We encourage people to seek the Spirit. And often we list actions that will bring the Spirit—actions such as being humble, doing good, serving others, etc. Those lists of actions can be helpful and are worth implementing.
Yet each of us has a way of communicating with the Spirit that is as unique as our voice, our personality, our signature, our face, or our eternal spirit. Instead of relying on generalized lists of ways to invite the Spirit into our lives, we need to study the ways that work for each of us. What actions or experiences bring the Spirit into my life most reliably and most powerfully?
Think about times when you have felt love, joy, insights, invitations, or peace. What has brought those feelings to you? Knowing what enlivens your spirit is valuable for your spiritual growth and even your daily edification.
As an example, I have thought about several things that reliably bring the Spirit to my life. As you consider these examples, see if they remind you of circumstances that bring the Spirit to your life.
Music
I remember being in the mission home when I was preparing to leave for Florida and having hundreds of missionaries stand together and sing, Ye Elders of Israel. I was overcome by the feeling of spiritual power! I feel similarly when now—decades later—we sing Called to Serve. I feel spiritual power when I hear the Hallelujah Chorus. Intriguingly, it is not just the big, bold hymns that warm my soul. When I hear the introductory chords of In Humility, Our Savior, the Spirit warms my soul and tears fill my eyes. Music that praises God can warm our souls and lift our spirits. Does music speak to your soul?
Transformations
When I read a story of conversion in the Liahona or hear a story of a mighty change of heart in sacrament meeting, my soul rejoices. When someone testifies of the work that God is doing to remodel their soul, I weep with joy. I suppose that God has tuned us to celebrate His coming into our lives. I love those stories; I love His gracious goodness to His children! Are there stories you have heard recently that have warmed your soul or caused you to feel closer to God?
Family History
As I scan pictures of ancestors and read their letters or write their stories, I feel great joy. Intriguingly, I often also feel melancholy. I miss them. So, I love the joy, and I think of the melancholy as their saying, “We look forward to being together. But not just yet.” I yearn to embrace them, but I am willing to wait on the Lord’s timing. Do you experience such invitations from your ancestors that help you to feel more anchored in your place in God’s eternity?
Beauty and Goodness
Sometimes we are blessed to witness gracious acts directly or vicariously. When I watch a video of someone acting kindly toward those who struggle, my soul rejoices. I want to be better and do better. When I see someone caring for a child, a disabled person, or an elderly person, I rejoice. When I witness my dear wife’s kindness to others, I am inspired. When I experience a great work of art, I stand in awe. When I see the beauty of the earth that God created for our enjoyment, I am uplifted. When you take the time to notice and appreciate goodness and beauty, does it help you to connect with God and His Spirit?
Teaching and Testifying
When I get to teach about the paths to greater happiness and goodness, my soul rejoices! I love to teach about the process of joy, the principles of relationships, and the blessing of goodness. I love to teach about and write about His great and marvelous plan of happiness. I love to testify of His genius and His generosity. I feel intense joy when I write about the ways He comes to our lives to lift and bless us. Whether in spoken words or written words, I love to testify of Him! Are there ways that you teach and testify that warm your soul?
Alertness
Joseph Smith taught that a person “may profit by noticing the first intimations of the spirit of revelation . . . it may give you sudden strokes of ideas.” Fairly often a new and fresh idea lands in my mind. I credit the Spirit of God for these thoughts. I find that if I make a record of each thought, I will have an opportunity to use it within a day or so. I am amazed at the way Father teaches us what we need to know when we need to know it. Do you perceive useful ideas coming to your mind unexpectedly?
The Sacrament
There is a special power that comes into our lives when we earnestly participate in the Lord’s supper. When I picture Jesus and study the words of the sacramental prayers and imagine the Father and Son busy in the work of redemption, I am flooded. I want to draw Their goodness into my life to transform my soul. When you enter into that sacred connection, do you feel Their redemptiveness? Do you feel Their determination to rescue your soul?
Those are a few of the activities that lift my spirit. What circumstances lift yours? How might you make more space in your life for encounters with the Spirit?
I am everlastingly grateful that our beloved Father has placed—not land mines—but joy mines all over our lifescapes. He is not content to bless us only when we are officially worshiping Him; He fills our lives with unexpected and sacred encounters several times most days if we tune ourselves to be aware of Him. We may even unexpectedly feel Him walking by our side or sending a message of appreciation. He is like that. He loves to bless His children.
Thomas Jefferson taught about ways to be uplifted:
Every thing is useful which contributes to fix us in the principles and practice of virtue. When any . . . act of charity or of gratitude, for instance, is presented either to our sight or imagination, we are deeply impressed with its beauty and feel a strong desire in ourselves of doing charitable and grateful acts. . . . Now every emotion of this kind is an exercise of our virtuous dispositions; and dispositions of the mind, like limbs of the body, acquire strength by exercise.
quoted in Haidt, 2003, p. 275
Strength by exercise. When we are mindful of those things that lift our spirits and we build them into our lives, we are elevated. We are closer to God. We are better people.
The insightful psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, has talked about something he calls elevation—something that we Latter-day Saints might call the work of the Spirit. “Elevation is elicited by acts of virtue or moral beauty; it causes warm, open feelings in the chest; and it motivates people to behave more virtuously themselves” (Haidt, 2003, p. 276).
Elevation is caused by witnessing goodness directly or indirectly. We may see the act, or we may hear about it or read about it. In any case, the effect is the same. We are blessed by focusing on virtue. “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (13th Article of Faith).
Of course, there is nothing as virtuous as Jesus and His work of redemption.
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for [the warming of their souls and] a remission of their sins.
2 Nephi 25:26
When we make place in our lives, our minds, our hearts for Jesus and His glorious work of blessing and redeeming, we are inspired, lifted, elevated. We are also purified by His Spirit.
We should make room for such things in our lives.
Invitation:
Would you like to learn how the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can work with good research to enrich and strengthen your marriage? We will be holding a marriage retreat on February 15 in Alpine, Utah. Normally $199 per couple. Early bird pricing of $149 right now! To get more information or to buy tickets, go to: drwally.com
Thanks to Barbara Keil for her refinement of this article.
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