The past few days I have been thinking about what to write, and I feel that I need to have a direction for my studies. After a little thought, I want to explore more about the Holy Ghost so that I can find insights that may be beneficial to me and you about how we can have the presence of the Holy Ghost more abundant in our lives. This will be my focus for this month! To start us off on this new adventure, let’s look at a character comparison between two spiritual powerhouses, Paul and Alma the Younger. Then I will list a few words and phrases that are frequently associated with the Holy Ghost that we can use as starting points for a deeper dive into learning about the Holy Ghost.

PAUL

• Very devout in his beliefs – thought what He was doing was God’s will
• Highly educated – knew the Jewish law and the scriptures at a high level of mastery
• Influential – had power from the religious authority at the time to execute Christians
• Good orator – could persuade people with his words by proving his points with many examples and history

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/9?lang=eng&id=p1-p17#p1

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/22?lang=eng&id=p1-p16#p1

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/26?lang=eng&id=p1-p29#p1

ALMA

• Very devout in his beliefs – committed to rebelling against the Church of God
• Highly educated – received some of the best spiritual education from his father who was the High Priest in the Church
• Influential – he was best friends with the King’s sons who also rebelled alongside him
• Good orator – he would speak many flattering words which would cause people to follow him

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/27?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/36?lang=eng

Paul and Alma were both on paths that were leading them away from God, and they were both attacking the Church of God whether they knew it or not. In both of their stories, we can see the mercy of our Heavenly Parents who saw the potential that was always there in both of them. Alma and Paul were both given a lesson about who Christ was and they were both told clearly that if they continued on their current path, they would find destruction. After their experiences, they both started their journeys of coming unto Christ and became influences for great good in their communities and throughout the land they lived in. We have a potential for good also, and our Heavenly Parents prepared a teacher for us to guide us called the Holy Ghost. The guidance we receive may not be as miraculous as a pillar of light or an angel, but if we are diligent and humble, we can receive enough guidance to help keep us on the path back to our Heavenly Parents.

HOLY GHOST WORDS AND PHRASES

• Broken heart and a contrite spirit
• Still small voice
• Comforter
• Third member of the Godhead
• Holy spirit
• Guide
• Teacher
• – If you can think of more words, I would love to study them, so feel free to leave them in the comments below!