An Honorable Friend

Yesterday at church, one of the speaker's words really touched me. I won't discuss his whole talk, but I do want to post one of the brief themes he talked about.

He read from D&C 121:37 -He then told us that the Holy Spirit is like a good and honorable friend. One who loves us and wants the best for us. He is there to give advice, comfort, and cheer. Unfortunately, though, just as with our earthly friends, our actions may offend him. And like any good and honorable friend, he will first prod us a little, pointing us toward the right.

If we persist in our wrong doing, he will try harder to get us to do right. Eventually, though, just as with a friend, our stubborn persistence can offend him. He will be unwilling to follow us any further in forbidden paths. At that point, he will withdraw.

But, also, as an honorable friend, the moment we repent, the moment we say we are sorry, he is there to celebrate our decision. As the angels rejoice in heaven over our return (Luke 15:10), so does our friend. His presence returns, and he becomes again our source of counsel and direction.

I had not thought about the Holy Ghost in this way before, but it does make sense. If Christ is able to refer to us as friend (D&C 84:77; John 15:13-14), then it makes perfect sense that the Holy Ghost, who is united with Christ in purpose, would also be our friend.

This line of thought provided me fruitful scripture study.

In other news, I baked a Halloween cake (in direct contradiction to the last post):