Tag Archive for: holy ghost

A Sure Compass

Just before setting off on my walk along Scotland’s West Highland Way this May with my missionary friends, my brother Paul and his wife Gwen gave me a beautiful gift to mark my 60th birthday: a 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔, inscribed and deeply personal.
Oftentimes, I’ve carried it with me, not always for navigation, but for what it reminds me of: direction, intention, and trust in something steady.
One of my favourite activities as a facilitator involves asking groups, sometimes 10, 20, or even 100+ people, to stand, close their eyes, and point in the direction of north.
The results are always the same: arms point in every direction.
Some are confident, many are uncertain, and only a few ever get it right.
Then I pull out a compass and show them how quickly truth is revealed when you use the right tool.
I always gift them each a small compass to keep, a simple reminder that knowing where you’re going, starts with knowing what you’re using to guide you.

What tool do you use?

In a similar manner,  I love the words of Marvin J. Ashton:
“…just as a compass is valuable to guide us out of the dense forest, so the gospel points the way as we walk the paths of life.”
There’s something insightful in that comparison.
I know that life can be full of dense forests: uncertainty, doubt, temptation, fear, distraction.
I also know that the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t eliminate these things, yet it’s my experience that it helps us move through them without getting lost.
President James E. Faust once said: “The gift of the Holy Ghost is available as a sure guide, as the voice of conscience, and as a moral compass. This guiding compass is personal to each of us. It is unerring. It is unfailing.”
Not perfect circumstances. Not perfect knowledge. But a perfect guide.
I’ve learned that you don’t have to see the whole map if you trust your compass.
Whether you’re navigating the Highlands of Scotland or the hard questions of life, it’s the same principle.
The Spirit points true. The gospel holds steady. And I’ve kept walking.
60 years with the gospel as my guide. I still face storms, but I never face them alone.
As 2 Nephi 32:5 reminds us:
“For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.”
What are you using today to find your way, and is it pointing you to True North?
If you’d like to know more, speak to a member or a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Promptings

In my prayers one morning this week, I specifically asked that I’d recognise any subtle promptings or spiritual insights that day.
Arising from my knees, I made my to do list for the day and set off getting things done.
Late morning, instead of driving to visit my mum, I felt to take a 45-minute walk instead.
After a lovely visit with mum, I set off for home.

Insightful detour

I felt to take a longer route home, a slight detour.
This route took me near the house of a dear old friend, who I hadn’t seen in a few years.
Approaching the house, I had a feeling to ring the bell, but I chose to ignore the thought.
At the front door, the thought came for the second time… “ring the bell” again, I chose to ignore the prompting.
About 5 metres after passing by the house, the prompting came the third time, much louder “Go back. Ring the bell.”
I stopped.
I turned around, walked back a few steps and rang the bell.
Once – No answer. Twice – No answer. On the third time, the door creaked open and there was my dear old friend….
“Paul” my friend said. “No, it’s Daryl” I replied.
I was ushered inside.
We visited for about an hour.

How can I help?

I listened intently and asked if there was anything I could do.
I returned the next afternoon with medications and listened again a while longer.
I know that spiritual promptings come.
We simply need to recognise them, listen intently and have faith to take action.
In one of their many “Don’t Miss This” series, David Butler and Emily Freeman call these moments “Compassionate Detours.”
Reviewing Matthew Chapter 9 they considered a day in the life of Jesus Christ.
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them.” – Matthew 9:38.
On several occasions, He stopped and ministered, compassionately to the one.
Why not look out for a compassionate detour today…
Stop long enough to heed and listen to the promptings – that always come.
In the busyness of your complex life, do you notice the needs of others?