, they are different than those of others. They manifest in a different way. If I expected to have the exact same type of experience like Moses did on Mt. Sinai and I never had that, then I would feel like something was wrong with me because my experience was different. But when I receive a spiritual experience in a way I would never have imagined, then I know it wasn’t just in my mind – that I didn’t create it, that is another testimony. This is the way he is teaching and speaking to me individually.
As you read experiences in the scriptures of other people who have had the higher blessings – don’t limit those experiences to be exactly how they experienced it.
As you look back over your life at the spiritual experiences you’ve had – ask the Lord to teach you what those were so you can understand the significance of them. I also admonish you to keep a journal of them.
If you have a dream, write it down. The Lord will continue to unfold parts of that dream after you write it down, and as you ponder it. As it continues to open up over the future, continue to add to that. That is the Holy Ghost teaching you. Be open to having spiritual experiences that are not the same of everyone else’s.
SLIDE: Forgiveness of Sin verses a Remission of Sin
Can we see a connection here between the Forgiveness and cleansing that comes with Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost?
Verses
The Remission of sin and sanctification that comes with the Baptism of Fire AND the Holy Ghost?
The first is where we enter the gate, and are clean and forgiven. We start with a fresh page. We receive that admonishment to ‘receive the Holy Ghost’.
The second happens as we continue the repentance process until we reach a perfect understanding of a doctrine and can thereby live it perfectly. That is when a sin is remitted.
Christ ‘forgives’ us as soon as we return to Him and ask for His help. But the complete remission and overcoming of that sin happens when we have completely learned the lesson of a particular doctrine and can live it perfectly. We wouldn’t ever purposely touch a hot burner after knowing how much it hurts. Likewise, once we really understand the ins and outs of a commandment, then we can live it perfectly.
SLIDE: Testimony vs. Conversion
“After baptism in water, legal administrators lay their hands upon a repentant person and say: ‘Receive the Holy Ghost.’ This gives him the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the right to the constant companionship of that member of the Godhead based on faithfulness. Either then or later, depending upon the individual’s personal worthiness, the Holy Ghost comes. The baptized person becomes a new creature. He is baptized with fire, sin and evil are burned out of his soul, and he is born again.” (McConkie)
“Membership in the Church and conversion are not necessarily synonymous. Being converted and having a testimony are not necessarily the same thing either. A testimony comes when the Holy Ghost gives the earnest seeker a witness of the truth. A moving testimony vitalizes faith. That is, it induces repentance and obedience to the commandments. Conversion is the fruit or the reward for repentance and obedience.” (Romney)
SLIDE: Testimony vs. Conversion
Elder Romney went on to say:
“Conversion is effected by divine forgiveness, which remits sins. The sequence is something like this. An honest seeker hears the message. He asks the Lord in prayer if it is true. The Holy Spirit gives him a witness. This is a testimony. If one’s testimony is strong enough, he repents and obeys the commandments. By such obedience he receives divine forgiveness which remits sin. Thus he is converted to a newness of life. His spirit is healed.”
SLIDE: Becoming “Born Again” -D.Todd Christofferson, April 2008
“(Christ’s) teaching about a physical and a spiritual baptism helps us understand that both our own action and the intervention of divine power are needed for this transformative rebirth—for the change from natural man to saint.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Mosiah 3:19
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
SLIDE: “Ye Must Be Born Again” - Bednar, GC April 2007
“Please note that..conversion...is mighty, not minor—a spiritual rebirth and fundamental change of what we feel and desire, what we think and do, and what we are. Indeed, the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible through our reliance upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah.”
The Holy Spirit of Promise is the ratifying power of the Holy Ghost. When sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, an ordinance, vow, or covenant is binding on earth and in heaven. (See D&C 132:7.) Receiving this “stamp of approval” from the Holy Ghost is the result of faithfulness, integrity, and steadfastness in honoring gospel covenants“ in [the] process of time” (Moses 7:21). However, this sealing can be forfeited through unrighteousness and transgression."
SLIDE: Sanctification
"A definition of sanctification also helps point out that there is something more when a person can qualify for the fire of the Holy Spirit and endure to the end. “Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit by which he who is justified is enabled to keep the Commandments of God and grow in holiness.” (Romney)
"Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."
SLIDE: Elements of the Higher Blessings
From reading about the Higher Blessings, this is what I have come to learn:
The higher blessings of Baptism of Fire, Calling & Election and Second Comforter can happen in a single event. But most often they happen one at the time. Although sometimes an element or two from the next blessing might manifest.
Feel – This is primarily how the Spirit is manifest as we tap into the inspiration and light that are all around us.
Feel/Hear - This is primarily how the Holy Ghost communicates with us. This is where the Baptism of Fire falls.
Hear/See – This is how the Lord communicates directly with us. This is how Calling & Election Made Sure is manifest.
See/Hear/Physical Contact – these are the elements of a Second Comforter Experience which is where we are in the presence of the Lord.
SLIDE: REVIEW
The Spirit (or Light of Christ) is an ‘it’.
The Holy Ghost is a ‘he’.
Phases of the Light of Christ:
Light given at birth.
Holy Ghost which operates through the power of the Light of Christ
The More Sure Word of Prophecy / Baptism of Fire & The Holy Ghost which leads to Calling & Election (can happen all at once)
Forgiveness happens whenever we turn to Christ, but Remission happens as we become changed, understand fully, and then forsake the sin completely.
This leads to Sanctification where our sins are REMITTED and we are cleansed.
Conversion is part of the sanctification process.
Remember this is a process. The mark is the Savior. Sanctification comes through following the commandments and going through the prescribed directions in the scriptures and words of the apostles/prophets.
It isn’t a race. We all grow in different ways. Be okay with that. Enjoy the journey.
We wouldn’t want a blessing prior to being ready for it. As long as we keep our eye on the prize – The Savior – then we will achieve all that we desire eventually. It will be glorious.
Blessings in your journey,
Jodi