Post # 212 -- Learning to Hear and Understand 

the Spirit -- By David M. McConkie First Counselor in the 

Sunday School General Presidency

 Dear Family and Friends

In today's post I would like to share with you a talk that
I ran across while I was doing some studying and searching
during the week.

Since my last few posts have been focused

somewhat on  us listening to the Holy Ghost, I thought 

this talk would fit right in. I hope that you can learn

from it as much as I did when I read through it!!!

One of the most important things we can do is learn to hear 

and follow the promptings of the Spirit.

My father grew up in the small town of Monticello, Utah. When 

he was seven, one of his daily chores was to bring the family’s cows 

in from their pasture. His prized possession was his pocketknife, 

which he always kept with him.

One day as he was riding his horse to 

fetch the cows, he reached into his pocket for his knife. To his dismay 

he realized he had lost it somewhere along the trail. He was 

heartbroken, but he believed what he had been taught by his father and 

mother: God hears and answers prayers.

He stopped his horse and slid off its bare back to the ground. There he 

knelt and asked Heavenly Father to help him find his pocketknife. He 

climbed back on his horse, turned around, and rode back down the trail. 

After some distance his horse stopped. Dad climbed off the horse and 

put his hand into the deep dust on the trail. There, buried in the dust, he 

found his prized pocketknife. He knew that the Lord had heard and 

answered his prayer.

Because he had learned to listen to and act upon the whisperings of 

the Spirit, my father was blessed to see the hand of the Lord on many

 occasions throughout his life. He witnessed many miracles. Yet when 

he gathered his family to teach us the gospel, he often spoke of his 

experience on the dusty trail in Monticello when the Lord heard and 

answered the prayer of a “freckle-faced seven-year-old boy.”

I believe that we too, each one of us, no matter our age, can

learn from the example of this seven year old boy:) We too

can know that our Heavenly Father will hear and answer our

prayers no matter what we are in need of. 

He will be there for us when there seems to be no one else

and when there is everyone else but only He can help us!

In his later years he told us that he had learned something else from this 

childhood experience. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “I learned that 

God can speak to horses!”

My father’s experience as a young boy left a lasting impression on him 

because it was the beginning of his personal spiritual education. This 

was when he learned for himself that God hears prayers. This was when 

he began, as the Prophet Joseph Smith termed it, to learn the Spirit of God.1

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

The Savior promised His Apostles that after He left them, they would enjoy

 the gift of the Holy Ghost. He said, “The Comforter, which is the Holy 

Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, 

and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” 

(John 14:26). This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

John 14:26 New Testament

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will

send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your 

remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

are entitled to this same gift. After we are baptized, the gift of

the Holy Ghost is conferred upon us by the laying on of hands

by one who is authorized to administer the ordinances of the

gospel. This gift is the right, when we are worthy of it, to the

constant companionship of the third member of the Godhead.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost is given to all members

of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

after their baptism and confirmation.

For those of you who are not members of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

this is a good goal to work towards.

In the meantime, I believe that you can have the 

Spirit of the Lord with you. Also, I believe that the

Lord hears and answers your prayers as well.

The companionship of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest

blessings we can enjoy in mortality. Elder Bruce R. McConkie

(1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:“Men

ought—above all things in this world—to seek for the

guidance of the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing as important as having the
companionship of the Holy Ghost. “There is no price too
high, no labor too onerous, no struggle too severe, no
sacrifice too great, if out of it all we receive and enjoy the

gift of the Holy Ghost.”2

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the Spirit of God can be 

learned and that “by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it,

you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become 

perfect in Christ Jesus.”3

One of the most important things we can do is learn the Spirit of 

God—learn to hear and follow the promptings of the Spirit. If we 

so desire and are worthy, the Lord will school us in the principle 

of revelation.

You can learn more about the differences between the

Holy Ghost, and the Holy Spirit, the Light of Christ all

here from the following article: 

What is the difference between the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, 

and the Light of Christ?

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/06/i-have-a-question/

What-is-the-difference-between-the-holy-ghost-the-spirit-of-christ-and-the-light-

of-christ?lang=eng

Learning to Listen and to Act

To learn the Spirit of God, we must learn to listen with our hearts. 

President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve 

Apostles, said: “The Spirit is a still, small voice—a voice that is felt 

rather than heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind 

as a thought put into your heart.”4

President Packer also taught: “Inspiration comes more easily in peaceful 

settings. Such words as quiet, still, peaceable, Comforter abound in the 

scriptures: ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ (Ps. 46:10; italics added.) 

Psalm 46:10 Old Testament

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, 

I will be exalted in the earth.

And the promise, ‘You shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even

the Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the

kingdom.’ (D&C 36:2; italics added).”

Doctrine and Covenants 36:2 Doctrine and Covenants

2 And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant Sidney 

Rigdon, and you shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the 

Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom;

President Packer added: “While we may invite this communication, it can 

never be forced! If we try to force it, we may be deceived.”5

Of utmost importance in our schooling process is our responsibility to act, 

without delay, in accordance with the spiritual promptings we receive. 

President Thomas S. Monson stated: “We watch. We wait. We listen for 

that still, small voice. When it speaks, wise men and women obey. 

Promptings of the Spirit are not to be postponed.”6

Learning to hear and understand the Spirit is a gradual and continuous 

process. The Savior said, “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). “For unto him that receiveth I will give more” 

(2 Nephi 28:30).

Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 Doctrine and Covenants

24 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.

2 Nephi 28:30 Book of Mormon

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of 

men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; 

and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto 

my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will 

give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall 

be taken away even that which they have.

Just as Christ “received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for

 grace” (D&C 93:12), so also, as we keep His commandments, we will 

“receive grace for grace” (D&C 93:20; see also John 1:16) and “line upon 

line, precept upon precept” (2 Nephi 28:30). Our schooling process is 

often as gradual as the descent of the dews from heaven 

(see D&C 121:45; 128:19).

Doctrine and Covenants 93:12 Doctrine and Covenants

12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but 

received grace for grace;

Doctrine and Covenants 93:20 Doctrine and Covenants

20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, 

and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, 

you shall receive grace for grace.

John 1:16 New Testament

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 Doctrine and Covenants

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the 

household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then 

shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine 

of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

Doctrine and Covenants 128:19 Doctrine and Covenants

19 Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice 

of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the

 earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the 

dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the 

feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: 

Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge

 of God descend upon them!

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that 

“there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow

 [us] to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit.” Rather, 

“our Father expects [us] to learn how to obtain that divine help by 

exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ.”

Elder Scott continued: “What may appear initially to be a daunting task 

will be much easier to manage over time as you consistently strive to 

recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit. Your confidence 

in the direction you receive from the Holy Ghost will also become 

stronger,” and “your confidence in the impressions you feel can become 

more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.”7

 I have listened to this talk  during the general conference in

2009 and have since reread it many times, and it is truly worth '

the read and study of it as well.

I do hope that you will read and study its entirety here: Richard

 G. Scott, “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance,” Liahona, and

Ensign, Nov. 2009, 6–7. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/10/to-acquire-spiritual-guidance?lang=eng

As part of our schooling process, the Lord will help us to see the results, in 

our own life and in the lives of others, of our acting upon the promptings we

 receive from the Spirit. These experiences will strengthen our faith and give 

us greater courage to act in the future.

Learning to hear and understand the Spirit takes considerable effort. But the

 Lord has promised that the faithful will “receive revelation upon revelation,

knowledge upon knowledge, that [they may] know the mysteries and 

peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” 

(D&C 42:61).

Doctrine and Covenants 42:61 Doctrine and Covenants

61 If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation,

 knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and 

peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.

As you can tell from the underlining and the bolding, just

how important this learning is to me. I do hope that my

bolding and underlining has not in the least dissuade you

from reading and learning the great insights that have been shared with us here in this talk.

There is more to gain from the reading and even
studying the content here than that which you have to
lose. I pray that you will each make the effort to hear,
to feel and act upon the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Remember what Elder Scott said, it is a gradual and

continual process, not a one time fix, so continue to
learn and grow with me right here as I continue to
share with you what is dear to my heart.

A Privilege and Duty

“If you want the mind and will of God … , get it, it is just 

as much your privilege as of any other member of the 

Church and Kingdom of God. It is your privilege and duty 

to live so that you know when the word of the Lord is 

spoken to you and when the mind of the Lord is revealed 

to you. I say it is your duty to live so as to know and 

understand all these things.”

President Brigham Young (1801–77), Teachings of 

Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 68.

Well, my dear family and friends, here we are at the end

of my post for today. I pray that each of you are staying

healthy and doing well during this time of uncertainty.

Please continue studying and learning with me. 

Please continue to study the scriptures with your own

family members and friends. We all need Jesus Christ in

our lives. He is the only source of true peace and happiness

in this life and in the life to come.

Remember who you are!!!  You are each one a child of God,

no matter what your current age is. Yes, you are still a

child of God!!! Until my next post, continue with your daily

prayers and weekly family home evening, and be sure to

make it a great week!!!