When my father was a teenager, he purchased an old convertible and decided to fix it up one summer. Since he was mechanically inclined, he replaced the entire engine in a workspace out behind his family's house in Springville, Utah. But after replacing the engine and hooking everything up, it still wouldn't start. He spent days troubleshooting, trying to figure out what was wrong. One day, his father, my grandfather, came out to chat with my dad as he headed out to work. He asked my father what seemed to be the problem, and my dad said something like, ”I’ve narrowed it down to some problem in the electrical system, but I'm just hitting my head against the wall."
And then my grandfather said, “Have you prayed about it?"
Now, my father was a teenager at the time, and of course this just seemed like a rather silly question to him. Like it probably would to me. Why would Heavenly Father want to reveal where the problem was in this old convertible? My grandpa asked a few more questions about the car and the engine and then headed off to work.
Well, this process repeated itself over the next few days. My grandpa would come out on his way to work, talk with my dad about what he had tried to do to fix the engine, and then he would ask again, "Have you prayed about it?" My dad would always shrug it off.
One day, my grandfather came home from work, changed out of his nice clothes and then came out to talk with my dad. He said, "I had some time alone at work today, and I prayed about your car engine. The Lord told me what the problem is. Would you like to know?"
Well, my dad was dumbfounded, but he agreed. So my grandpa described what the problem was, and together they got to work to fix it. Not too long later the old convertible was up and running.
Today I would like to speak to you about following the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I wanted to start with this story about my grandfather because I think it is very powerful and can teach us some general principles about receiving revelation. My grandfather received revelation in this instance as he was trying to help someone else. He gathered information before he prayed and asked God, asking my dad about what he had tried, and what he thought might be the problem. He had developed a regular practice of praying and communicating with God to learn his will. I think these are all important lessons that the story can teach us. And if this were a typical general conference talk, that's probably what I would focus on. But the main reason I wanted to share this story is to contrast it with my own experience with the Holy Ghost, which is very different from my grandfather's.
From my own experience, as well as listening to the experiences of others, I have come to believe that different people interact with the Holy Ghost differently. That's probably an obvious statement. But sometimes I think that we tend to emphasize or elevate certain ways that people communicate with God over others, and so I would like to explore that today.
Specifically, I would like to talk about 2 different models or analogies of how people I've seen or heard about seem to interact with the Holy Ghost. As a caveat, let me say that any model or analogy is going to fall short and be too simplistic in one way or another. I'm also sure there are many more than just 2 different models, but today I will just be focusing on these 2 to hopefully raise questions about a larger point. The first model is what I call the radio operator model. I think my grandfather fell into this category, so first let me give some more background about him.
My grandfather served in the military as a communications operator in the Korean War. He had started out training as a marksman, because of his expert ability with a rifle, but for reasons that I'm unclear of, he was switched to become a communications operator. At that time, they would communicate via Morse code by radio signals. I remember him telling me about his training. Apparently, the radio operators that couldn't pass the required tests were often switched to become ground infantry, usually sent to the front lines. He said that he would stay awake at night, anxiously tapping Morse code on his bedpost for additional practice to make sure that he would pass the tests. Later, he would often relate how the most difficult aspect was detecting the Morse code amidst the jamming signals of the enemy. They would send noise across a wide range of radio frequencies in an attempt to disrupt the ability to communicate. He said at the beginning it was extremely difficult to pick out the Morse code signal from the noise, and often he would think that he was imagining it. But over time, as he practiced, he developed the ability to hone in on the Morse code and pick out the signal. He would often say that learning to hear the communications of the Holy Ghost was a very similar process. You have to learn how to pick out the signal from the noise, but as you practice it becomes easier and easier.
As my dad relates it, my grandfather was a man who was very much led by the spirit on a constant basis. He just seemed to know when others needed help, and how to help them. He was at times very open in talking about his revelation. He would tell my dad, "I just spent time talking with your brother. The Lord told me he needed some help, and so I did." He seemed to have an ability to help people solve problems, and they would approach him as a way to know the Lord's will.
So this is the radio operator model: the Lord is sending out a spiritual radio signal with direct, clear, specific guidance for our lives and the lives of those we come in contact with. There is noise in our lives that makes it difficult for us to detect the signal. We may need to spend quite a bit of time tuning our radio dial, and there may be times that we may confuse the noise for the signal, or misinterpret what the message is. I don’t believe we are ever error free. But if we practice asking and listening, we can hear the still small voice more and more and follow its direction. This seemed to be how my grandfather experienced communication from God. I'm sure that his experience as a communications operator during the Korean War probably helped prepare him – he had spent countless hours already listening for weak signals amidst the noise. But he also clearly had practiced and developed his ability to communicate with God until he felt very confident in his revelations. Many people in the Scriptures also seem to communicate with God via the radio operator model. We read that Nephi was "led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." We read specific revelations given to Joseph Smith. There are many other examples, in fact by and large it seems like most the people in the scriptures communicate with God in this way. It doesn't mean that these people didn't make mistakes, or that they always knew what to do, because clearly that isn't the case. But they did seem to communicate with God in the stories as radio operators.
The other model I would like to discuss today is what I call the sailboat model. This model seems to be closer to how I interact with the spirit, so let me talk about a recent personal experience. Almost every day I try to communicate with Heavenly Father about specific things I could be doing in my life. I ask if there is anything specific I should do as a father. I ask if there's any specific thing I should do as a husband. If there are specific questions or concerns I have been working on, I ask about them. And then I sit and listen for any answer. If I have any thoughts pertaining to the question at hand, I write them down and try to follow them. Now, how does this process usually play out? Usually, I don't really receive much of anything, and when I do I am not at all confident that they come from the Holy Ghost. Usually they are thoughts that I've had before in a different context, such as, "you should try to play with your kids tonight" or "you should give your wife a hug." Nothing exactly revelatory. Nothing very surprising or new.
And this I would say is largely representative of my experience with the spirit. There have been a few, but only a very few instances in my life where I have really felt like the spirit was telling me something. And none of them are impossible for me to doubt. Most of the time I just have a gradual accumulation of thoughts and ideas, which I really can't be sure are from God. Usually I have pretty low confidence. But, if they seem good and reasonable, then I try to follow them within whatever limitations I have at the time. On the other hand, if I look at the larger course of my life, I feel like I have moved in good directions, toward God, and that I am a much better person by than I was years ago.
In a way, much of my experience with the spirit in my life is captured by this poem from Mary Karr:
90% of what's wrong with you
could be cured with a hot bath,
says God through the manhole covers,
but you want magic, to win
the lottery you never bought a ticket for.
(Tenderly, the monks chant,
embrace the suffering.) The voice never
panders, offers no 5-year plan,
no long-term solution, no edicts from a cloudy
white beard hooked over ears.
It is small and fond and local. Don't look for
your initials in the geese honking
overhead or to see through the glass even
darkly. It says the most obvious stuff,
i.e. Put down that gun, you need a sandwich.
So what is the sailboat model? In this model, I am like a sailboat, and the spirit is like the wind. There are no clear, specific instructions that are being sent out, or even a clear destination, there is just a wind moving in a general direction. My job as a sailboat is to put my sails up in the right way so that the wind can help push me along. Another important part of this model is that the wind is not constant, just like in real life. Sometimes there is a big gust of wind that is really obvious, at other times there is a gentle breeze that pushes the sailboat along, but is hardly noticeable unless you pay attention. And sometimes, the wind isn't there, and the sailboat just sits in the water for a while. That's the thing about the wind, you can't control it. You can hoist up your sails, but you can't control the wind. This is reminiscent of how Jesus talked with Nicodemus about those who are born of the spirit. He said, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Now, am I confident that those of us who are sailboats can never become radio operators? Not at all. It is quite possible that with enough meaningful practice, we can all become radio operators. On the other hand, I also think it is possible that our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother may choose to parent and communicate with each of us differently, just as those of us who have children sometimes communicate differently with each of them. But whether or not being a sailboat is a steppingstone to becoming a radio operator, it does seem to be the case that we often discuss the Holy Ghost and revelation using the radio operator model. Most of the general conference stories seem to be about radio operators. Most of the scripture stories seem to be about radio operators. Perhaps that’s just because they make better stories. But the end result is that most of the ways I hear revelation being discussed is using the radio operator model. And so I think it can be discouraging at times for those of us who are sailboats. We may feel like we are defective in our interactions with God. Maybe we don't have enough faith. Maybe we haven't prayed enough or read our scriptures enough or served others enough or written in our journal enough. Maybe we don't belong here – and that, I do not believe.
What I do believe is that we, in the body of Christ, all have different gifts, just like it says in the D&C. Some of us have the gift of revelation. What is unsaid in that statement is that some of us do not. It doesn't mean we can't work toward it or develop it, but for whatever reason we haven't been given that gift. The same, I believe, is true of testimonies. Some of us have been given the gift of knowing with certainty. Some of us choose to believe on their words. Some of us just know that sometimes we feel the wind helping us move in a good direction. Some of us aren’t even sure of that, but we keep hoisting our sails.
And that's the thing about the body of Christ, we can't all be the ears, clearly hearing the word of the Lord. The apostle Paul already said it. We can't all be the hands or the feet or the eyes. Some of us need to be the heart muscles, beating steadily, diligently at the right time. Some of us need to be the immune system, to fight off infection. Some of us need to be the inner ear, to give us a sense of balance. And some of us need to be stem cells, vitally important, but not yet sure what we will become.
At times, we may feel like Alma, wishing to be something that we are not. “Oh that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth." It seems wise to me to remember Alma’s follow-up: "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."
Whatever part of the body of Christ you may be, and whichever part I may be, I am glad to be here in the Pittsfield ward, to serve with and learn from you. I am grateful for the wind that has carried my sails, even if I’m not always sure it is there. Like you, I hope for the day when I will no longer see through a glass darkly, but face to face. When I will no longer know in part, but know fully even as also I am known. And I say this, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Bob Rawle
Pittsfield Ward
Pittsfield, MA
August 25, 2018
And then my grandfather said, “Have you prayed about it?"
Now, my father was a teenager at the time, and of course this just seemed like a rather silly question to him. Like it probably would to me. Why would Heavenly Father want to reveal where the problem was in this old convertible? My grandpa asked a few more questions about the car and the engine and then headed off to work.
Well, this process repeated itself over the next few days. My grandpa would come out on his way to work, talk with my dad about what he had tried to do to fix the engine, and then he would ask again, "Have you prayed about it?" My dad would always shrug it off.
One day, my grandfather came home from work, changed out of his nice clothes and then came out to talk with my dad. He said, "I had some time alone at work today, and I prayed about your car engine. The Lord told me what the problem is. Would you like to know?"
Well, my dad was dumbfounded, but he agreed. So my grandpa described what the problem was, and together they got to work to fix it. Not too long later the old convertible was up and running.
Today I would like to speak to you about following the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I wanted to start with this story about my grandfather because I think it is very powerful and can teach us some general principles about receiving revelation. My grandfather received revelation in this instance as he was trying to help someone else. He gathered information before he prayed and asked God, asking my dad about what he had tried, and what he thought might be the problem. He had developed a regular practice of praying and communicating with God to learn his will. I think these are all important lessons that the story can teach us. And if this were a typical general conference talk, that's probably what I would focus on. But the main reason I wanted to share this story is to contrast it with my own experience with the Holy Ghost, which is very different from my grandfather's.
From my own experience, as well as listening to the experiences of others, I have come to believe that different people interact with the Holy Ghost differently. That's probably an obvious statement. But sometimes I think that we tend to emphasize or elevate certain ways that people communicate with God over others, and so I would like to explore that today.
Specifically, I would like to talk about 2 different models or analogies of how people I've seen or heard about seem to interact with the Holy Ghost. As a caveat, let me say that any model or analogy is going to fall short and be too simplistic in one way or another. I'm also sure there are many more than just 2 different models, but today I will just be focusing on these 2 to hopefully raise questions about a larger point. The first model is what I call the radio operator model. I think my grandfather fell into this category, so first let me give some more background about him.
My grandfather served in the military as a communications operator in the Korean War. He had started out training as a marksman, because of his expert ability with a rifle, but for reasons that I'm unclear of, he was switched to become a communications operator. At that time, they would communicate via Morse code by radio signals. I remember him telling me about his training. Apparently, the radio operators that couldn't pass the required tests were often switched to become ground infantry, usually sent to the front lines. He said that he would stay awake at night, anxiously tapping Morse code on his bedpost for additional practice to make sure that he would pass the tests. Later, he would often relate how the most difficult aspect was detecting the Morse code amidst the jamming signals of the enemy. They would send noise across a wide range of radio frequencies in an attempt to disrupt the ability to communicate. He said at the beginning it was extremely difficult to pick out the Morse code signal from the noise, and often he would think that he was imagining it. But over time, as he practiced, he developed the ability to hone in on the Morse code and pick out the signal. He would often say that learning to hear the communications of the Holy Ghost was a very similar process. You have to learn how to pick out the signal from the noise, but as you practice it becomes easier and easier.
As my dad relates it, my grandfather was a man who was very much led by the spirit on a constant basis. He just seemed to know when others needed help, and how to help them. He was at times very open in talking about his revelation. He would tell my dad, "I just spent time talking with your brother. The Lord told me he needed some help, and so I did." He seemed to have an ability to help people solve problems, and they would approach him as a way to know the Lord's will.
So this is the radio operator model: the Lord is sending out a spiritual radio signal with direct, clear, specific guidance for our lives and the lives of those we come in contact with. There is noise in our lives that makes it difficult for us to detect the signal. We may need to spend quite a bit of time tuning our radio dial, and there may be times that we may confuse the noise for the signal, or misinterpret what the message is. I don’t believe we are ever error free. But if we practice asking and listening, we can hear the still small voice more and more and follow its direction. This seemed to be how my grandfather experienced communication from God. I'm sure that his experience as a communications operator during the Korean War probably helped prepare him – he had spent countless hours already listening for weak signals amidst the noise. But he also clearly had practiced and developed his ability to communicate with God until he felt very confident in his revelations. Many people in the Scriptures also seem to communicate with God via the radio operator model. We read that Nephi was "led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." We read specific revelations given to Joseph Smith. There are many other examples, in fact by and large it seems like most the people in the scriptures communicate with God in this way. It doesn't mean that these people didn't make mistakes, or that they always knew what to do, because clearly that isn't the case. But they did seem to communicate with God in the stories as radio operators.
The other model I would like to discuss today is what I call the sailboat model. This model seems to be closer to how I interact with the spirit, so let me talk about a recent personal experience. Almost every day I try to communicate with Heavenly Father about specific things I could be doing in my life. I ask if there is anything specific I should do as a father. I ask if there's any specific thing I should do as a husband. If there are specific questions or concerns I have been working on, I ask about them. And then I sit and listen for any answer. If I have any thoughts pertaining to the question at hand, I write them down and try to follow them. Now, how does this process usually play out? Usually, I don't really receive much of anything, and when I do I am not at all confident that they come from the Holy Ghost. Usually they are thoughts that I've had before in a different context, such as, "you should try to play with your kids tonight" or "you should give your wife a hug." Nothing exactly revelatory. Nothing very surprising or new.
And this I would say is largely representative of my experience with the spirit. There have been a few, but only a very few instances in my life where I have really felt like the spirit was telling me something. And none of them are impossible for me to doubt. Most of the time I just have a gradual accumulation of thoughts and ideas, which I really can't be sure are from God. Usually I have pretty low confidence. But, if they seem good and reasonable, then I try to follow them within whatever limitations I have at the time. On the other hand, if I look at the larger course of my life, I feel like I have moved in good directions, toward God, and that I am a much better person by than I was years ago.
In a way, much of my experience with the spirit in my life is captured by this poem from Mary Karr:
90% of what's wrong with you
could be cured with a hot bath,
says God through the manhole covers,
but you want magic, to win
the lottery you never bought a ticket for.
(Tenderly, the monks chant,
embrace the suffering.) The voice never
panders, offers no 5-year plan,
no long-term solution, no edicts from a cloudy
white beard hooked over ears.
It is small and fond and local. Don't look for
your initials in the geese honking
overhead or to see through the glass even
darkly. It says the most obvious stuff,
i.e. Put down that gun, you need a sandwich.
So what is the sailboat model? In this model, I am like a sailboat, and the spirit is like the wind. There are no clear, specific instructions that are being sent out, or even a clear destination, there is just a wind moving in a general direction. My job as a sailboat is to put my sails up in the right way so that the wind can help push me along. Another important part of this model is that the wind is not constant, just like in real life. Sometimes there is a big gust of wind that is really obvious, at other times there is a gentle breeze that pushes the sailboat along, but is hardly noticeable unless you pay attention. And sometimes, the wind isn't there, and the sailboat just sits in the water for a while. That's the thing about the wind, you can't control it. You can hoist up your sails, but you can't control the wind. This is reminiscent of how Jesus talked with Nicodemus about those who are born of the spirit. He said, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Now, am I confident that those of us who are sailboats can never become radio operators? Not at all. It is quite possible that with enough meaningful practice, we can all become radio operators. On the other hand, I also think it is possible that our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother may choose to parent and communicate with each of us differently, just as those of us who have children sometimes communicate differently with each of them. But whether or not being a sailboat is a steppingstone to becoming a radio operator, it does seem to be the case that we often discuss the Holy Ghost and revelation using the radio operator model. Most of the general conference stories seem to be about radio operators. Most of the scripture stories seem to be about radio operators. Perhaps that’s just because they make better stories. But the end result is that most of the ways I hear revelation being discussed is using the radio operator model. And so I think it can be discouraging at times for those of us who are sailboats. We may feel like we are defective in our interactions with God. Maybe we don't have enough faith. Maybe we haven't prayed enough or read our scriptures enough or served others enough or written in our journal enough. Maybe we don't belong here – and that, I do not believe.
What I do believe is that we, in the body of Christ, all have different gifts, just like it says in the D&C. Some of us have the gift of revelation. What is unsaid in that statement is that some of us do not. It doesn't mean we can't work toward it or develop it, but for whatever reason we haven't been given that gift. The same, I believe, is true of testimonies. Some of us have been given the gift of knowing with certainty. Some of us choose to believe on their words. Some of us just know that sometimes we feel the wind helping us move in a good direction. Some of us aren’t even sure of that, but we keep hoisting our sails.
And that's the thing about the body of Christ, we can't all be the ears, clearly hearing the word of the Lord. The apostle Paul already said it. We can't all be the hands or the feet or the eyes. Some of us need to be the heart muscles, beating steadily, diligently at the right time. Some of us need to be the immune system, to fight off infection. Some of us need to be the inner ear, to give us a sense of balance. And some of us need to be stem cells, vitally important, but not yet sure what we will become.
At times, we may feel like Alma, wishing to be something that we are not. “Oh that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth." It seems wise to me to remember Alma’s follow-up: "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."
Whatever part of the body of Christ you may be, and whichever part I may be, I am glad to be here in the Pittsfield ward, to serve with and learn from you. I am grateful for the wind that has carried my sails, even if I’m not always sure it is there. Like you, I hope for the day when I will no longer see through a glass darkly, but face to face. When I will no longer know in part, but know fully even as also I am known. And I say this, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Bob Rawle
Pittsfield Ward
Pittsfield, MA
August 25, 2018
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