The Godhead: The Holy Ghost

Readings:

Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham’s record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator.

Elder James E. Talmage
Differentiating the Holy Ghost and the Power of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost Utilizes the Forces of Nature
Articles of Faith, Ch.8, pp.160-161

"Much of the confusion existing in human conceptions concerning the nature of the Holy Ghost arises from the common failure to segregate His person and powers.  Plainly, such expressions as being filled with the Holy Ghost, and His falling upon persons, [have] reference to the powers and influences that emanate from God, and which are characteristic of Him; for the Holy Ghost may in this way operate simultaneously upon many persons even though they be widely separated, whereas the actual person of the Holy Ghost cannot be in more than one place at a time. Yet we read that through the power of the Spirit, the Father and the Son operate in their creative acts and in their general dealings with the human family.  The Holy Ghost may be regarded as the minister of the Godhead, carrying into effect the decision of the Supreme Council.

"In the execution of these great purposes, the Holy Ghost directs and controls the varied forces of nature, of which indeed a few, and these perhaps of minor order wonderful as even the least of them appears to man, have thus far been investigated by mortals.  Gravitation, sound, heat, light, and the still more mysterious and seemingly super-natural power of electricity, are but the common servants of the Holy Ghost in His operations.  No earnest thinker, no sincere investigator supposes that he has yet learned of all the forces existing in and operating upon matter; indeed, the observed phenomena of nature, yet wholly inexplicable to him, far outnumber those for which he has devised even a partial explanation.  There are powers and forces at the command of God, compared with which electricity is as the pack-horse to the locomotive, the foot messenger to the telegraph, the raft of logs to the ocean steamer.  With all his scientific knowledge man knows but little respecting the enginery of creation; and yet the few forces known to him have brought about miracles and wonders, which but for their actual realization would be beyond belief.  These mighty agencies, and the mightier ones still to man unknown, and many, perhaps, to the present condition of the human mind unknowable, do not constitute the Holy Ghost, but are the agencies ordained to serve His purposes.

"Subtler, mightier, and more mysterious than any or all of the physical forces of nature are the powers that operate upon conscious organisms, the means by which the mind, the heart, the soul of man may be energized by spiritual forces."

Pres. Brigham Young
The Holy Ghost Expands One's Understanding About Life and Self-Identity
Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 241

The Holy Ghost takes of the Father, and of the Son, and shows it to the disciples. It shows them things past, present, and to come. It opens the vision of the mind, unlocks the treasures of wisdom, and [the disciples] begin to understand the things of God; their minds are exalted on high; their conceptions of God and His creations are dignified, and "Hallelujah to God and the Lamb in the highest," is the constant language of their hearts. They comprehend themselves and the great object of their existence. They also comprehend the designs of the wicked one, and the designs of those who serve him; they comprehend the designs of the Almighty in forming the earth; and mankind upon it, and the ultimate purpose of all His creations. It leads them to drink at the fountain of eternal wisdom, justice, and truth; they grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, until they see as they are seen and know as they are known.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie
The Holy Ghost Not Only Testifies of the Truth, But Also Sanctifies Its Recipients
Understanding the Term "Constant Companionship"
Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, pp.135-136

The Holy Ghost does two things in particular. On the one hand he is a witness to truth, and so he bears the testimony of the truth, and that is how we get a testimony, by revelation from the Holy Ghost. … We get a testimony from the Holy Spirit when that member of the Godhead tells us that the work is true, and his great function in that field is to bear testimony of the truth. …

But on the other hand the Holy Spirit is a sanctifier, and he has the power to cleanse and perfect the human soul, to wash evil and iniquity out, and to replace it with righteousness. And that is the occasion when we are converted. …

We are cleansed from sin and are born again and become converted to the truth when we get the constant companionship of that member of the Godhead, that is, get the right to the constant companionship. Nobody actually has that companionship all the time, because no one is perfect, no one lives in the ideal and perfect state. We do the best we can, and get sufficient of the companionship to have our sins burned out of us as though by fire. And that is what is involved when we use the expression "the baptism of fire," meaning the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That is a symbolism to mean that dross and evil are burned out of the human soul as though by fire, and as a consequence the individual becomes a new creature of the Holy Ghost ...

Elder Boyd K. Packer
Differentiate Emotionalism from Spirituality
Ensign, January 1983, pp.51-56

You can be given false spiritual messages.  There are counterfeit spirits just as there are counterfeit angels. (See Moroni 7:17.)  Be careful lest you be deceived, for the devil may come disguised as an angel of light.  The spiritual part of us and the emotional part of us are so closely linked that is possible to mistake an emotional impulse for something spiritual.  We occasionally find people who receive what they assume to be spiritual promptings from God, when those promptings are either centered in the emotions or are from the adversary.

Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Emotional Outbursts Are Not Necessarily a Sign of Testimony
Testimony, pp.140-141 - Unpublished address, Church Historical Department, 25 Mar. 1961 - Berlin, Germany

You don't have to cry about the gospel to have a testimony!  Many times we think that we don't have a testimony unless a few tears flow.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is not necessary or needful for a person to have tears streaming down their face to have a testimony of the gospel.

I remember a missionary once who used to cry so badly when he bore his testimony that I finally just told him, "Elder, I think you are making a demonstration of yourself.  Why don't you try bearing your testimony without crying.  You don't have to shed tears." ...  I found out with this missionary that as a young man he had home his testimony for the first time and it had caused him to cry and everyone had come up and told him what a wonderful testimony it was.  That was the springboard.  From then on he cried every time he bore his testimony, so people would come up and say what a wonderful testimony he had. ...

I know that there are occasions when our hearts are close to the surface, and tears come. ...  But, I tell you, the serenity of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not depend upon emotionalism to bring forth a testimony.  These things are firmly fixed under the power of the spirit.  They don't require a physical emotionalism to demonstrate testimony because they are born of a solid conviction by the power of truth! ...

[Sometimes one] can be misled by over-emotionalism, which is merely a surging of the blood. It is not a conviction!  I think we ought to bear our testimonies without tears, and stand strong and honorably before our fellow men and tell them the truth, born of the spirit that comes to us.  Now I know that isn't always easy, and I know I have had to struggle many times to keep back the tears, and I don't think we ought to fight that either.  I hope you understand what I mean, but there are people who can bring tears pretty fast, and sometimes it is an indication of a lack of sincerity.

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For more information, contact Dr. Marcus Martins at: martinsm@byuh.edu