Summary: After we’re baptized by the proper authority, we are then given the gift of the Holy Ghost, but what exactly is that gift and what does it have to do with repentance and the remission of our sins? To understand the answer to those questions, we first need to have a correct understanding of what that gift is and why it must be received instead of given. This article helps give us that understanding.

When speaking to a large group of people on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter told them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Later, Peter would say, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

The stated purpose of baptism is for the remission or removal of our sins, and but for that to happen, we must repent, both before and after we are baptized. When we repent of our sins before our baptism, our past sins are forgiven and we’re considered “clean” or sin-free in the eyes of God, but unfortunately, we continue to sin and therefore, we need to continue repenting in order to qualify to have those additional sins forgiven.

After we’re baptized by the proper authority, we are then given the gift of the Holy Ghost and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but what exactly is the gift of the Holy Ghost and what does that have to do with repentance and the remission of our sins?

The answer most commonly given is that the gift of the Holy Ghost is to have the constant companion of the Holy Ghost who then blesses us in several ways, including giving us direction in our life, warning us of danger, bringing things to our remembrance, giving us comfort in times of distress, and strengthening us spiritually.

The problem with this explanation is that many Christians in other faiths testify that they too have experienced these same gifts of the Spirit, which then raises the question of what exactly is the gift that members of Christ’s restored church receive after being properly baptized?

To understand the answer to that question, we first need to understand that the “gift” of the Spirit is not “given.” Rather, we’re told to “receive the Holy Ghost.” Whatever this gift is, it’s something we have to actively accept rather than it being given to us with no effort on our part.

In Protestant churches, they talk a lot about “sanctification,” but in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we tend not to use that word, although the scriptures and our church leaders talk about this being the role of the Holy Ghost. In other words, the main responsibility of the Holy Ghost is to sanctify us. If that is true, then it’s important that we understand exactly what this gift is.

The word “sanctify” means “to make something holy,” and the word “sanctification,” is the process by which we become holy. It is common to have Christians of other faiths claim that because members of Christ’s church believe in “works,” that we believe salvation or sanctification is earned through our own efforts, but that’s not true.

The Book of Mormon teaches that “the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).

While man lives in mortality, his natural desire is to do those things that are contrary to the ways of God, and the only way that can change is if he is reborn and becomes a spiritual man. When this happens, he experiences a mighty change of heart and becomes a new creature in Christ where “old things are passed away” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This then changes him from being a natural man to being a spiritual man who has “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2).

But how does this change take place? Some believe it happens at the time of their baptism or when they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, but if that were true, that would make us immediately holy. However, we know that isn’t true. Despite our best efforts, all Christian still struggle with living a holy life, but why?

The answer is that the natural man can only change as “he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” Although the Holy Spirit entices or seeks to persuade us to do what is right, we have to decide if we want to follow his prompting or if we want to ignore it. The way we “receive the Holy Ghost” is to humbly submit ourselves to doing those things the Lord asks, just “as a child doth submit to his father.” In other words, we “receive the Holy Ghost” when we are willing to receive his instruction and accept his tutelage.

However, doing this doesn’t sanctify us. It is the Holy Ghost who does that, but he can’t do it without our cooperation. In order for us to become holy, we have to do our part, and the Holy Ghost has to do his. It’s not one or the other. It’s a team effort where we work in partnership with him.

We see this principle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For example, each presidency consists of a president and two counselors, where each member has their own specific duties to perform. Yet, they all work together to accomplish the same goals. This is also the way the godhead works. The Father gives direction of what he wants done, and supervises the work of salvation, the Son oversees the church and gives it guidance, while the Holy Ghost helps sanctify people.

Although the Father, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are all separate and distinct individuals, and they each have their own unique responsibilities, yet you can’t separate these duties into different categories because they’re all closely intertwined with each other. In the same way, in order for us to become sanctified, it takes us doing our part and the Holy Ghost doing his. One without the other is incomplete.

Some people are more willing to submit themselves to the influence of the Holy Ghost than others and for this reason, some people become spiritual more quickly than others. But, because of our natural disposition, all men resist submitting their will to the Holy Ghost to one degree or another. Therefore, the process of becoming holy doesn’t happen all at once but happens gradually over time, and the more willing we are to submit our will to God, the shorter that process becomes.

The question then is, how do we learn to submit ourselves more fully to the enticings of the Holy Ghost?

The word “desire” shows up 62 times in the New Testament, 69 times in the D&C, and 181 times in the Book of Mormon. This word means “to strongly wish for something.” Synonyms are: longing, craving, yearning, wanting, aspiring, eagerness or determination to get something. It’s what motivates us to action.

All of us enter the waters of baptism because we want to be saved in the kingdom of God and desire to become more like Christ. It’s that desire that makes us willing to submit our will to God. Unfortunately, it’s only in some areas of our life, but there are other things we’re not willing to give up. Since that kind of attitude comes naturally, how do we increase our desire to submit ourselves more fully to the enticings of the Holy Ghost?

Perhaps we can answer that question with an illustration. Suppose you wanted to become a successful businessperson, but you didn’t know how? One effective way is to associate yourself with someone who is already successful in business. As you watch them in action, you not only observe and learn what they do, but the longer you associate with them, in time you’ll find yourself thinking like them, speaking like them, and doing what they do. The reason why is because the more we associate with someone the more we unconsciously begin to imitate their characteristics.

We see this in children. Despite their difference in personalities, because of their close association with their parents, they unconsciously begin to imitate or mimic their parent’s manner of speaking, the way they walk, and most often hold the same values as their parents. This is all very natural.

In the same way, when we come unto Christ and closely associate ourselves with him and the Holy Ghost, we find that over time we begin to think like they do, behave like they do and hold the same values they have. In this way, we find ourselves slowly but surely changing from being a natural man to becoming a spiritual man.

The scriptures describe this as having “a mighty change [wrought] in us, or in our hearts” (Mosiah 5:2). Alma asked the brethren of the church, “have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” (Alma 5:14). This is what inevitably happens to us the more we come unto Christ, or in other words, the more closely we associate ourselves with him.

But the opposite is just as true. The less time we spend with Christ, the less influence the Holy Ghost has on us and the more we adopt or mimic the ways of the world. Instead of becoming more spiritual, we become more carnal, sensual, and devilish.

But how do we go about associating with the Holy Ghost? The first and most important thing is having a strong desire to do so. Without it, our efforts would be half-hearted and temporary. This is why people fall away from the gospel, and even if they stay in the church, they are no more than token members, having a form of godliness but having no spiritual power.

The Lord won’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want. In fact, the Lord is willing to grant unto us whatever it is we desire. As Alma explained, he will give man “according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh” (Alma 41:5).

To come unto Christ means spending more time with him, and the more quality time we spend with him the more we’ll find ourselves become more like him. We all have the same twenty-four hours each day, but what we spend our time doing during those twenty-four hours depends on our desires.

If that is true, then how do we gain a stronger desire to come unto or spend more time being with Christ if we don’t already have it?

The Zoramites had the same question and Alma answered it by telling them, “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words” (Alma 32:27).

If all we have is just a particle of desire to be like Christ, meaning we’re not sure if we want to do what’s necessary to become like him, or we’re not sure we want to give up our old way of living, then try an experiment. Just like test-driving a car before you buy it, test-drive the gospel. Put it through its paces and see if it performs as it says it should but give it a fair test.

Many people have done this with tithing. At first, they pay it because they have the money to do so, but when they don’t have enough money, they put the principle to the test to see if God really will bless them for giving him what they promised when it’s a sacrifice. And this principle works with anything else about the gospel.

The reason why we should come unto Christ and be perfected in, by, and through him is because he promises us great blessing, both here in mortality and in the eternities. If we don’t know if that is true, then put his word to the test. Try to spend more time with him and see what happens.

We spend time with the Lord by sincerely praying to him each and every day. Prayer is nothing more than having a one-way conversation with God, who is our Father who loves us and wants to hear from us. And after we pray, wait and look for the Lord’s answers to our requests.

We spend time with the Lord by not just reading but studying his words every day as found in the scriptures. The point of doing this isn’t just to say we’ve done it, but to learn more about God, who he is, how he thinks, what he expects of us and why, and the blessings he promises us. In this way we come to know God better and become inspired and motivated to live as he wants us to.

We spend time with the Lord when we consciously strive to keep his commandments to the best of our abilities throughout the day. We spend time with the Lord not just showing up at church on Sunday but coming with an attitude of wanting to learn more about him and showing our love to him by serving in his church.

The more time we spend thinking about God and serving him, the more we’re coming unto Christ, and as we do, we’ll find that our desire to spend more time with him will increase. However, a word of caution. This doesn’t happen overnight. Like building a house, it takes time. If we expect results too soon, we may give up too quickly or become discouraged too easily.

If the Holy Ghost can really make a mighty change in our heart whereby we can eventually become as holy as God and thereby feel comfortable living forever with a holy God, then that’s something we should want to know for sure if it’s true or not. Therefore, since the Holy Ghost stands ready to confirm to us that these things are true, then it is well worth the effort to take the Lord up on his challenge to “Prove me now herewith” (Malachi 3:10).

 

Related articles can be found at The Nature of Salvation