Nothing is more important to listen to than the Holy Spirit. Listening to smaller things in the right way at the right times increases our capacity to hear. (7 Aug 2022)

I prepare a talk every week in a few minutes using the SSET method. Typos and incompleteness are part of the exercise. Corrections and comments are appreciated. Occasionally I also polish these talks as part of my scripture study. You may adapt any of these talks or stories for your own use without credit. See A Talk Every Week, For Life. Seriously.

Story 1

Elder Boyd K. Packer’s stories in talk “Prayers and answers” circa 1979-1980

Quarter falling on busy sidewalk

Radio signal in military aircraft above roar of engines

We can learn to hear those answers, to “attune our ears” as Elder Packer said

Story 2

Attending wedding at Baptist church in Kentucky with my son; preacher opened the Bible and read, I felt the Spirit; he closed the Bible and started “preaching,” Spirit fled. It felt like a light switch being turned on and off! Over and over! I wondered if anyone else noticed. The Spirit of the Lord was trying to tell everyone there something important!

Scripture

DC 8:2-3

Explanation

I’ve learned that to hear those promptings best, I need to listen carefully in places where those sounds are most likely.

  • The spirit testifies of truths, of “things as they really are.” When people speak of spiritual truths the voice of the Spirit is heard.
  • Family scripture study and prayer 
  • Sacrament meeting talks
  • Scriptures (listening to audio often helps me more than reading) 
  • Conference talks 
  • The temple!
  • Sacred hymns and inspiring music
  • Habits of regular personal heartfelt prayer 

I’ve also learned that I need to avoid places that can damage my hearing

  • I write a talk every week, usually in response to a prompting or flood of inspiration about something. This happens often in sacrament meetings. BUT if I get into the “talk preparation” too deeply when inspired on a topic, I focus only on that and can’t hear what the speaker is saying, so I can’t feel the Spirit testify of those additional truths, and I miss things. Precious things. LISTENING WELL TO OTHERS IS TRAINING FOR LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT.
  • TV shows, even if otherwise appropriate, if in excess can distract and keep me from places where that voice is heard
  • Contention. On the “waters of contention” so to speak, Satan has power. (DC 61) is difficult to hear the voice of the spirit in the midst of contention, especially if we are contributing to the problem. SLOWING THINGS DOWN to listen to the voice of the Spirit helps calm those waters.
  • Excesses of food etc. There’s a reason why FASTING brings us closer to the Lord and better able to hear inspiration.
  • We can learn to recognize the things that offend the spirit of the Lord, and TURN AWAY from them immediately before they take hold in us. Turning away can become a habit! Once, when striving to develop that habit, I walked into a grocery store and my mind noticed an inappropriate cover on a magazine. Without thinking, I turned my head in a different direction to focus on something new. The thing I turned to was the word, “COFFEE.” Turning again, my mind saw this word: “CIGARETTES.” There are surely MANY things in the world that want to distract us! 🙂
  • What else?

Testimony

I assure you from long personal experience that this voice of the Spirit is real. And what the prophet Joseph Smith said is true: “The Holy Ghost is a revelator, no [one] can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations.” As we listen and ask for divine help and persevere with faith in Christ and real intent, he will answer that prayer, because he promised to, and we can and will learn to recognize that voice, which IS revelation, and as we heed that voice it will lead us, step by step, back to God, and give us “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”

Kevin

Every Good Thing Blog

Kevin Crenshaw is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served as a teacher and leader in the Church for more than 40 years. Although he makes every effort to be a careful student of Latter-day Saint theology and history, the opinions expressed are his own. He is not authorized to speak officially on behalf of the Church.

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