These wildflowers that my son picked yesterday and brought home to us from a high mountaintop here in the Rockies are gracing my dining room table now. Their beautiful delicacy reminds me of the delicate workings of the Holy Ghost. Just like flowers need watering, a relationship with the Holy Ghost needs care.

I had an experience with the Holy Ghost recently. It was such a blessing to me. Over a week ago I had a cold. It started on a Monday. My nose started feeling so clogged in the evening I started feeling run down and draggy. The next day it got worse to the point that I decided to skip the evneing barbecue social I was planning on attending. The next morning, Wednesday, I canceled all my planned activities and attempted to take a nap but couldn’t ever fall asleep. I tried three different homoepathic medicines but never hit on the right one. For me and colds, it’s usually essential oils that works for me. Over 15 ago, when I had a really bad case of spring allergies that lasted for two weeks, with constant horrible running of the nose and weeping of the eyes, it was the trifecta of lemon, lavender, and peppermint essential oils that worked for me to dry me up. Even though this was a cold and not spring allergies I wanted to use that trio again but couldn’t find my peppermint. I used the lavender and lemon but without the peppermint I didn’t get the curative action.

I went to bed Wednesday night hoping I could sleep without having to go to the trouble of pulling out the humidifier, which is a pain since it’s in a high cupboard on a top shelf. (Do you have stuff like that that you dread having to go to the effort to unearth, LOL?) Fortunately, I slept well and without interruption until 5:30 AM or so. I was in that state of halfway between full wakefulness and sleep. In that fluttery state, I heard a voice in my mind tell me, “I know you looked in the kitchen cupboard for the peppermint oil and couldn’t find it, but if you will go and pull everything out of the cupboard you will find it.” It was such a distinct impression, that when I woke up, I did not forget those words. I knew the voice was God speaking to my mind through the power of the Holy Ghost. Often, I’ll be having a dream right before I wake up and as soon as I wake up, the memory of the dream is completely gone. In this case though, I distinctly remembered what was going through my mind right before I woke up.

So, after my morning prayer, I obeyed the voice. I dutifully walked to the kitchen and pulled everything out of the cupboard and what do you know, sure enough, I found the peppermint oil! It wasn’t the container I had pictured in my mind, one that I bought last year, but a different bottle of oil, one that my dear mom gave to me years ago that I had forgotten I had. I was so grateful to find it! Peppermint oil works for me on my colds by opening up all stuffiness in my stuffy nose. I went and got my lemon and lavender oils and used all three, internally and topically. Within a few hours, the cold was gone. It’s something about the three working together synergistically that knocks out my colds. When I was done with the oils, I made sure to put the peppermint back with the others for next time.

So, to return to the flower metaphor of the Holy Ghost, the way I “water” my relationship with the Holy Ghost involves a few things. 1. Drawing close to Jesus through daily prayer, scripture study, and following the truths of Jesus, i.e, keeping my baptismal covenant, 2. Repenting and asking forgiveness when I goof up, 2. Recording the impressions I get from the Holy Ghost daily, and 3. Acting on the impressions and then writing down the results. Rinse and repeat. If I don’t do these things, the delicate relationship withers away like flowers drying up, and I don’t feel ALL the bounteous, joyful, beautiful blessings of having the Holy Ghost in my life that I otherwise could.

I’m so grateful that we have this opportunity, this potential, to know the truth of all things through the power of the Holy Ghost. Granted, it probably won’t happen all in mortality. God knows everything. I don’t think any mortal has ever attained or ever will attain all the knowledge that God has. We can, however, tap into the mind of God, and know the things that He wants us to know, everything that is expedient for us to know, through the power of the Holy Ghost. It’s such a tremendous gift!

Here are some scriptures about the Holy Ghost I want to always remember, copied and pasted from this page over here from The Guide to the Scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“[The Holy Ghost is] The third member of the Godhead (1 Jn. 5:7; D&C 20:28). He is a personage of Spirit, not having a body of flesh and bones (D&C 130:22). The Holy Ghost is often referred to as the Spirit, or the Spirit of God.”

“The Holy Ghost performs several vital roles in the plan of salvation. (1) He bears witness of the Father and the Son (1 Cor. 12:3; 3 Ne. 28:11; Ether 12:41). (2) He reveals the truth of all things (John 14:26; 16:13; Moro. 10:5; D&C 39:6). (3) He sanctifies those who have repented and become baptized (John 3:5; 3 Ne. 27:20; Moses 6:64–68). (4) He is the Holy Spirit of Promise (D&C 76:50–53; 132:7, 18–19, 26).”

“The power of the Holy Ghost can come upon a person before baptism and witness that the gospel is true. But the right to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, whenever one is worthy, is a gift that can be received only by the laying on of hands by a Melchizedek Priesthood holder after authorized baptism into the true Church of Jesus Christ.”

“Jesus taught that all sins could be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Matt. 12:31–32; Mark 3:28–29; Luke 12:10; Heb. 6:4–8; D&C 76:34–35).”

• “The Spirit causes men to walk in God’s statutes, Ezek. 36:27.”

• “The Apostles were commissioned to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, Matt. 28:19.”
• “The Holy Ghost shall teach you all things, John 14:26.”
• “Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. 1:21.”

• “Nephi was led by the Spirit, 1 Ne. 4:6.”
• “The mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost, 1 Ne. 10:17–19.”
• “The Holy Ghost shows all things that you should do, 2 Ne. 32:5.”
• “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things, Moro. 10:5.”

• “The Holy Ghost will tell you in your mind and in your heart, D&C 8:2.”
• “The Spirit leadeth to do good, D&C 11:12.”
• “The Holy Ghost knoweth all things, D&C 35:19.”
• “The Holy Ghost teaches the peaceable things of the kingdom, D&C 36:2 (D&C 39:6).”
• “If ye receive not the Spirit, ye shall not teach, D&C 42:14.”
• “The Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and the Son, D&C 42:17 (1 Cor. 12:3; 3 Ne. 11:32, 35–36).”
• “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, D&C 46:13.”
• “Whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, D&C 68:4.”
• “The Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things ye shall say, D&C 100:8.”
• “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, D&C 121:45–46.”
  

Want more stories about the Holy Ghost?

Here is a story of the Holy Ghost working in my life when we visited NYC. Skip to point #4 if you don’t want to read the other stuff. Point #4 tells the story of the Holy Ghost directing me when I almost got lost with my son and two little grandsons in Manhattan. The Holy Ghost saved us from getting lost!

Here is where I shared two stories from members of my church who shared them at one of our church meetings where they felt the power of the Holy Ghost.

Over here is where I share a story from the mission for one of my sons, the same one who brought home the flowers at the top of this post. He served in Texas and felt the Holy Ghost prompt that he and his missionary companion were to take their laptops to a teaching appointment. In the same post I share a time when I felt someone responded to the Holy Ghost to minister to me after I prayed desperately to God for help.

Then over here I repeat that story about my neighbor ministering to me, plus share a bunch more stories of the Holy Ghost working in my life.

In my Celestial Family Devotionals Ebook, found here, you can read stories of other people feeling the power of the Holy Ghost, in the January section.