"Receive the Holy Ghost"

Nephi 31:13. “Receive the Holy Ghost”
“Now I am going to say something that maybe I
could not prove, but I believe is true, that we have a
great many members of this Church who have never
received a manifestation through the Holy Ghost.
Why? Because they have not made their lives conform
to the truth. And the Holy Ghost will not dwell in
unclean tabernacles or disobedient tabernacles. The
Holy Ghost will not dwell with that person who is
unwilling to obey and keep the commandments of God
or who violates those commandments willfully. In
such a soul the spirit of the Holy Ghost cannot enter.
That great gift comes to us only through humility and
faith and obedience. Therefore, a great many members
of the Church do not have that guidance. Then some
cunning, crafty individual will come along teaching
that which is not true, and without guidance which is
promised to us through our faithfulness, people are
unable to discern and are led astray. It depends on our
faithfulness and our obedience to the commandments
of the Lord if we have the teachings, the enlightening
instruction, that comes from the Holy Ghost.
“When we are disobedient, when our minds are set
upon the things of this world rather than on the things
of the kingdom of God, we cannot have the
manifestations of the Holy Ghost. Did you ever stop to
think what a great privilege it is for us to have the
companionship of one of the members of the
Godhead? Have you thought of it that way? That is our
privilege, if we keep the commandments the Lord has
given us” (Joseph Fielding Smith, We Are Here to Be
Tried, Tested, Proved, Brigham Young University
Speeches of the Year [25 Oct. 1961], pp. 4–5).

Integrity

The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching.

Hypocrite

Speaking about the many times Jesus condemned
hypocrisy, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., said:
“Taking the New Testament alone, you will gain little
idea of the kind of life the Romans led in Palestine, the
kind of life that the Christ condemned, and yet . . . it
has seemed to me that the one sin that the Savior
condemned as much as any other was the sin of
hypocrisy—the living of the double life, the life we let
our friends and sometimes our wives believe, and the
life we actually live” (in Conference Report, Oct.
1960, p. 90).
The word hypocrite is translated from a Greek
word meaning an actor on the stage. A hypocrite is,
therefore, a person who pretends to be something he is
not, or one who assumes different roles that do not
reflect his real thinking and feeling.
Nephi wrote that we must follow Christ “with full
purpose of heart” and “with real intent” (2 Nephi
31:13) to receive the blessings of the Holy Ghost.
“Full purpose of heart” suggests a total commitment of
the inner man to Christ; “real intent” conveys the idea
of sincere or pure motives. Moroni later wrote of this
principle when he indicated that a testimony of the
Book of Mormon is received through seeking “with a
sincere heart, with real intent” (Moroni 10:4). He also
wrote that true righteousness is based on the intent of
the heart (see Moroni 7:6–9).

Companionship

Never forget that it was you who selected your companion. It was you who felt that there was no one else in all the world quite like her. It was you who wished to have her forever. But in too many cases the image of the temple experience fades. A lustful desire may be the cause. Faultfinding replaces praise. When we look for the worst in anyone, we will find it. But if we will concentrate on the best, that element will grow until it sparkles.