Posted on 12/31/2013 11:35:14 PM PST by restornu
How can I know when I have the Spirit of the Lord with me? I’m a college student having a lot of new experiences, and sometimes I can’t tell if I’m just feeling “good” or if my feelings are genuinely righteous.
Don Norton, English Department, Brigham Young University I’ve heard this question from dozens of young adults who are making all sorts of discoveries about themselves. Indeed it is a very important question. Since in this life “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things” (2 Ne. 2:11; italics added), it must needs be that we learn to discern good from evil.
As I’ve discussed this question at firesides, in Sunday School and priesthood classes, and in religion courses, I find that students themselves are able to tell me how they feel when the Spirit of the Lord is with them. I don’t have to answer the question. They answer it for themselves.
Here’s the list of the kinds of things young people say they feel when the Spirit is with them, and what they feel when Satan tries to take over—making them unhappy, or tricking them with counterfeits. Do these feelings match your experience?
When you have the Spirit:
1. You feel happy, calm, and clear-minded.
2. You feel generous.
3. Nobody can offend you.
4. You wouldn’t mind everybody seeing what you’re doing.
5. You are eager to be with people and want to make them happy.
6. You are glad when others succeed.
7. You are glad to attend your meetings and participate in church activities.
8. You feel like praying.
9. You wish you could keep all the Lord’s commandments.
10. You feel in control—you don’t overeat or sleep too much; you don’t feel uncontrollably drawn to sensational entertainment, lose your temper, or feel uncontrollable passions or desires.
11. You think about the Savior often and lovingly; you want to know him better.
12. You feel confident and are glad to be alive.
When you don’t have the Spirit:
1. You feel unhappy, depressed, confused, and frustrated.
2. You feel possessive, self-centered, or resentful of demands made on you.
3. You are easily offended.
4. You become secretive and evasive.
5. You avoid people, especially members of your family; and you are critical of family members and Church authorities.
6. You envy or resent the successes of others.
7. You don’t want to go to church, go home teaching, or take the sacrament. You wish you had another church job or no job at all.
8. You don’t want to pray.
9. You find the commandments bothersome, restricting, or senseless.
10. You feel emotions and appetites so strongly that you fear you cannot control them—hate, jealousy, anger, lust, hunger, fatigue.
11. You hardly ever think of the Savior; he seems irrelevant to your life, or worse, part of a confusing system that seems to work against you.
12. You get discouraged easily and wonder if life is really worth it.
The mere fact that young people easily put this list together is a powerful reassurance that they do have the key to discernment. As Moroni put it: “The Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge that it is of God.
“But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one.” (Moro. 7:16–17.)
Let me add one word of caution. Feeling the power of Satan does not make you evil. Basically, a temptation is a struggle against his influence—which is both real and powerful. But the fact that you’re struggling does not mean that you are in his power or that the Spirit of God is not also striving with you. Evil consists, not of recognizing temptation, but of yielding to it. We must recognize temptation in this life. But we don’t need to invite it, linger with it, or savor it.
Satan is particularly good at counterfeiting holy things; for instance, in place of sacred love between a man and a woman, he offers popularity, physical attraction, or the social thrill of playing romantic games. You might try these tests of discernment on your feelings about love. Many young adults who think they are in love isolate themselves from their families, friends, and Church leaders. But real love, the kind that leads to eternal happiness, makes you glad to be around other people you love, because they share what you feel. Such love is godly love, not Satan’s counterfeit.
If you find Satan’s influence too much with you, then get help. Counsel with your parents or a Church leader; ask for a priesthood blessing; go to the Lord in fervent prayer for the clearness of mind and conscience that are signs of the Lord’s Spirit.
Blessed 2014 to All and may the Spirit of the Lord always be with you!
Call on Him and sleep well, my FRiend
Thank you the same to you, friend I really like your Tagline
Stay safe & well.
Resty
“Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum
Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”
As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?”
He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve.” [John 6: 49-71]
This is pure Sentimentalism ruling the day.
This article sounds like satire, honestly. Who knew the Spirit could be detected by your mood?
As for trusting in your emotions to determine whether or not you “have the Spirit”:
Jer_17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
When you don’t have the Spirit:
1. You feel unhappy, depressed, confused, and frustrated.
2. You feel possessive, self-centered, or resentful of demands made on you.
3. You are easily offended.
4. You become secretive and evasive.
5. You avoid people, especially members of your family; and you are critical of family members and Church authorities.
6. You envy or resent the successes of others.
7. You don’t want to go to church, go home teaching, or take the sacrament. You wish you had another church job or no job at all.
8. You don’t want to pray.
9. You find the commandments bothersome, restricting, or senseless.
10. You feel emotions and appetites so strongly that you fear you cannot control them—hate, jealousy, anger, lust, hunger, fatigue.
11. You hardly ever think of the Savior; he seems irrelevant to your life, or worse, part of a confusing system that seems to work against you.
12. You get discouraged easily and wonder if life is really worth it.
Sorry, the above describes mormonism, which makes sense.
This one is my favorite:
“5. You avoid people, especially members of your family; and you are critical of family members and Church authorities.”
That’s why I thought it was satire at first. How do you know you don’t have the Spirit? You criticize the LDS.
1 John 4:1 "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." NIV
1 John 4:2-3 2 "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." NIV
When angels appear to you, you do NOT worship them.
Rev 19:10 "At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."" NIV
Here's another way to test spirits...do they produce good fruit?
Matt 7:16-20 "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." NIV
Feelings have very little to do with what's spiritual and what's not.
We just got back to Davao City, from Kapalong, north of Tagum City. You talk about being out in the boonies, this place was it.
Thank you for offering a really excellent list of attributes.
I’ve been doing research into spiritual awakenings and mystics in all religions for about twenty five years, after a profound experience that changed my life.
While the attributes shown are correct if one is “filled” with the Holy Spirit, the process of filling is usually quite tumultuous. The battle between the higher energy of the Holy Spirit and the garbage we have created and hold on to within ourselves sometimes creates quite a wild ride.
The number one symptom is very similar to the symptom of bi-polar disorder as a person feels the attributes of the Holy Spirit that lifts them up in elation and then dives into the depths of despair to locate and remove the anchors and ballast that hinders our being “filled” with the Holy Spirit. This battle within usually causes one to question their own sanity.
There are many other attributes such as the increased energy that flows through the spine. The feeling that a rubber swim cap is being pulled down over your head as it flows into you; The tender bumps that appear on your head as your crown opens up. The unexpected outbursts of emotion, including a feeling of completeness or wholeness.
Other things begin to happen such as you see visions of what is coming in the future or know the thoughts of people around you in detail.
Often the body begins to shake, sometimes violently which is the reason the Quakers and Shakers are identified by this attribute.
The most profound attribute of the Holy Spirit is the feeling of “Love” beyond what you could ever imagine. While Satan can imitate many of the other attributes, Satan can not imitate the feeling of Love. I am not speaking of sexual love. Identifying the feeling of profound Love is the number one tool of discernment on your path. With that tool you can discern the impostors and tormentors from the angels as the words of wisdom of the Holy Spirit will flow through you when you need them.
I would also like to warn of the false “born again” experience that is experienced by many people, especially in charismatic religious groups. The true born again experience usually happens when one is alone in prayer. The difference, which the experiencer usually cannot identify at the time of the experience is that the false born again experience involves a horizontal surrender of authority of individual will to another person such as a pastor or evangelist while the true experience is by going within and surrendering directly to God through His Son.
One last point where I differ slightly from the author of the excellent article. Often you no longer feel the need to attend church or religious services as your connection to God is within and with you at all times. When you find you are slipping away from the connection, turning directly to the Bible and prayer will reconnect one to the Holy Spirit.
You may find that you can’t put the Bible down when you begin to read it. It becomes as addictive as the best book you have ever read. This leads to an increased understanding that often creates differences in understanding with religious leaders who preach based upon academic theory and experiences of others rather than first hand experience. Always turn directly to the Bible and search and pray for true meaning and guidance. You will be led to understand both perspectives(your experience and the words of others teaching you) and why they are described as written.
The Jesus of Christianity Compared to the Jesus of Mormonism
http://freewill-predestination.com/mormon.html
False born again experience?
You cannot judge that, or define it - only God has that authority.
My mind bends that a mere human publicly says what “born again”, is actual or not.
Elijah suffered from depression. One other item should be added: you know when you sin.
We are now entering the days described described by Peter when quoting the prophet Joel in Acts 2. Many people will unexpectedly be filled with the Holy Spirit. This will be a very interesting year!!!
“False born again experience?
You cannot judge that, or define it - only God has that authority.
My mind bends that a mere human publicly says what “born again”, is actual or not.”
When you look at a person while you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you can see with your eyes if it is real or not in another person. You know where their soul is at and can read it in detail. This does not happen at first but happens the more you surrender to God’s will and diminish your own will. It is an ongoing battle that never ends while you are still in a physical body.
When you are “Born Again of the Spirit” you begin to perceive directly from your spirit just as one perceives from their eyes and ears. It is as though you have a new sense.
“Elijah suffered from depression. One other item should be added: you know when you sin.”
Very true.... This is why I like to read the words and wisdom of Abraham Lincoln. That man suffered to the depths of despair and read the Bible every day.
Experiencing the “Depths of Despair” is part of the “Dying Daily” experience. It is the ego self diminishing which is very painful, especially when your experiences involving the Holy Spirit may not be logical and undermine your perception of self and your reality as you knew it.
The experience of despair is the “getting rid of the old to make room for the new. It is the reason you cannot put new wine in an old wine skin or patch an old garment with new cloth.
When one is full of themselves they have no room for God, thus the painful process of the experience of despair to diminish the old self is part of the wonderful process.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.