Spencer did a great job on his first talk and I just wanted to save this for posterity:
I was going to start off with a joke that was so funny your hair will fall out.(look back)but I think Brother Vaughn has already heard it. My name is Spencer Gruwell. For those of you that don’t know me, I am 12-years old. I love to draw, skate-board and cook. I love sports, especially basketball and football. Last year, I was nominated to play in the all-star game for football. I was ranked #1 in the league and I was going to start at quarterback. As you can imagine, I was super excited. Then my mom read the e-mail and told me the game was on a Sunday, but the decision was up to me. Play in the game or keep the Sabbath day holy. Even though I was really sad to miss out on the opportunity, I decided not to play. Something was telling me not to go. It was the Holy Ghost. I felt really good on inside. I wouldn’t have that bad feeling in my stomach. A year later, I don’t regret not playing at all. Scripture 2 Nephi 32:5 If you follow the Holy Ghost, He will guide you to the right things you need to do. In this case, it was a football game, but He helps me in my daily life as well. Elder Walter F. González-shared the following analogy in last October’s General Conference. Today, surrounded by so much information, we might think that navigating millions of web pages will give us all that we need to know. We can find good and bad information on the web, but information alone is not enough. God has given us another source for greater knowledge, even knowledge sent from heaven. Our Heavenly Father can give us such knowledge when we navigate the celestial web in our hearts and minds. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that he had “the oldest book in [his] heart, even the gift of the Holy Ghost.” We access this celestial source when we do things such as reading the scriptures, hearkening to the living prophet, and praying. It is also important to take time to be still and feel and follow the celestial promptings. When we do this, we will “feel and see” things that cannot be learned with modern technology. Once we have some experience in navigating this celestial web, we will discern the truth, even when reading secular history or other topics. The honest seekers of truth will know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost. I used the internet every day, there are probably a lot of false things that you would never have even thought of. You cannot believe everything you read on the internet. I need to use the power of the Holy Ghost to seek answers as well. We can access this gift by prayer, choosing the right, scripture study, going to church etc. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. said: “When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is the Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase”. If you see an angel, you’ll be very strong temporarily, but later you’ll forget. However, the impressions of the Holy Ghost will stay longer. In six years, I will go on a mission where I will teach the gospel. If I know everything about the church, but I don’t have the Spirit with me, I will not be an effective missionary. In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin preaches to his people with the Spirit. We can read their reaction in Mosiah 5:2 The people felt the Spirit when he spoke and they stopped being evil.
I was going to start off with a joke that was so funny your hair will fall out.(look back)but I think Brother Vaughn has already heard it. My name is Spencer Gruwell. For those of you that don’t know me, I am 12-years old. I love to draw, skate-board and cook. I love sports, especially basketball and football. Last year, I was nominated to play in the all-star game for football. I was ranked #1 in the league and I was going to start at quarterback. As you can imagine, I was super excited. Then my mom read the e-mail and told me the game was on a Sunday, but the decision was up to me. Play in the game or keep the Sabbath day holy. Even though I was really sad to miss out on the opportunity, I decided not to play. Something was telling me not to go. It was the Holy Ghost. I felt really good on inside. I wouldn’t have that bad feeling in my stomach. A year later, I don’t regret not playing at all. Scripture 2 Nephi 32:5 If you follow the Holy Ghost, He will guide you to the right things you need to do. In this case, it was a football game, but He helps me in my daily life as well. Elder Walter F. González-shared the following analogy in last October’s General Conference. Today, surrounded by so much information, we might think that navigating millions of web pages will give us all that we need to know. We can find good and bad information on the web, but information alone is not enough. God has given us another source for greater knowledge, even knowledge sent from heaven. Our Heavenly Father can give us such knowledge when we navigate the celestial web in our hearts and minds. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that he had “the oldest book in [his] heart, even the gift of the Holy Ghost.” We access this celestial source when we do things such as reading the scriptures, hearkening to the living prophet, and praying. It is also important to take time to be still and feel and follow the celestial promptings. When we do this, we will “feel and see” things that cannot be learned with modern technology. Once we have some experience in navigating this celestial web, we will discern the truth, even when reading secular history or other topics. The honest seekers of truth will know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost. I used the internet every day, there are probably a lot of false things that you would never have even thought of. You cannot believe everything you read on the internet. I need to use the power of the Holy Ghost to seek answers as well. We can access this gift by prayer, choosing the right, scripture study, going to church etc. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. said: “When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is the Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase”. If you see an angel, you’ll be very strong temporarily, but later you’ll forget. However, the impressions of the Holy Ghost will stay longer. In six years, I will go on a mission where I will teach the gospel. If I know everything about the church, but I don’t have the Spirit with me, I will not be an effective missionary. In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin preaches to his people with the Spirit. We can read their reaction in Mosiah 5:2 The people felt the Spirit when he spoke and they stopped being evil.
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