The Holy Spirit

"We believe in God the Eternal Father and in his son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost." -Articles of Faith. (In this message I will use the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit interchangeably. Each time I am talking about the same person.) It has seemed for a bit of time that I have been struggling with recognizing promptings from the Spirit. So I was studying all of the different ways to be able to receive answers. So, the first thing that I did was followed the advice of Doctrine and Covenants 4:7 "Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen."  So, I started praying a lot to be able to receive more revelation in my life, but it didn't really seem to change much. So, I once again began to wonder what I was missing.
This takes me to a story I  once heard about an old woman. She had always had a very deep faith in Christ. One day she had run out of money and she knew that the only way that she could get the amount of money she needed is if she won the lottery. So, she began praying with all of her heart that she would win the lottery. When the winner was announced it wasn't her. Then a second time she prayed as she cried simply pleading that she could win the lottery. Once again she didn't win. Finally she prayed and asked why she didn't win. Then came the response, "buy a ticket."
While I don't think it is a good idea to gamble, I do know that the Lord can only help those who have enough faith to act. In my case, I needed to listen. There are so many voices in this world that are shouting. It doesn't take long to see how everything wants your attention. The news talks about wars and rumors of war. Our phones constantly blurt out that we have another message. The music on the radio plays constantly. Our life is always busy. There is always something that we need to be doing. Among all of this the whisper of the Spirit can be very difficult to hear. Yet, when it is heard it can pierce us even to the very soul. (3 Nephi 11:3)
So, what should you do to be able to hear the Spirit more clearly?
Step 1 Remove unnecessary distractions. Take just a minute every morning and every night and find a quite place where you feel peace.
Step 2 Pray. If you feel like you are struggling God wants to hear. Pray and ask him for his help.
Step 3 Listen. The Spirit will speak to you very softly so you must pay attention. Otherwise you might not hear what He has to say.
As you do this I know that you will receive an answer to your question. The answer will come into your heart. A scripture that I really like that explains how you receive an answer is Galatians 5:22  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,gentleness, goodness, faith."
I hope that you will take the time, at least once a morning and once a night, to pray and then to listen for the answer of the Holy Spirit. I know that God answers prayers. I know that the true way to happiness is through listening to the Spirit. The Holy Ghost has been the best companion in my life since I was baptized. He has been there every time I have needed him. I hope that everyone will be able to develop a great relationship with the Holy Ghost.