How do you know when the Spirit is speaking to you?
"6 Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying:" (Doctrine and Covenants 85: 6)
"22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?
24 And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness?" (Doctrine and Covenants 6: 22-24)
"2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground." (Doctrine and Covenants 8: 2-3)
"7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me." (Doctrine and Covenants 9: 7-9)
"12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;" (Doctrine and Covenants 11: 12-13)
"1 As I stated to you in my letter before I left my place, that I would write to you from time to time and give you information in relation to many subjects, I now resume the subject of the baptism for the dead, as that subject seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest, since I have been pursued by my enemies." (Doctrine and Covenants 128: 1)
"32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24: 32)
"2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5: 2)
"28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me." (Alma 32: 28)
"30 And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—" (Helaman 5: 30)
"22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" (Doctrine and Covenants 6: 22-23)
"12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;" (Doctrine and Covenants 11: 12-13)
And here's the commentary entitled: "The Spirit speaks with a “still small voice.”:
"Ponder the words Joseph Smith used to describe the Spirit in Doctrine and Covenants 85:6. In what sense is the Spirit’s voice “still” and “small”? Consider these additional descriptions given through Joseph Smith: Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–24; 8:2–3; 9:7–9; 11:12–13; 128:1. How does the Spirit speak to you?
See also Luke 24:32; Mosiah 5:2; Alma 32:28; Helaman 5:30; Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–23; 11:12–13."
The Spirit's voice is "still" and "small" in a sense that it comes as an impression or an inspiration. It comes to your mind with an idea or insight or with a warning, and you feel it in your heart. The Spirit speaks to me in these ways, and I'm so grateful for the Lord's guidance to me through His Spirit.
On my way to the bus stop from my apartment this morning, I noticed some traffic cones around a couple of drainage holes where the top cover is not evenly placed. It's looking like they are being repaired. And my memory took me back to the time when I was walking along the road heading to the Philippines Manila temple while it was raining so hard the road was already flooded. I was determined to go to the temple even though I couldn't get a ride. I thought it's ok for me to walk because it's not too far away. And while I was walking, I felt strongly that I needed to stop and wait for a jeepney to ride in because there might be a drainage hole where I might fall into that I couldn't see clearly and I'm not sure if there are traffic cones around all of them. I did take the jeepney and ended up not being able to go to the temple that evening. I'm grateful I heeded the warning from the Holy Ghost to stop walking on that flooded road. I'm grateful for the Lord's protection. Falling into a drainage manhole at that time wouldn't be the best way for me to go and leave this earthly existence! If I didn't listen to the Spirit, I probably wouldn't be here now. And I would be one of those spirits who are feeling like they are in bondage because of being separated from their physical bodies.
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