Whenever I hear the gift of the Holy Ghost being discussed in church-related settings, the most prominent and sometimes only quality I hear mentioned is that baptism and confirmation results in the Holy Ghost becoming your “constant companion.”
The main benefit of this gift seems to be understood to be more revelation and greater outpourings of the spirit as compared to what is available before baptism. It is said that you can “feel the spirit” before baptism but after baptism you will have the spirit with you constantly.
What is odd to me is that all of this seems to be derived from a single verse in the Doctrine and Covenants:
“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion…” D&C 121:46
This section does mention the gift of the Holy Ghost and that God will give knowledge by his Holy Spirit.
“God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost…” D&C 121:26
But does this accurately define what the gift of the Holy Ghost actually is? I don’t believe that it does, and if this is all that we have to say about the Gift of the Holy Ghost, then we don’t understand the scriptures.
It is true that the Holy Spirit conveys light and knowledge to all of God’s children whether they have made covenants with him or not. The gift of the Holy Ghost isn’t simply about conveying information, or more information, or on a more constant basis.
Ask any member of the church if after baptism and confirmation, they experience the companionship of the Spirit constantly. That is what we say though, right? Before baptism you feel the Spirit only now and then, but after, the Spirit is with you constantly.
There was this demonstration that my mission president’s wife hated where some missionaries who were trying to explain the gift of the Holy Ghost would take a pen, remove the cap and then occasionally tap the pen with the cap saying, “This is you now, you are the pen and the cap is the Holy Spirit and every now and then you feel its influence.” Then they would confidently place the cap on the pen and say, “Then you get baptized and confirmed and the Spirit is with you all the time.” I hated this example too.
But if that isn’t what the gift of the Holy Ghost is, then what is it?
The remission of sins and the baptism of fire
When we speak of the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are talking about something specific.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is tied to the ordinance of baptism. This gift is received after baptism by the laying on of hands, and the scriptures do indicate knowledge conveyed by this Spirit:
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. – 2 Nephi 32:5
What is often left out is the part about the baptism of fire for the remission of sins which is the whole reason for baptism to begin with:
…the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. – 2 Nephi 13:17
It is summed up similarly in the Doctrine and Covenants:
And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost… – D&C 39:5-6
Jesus Christ taught the same thing in his ministry to the Nephites:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost. – 3 Nephi 11:35
Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. – 3 Nephi 12:2
Joseph Smith taught this as well:
The baptism of water, without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it, is of no use; they are necessarily and inseparably connected. An individual must be born of water and the Spirit in order to get into the kingdom of God. – Joseph Smith, TPJS at pg. 360
He want on to say that if the baptism was not done in view of what follows then it is only half a baptism and good for nothing:
You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half – that is, baptism of the Holy Ghost. – Joseph Smith, July 9, 1843, Nauvoo, IL; History of the Church 5:499
The reason that the remission of sins is associated with fire is due to God’s glory. You cannot be impure and in his presence at the same time. So when this immersion in fire or glory occurs, you will know without any question that you have a remission of sins and are clean.
Born of God, the fruit, and joy
This is what is called being “born of God.” It is possible to be a member of the church and be baptized and confirmed but not be born of God. Alma, in the Book of Mormon asked this question of his church members:
I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? – Alma 5:14
…I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again. – Alma 5:49
Being born of God involves a change of state to the individual. After being born of God himself, Alma the younger taught about the connection between being redeemed and being born of God:
…I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit. And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; […] after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God. – Mosiah 27:24, 25, 28
Later on in his life, Alma explains to his son that being born of God is equivalent to being filled with the Holy Ghost and uses language that hearkens back to the vision of the tree of life and specifically, partaking of the fruit and tasting it.
Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. – Alma 36:24
In his same sermon where he is asking the brethren of the church if they had been born of God, he ends that sermon connecting baptism being followed by partaking of the fruit of the tree of life. Where baptism by water has previously been followed by a baptism of fire, the framing here links the baptism of fire with being born of God and partaking of the fruit of the tree of life.
Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.
Being born of water involves being immersed in physical water. It is a single event in time that is distinguished by specific characteristics. You have an authorized person representing the Lord, a body of water sufficient to fully immerse a person in, and the proper words to say.
Jesus Christ personally gave the exact elements involved to the Nephites almost immediately upon appearing to them:
Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. – 3 Nephi 11:23-26
Interestingly, the instructions for conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost is not found in Jesus’ teachings to the Nephites in 3 Nephi. It does appear in the Book of Mormon, but is added later by Moroni who may have noticed that it was missing.
After explaining that he is still alive and that there is still room on the plates, he explains that he wants to include more information that he thinks will be of value and this is the first thing he writes:
The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them—And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles. Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first appearing; and the multitude heard it not, but the disciples heard it; and on as many as they laid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost. – Moroni chapter 2
The specific words are not given here, perhaps because specific words were not necessary, but Jesus does say that the Holy Ghost should be given in his name.
Today, baptism involves specific words that are very similar to what Jesus taught to the Nephites, and the laying on of hands which we call confirmation typically starts with some specific words but then what follows is typically different per person as the Spirit directs.
Just as baptism is an experience defined by specific characteristics, so is the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The baptism of fire associated with the gift of the Holy Ghost is also an experience that features several specific identifiable characteristics.
The word “fire” is important. Fire is associated with glory and God’s presence pervasively throughout the scriptures (see: Genesis 15:17, Exodus 3:2–6, Exodus 13:21–22, Numbers 9:15–16, Exodus 19:16–20; 24:16–18, Exodus 24:17, Exodus 40:34–38, Leviticus 9:23–24, Deuteronomy 4:11–12, 24, 33, 36; 5:4–5, 22–26, Deuteronomy 4:24, Psalm 97:3–6, Isaiah 4:5–6, Ezekiel 1:4, 13, 26–28, Ezekiel 10:2–4, Daniel 7:9–10, Helaman 5:23–49, 3 Nephi 17:24, 3 Nephi 19:13–14, 25, Revelation 1:14–16, Revelation 4:5, Revelation 15:2–8, Doctrine and Covenants 133:49).
The word “baptism” comes from a Greek word meaning to dip or immerse. This is very obvious with water baptism, but what about “fire” baptism? The baptism of fire involves being immersed in the glory of God, rather than water. Jesus refers to this as being “visited.”
…blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. – 3 Nephi 12:2
This visitation involves being “filled” which is a word that hearkens back to the vision of the tree of life and partaking of the fruit. When Nephi saw the tree in vision and the angel asked him if he knew the meaning of it, Nephi answered:
Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul. – 1 Nephi 11:22-23
The reason that this visitation fills people with joy is because when you are in the presence of God, you are filled with his love and joy which surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7) and is unspeakable and full of glory. (Helaman 5:44)
The mighty change of heart
Note how the heart is the target and that joy is the result. Alma the younger testified after his conversion that the Lord said to him:
Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; – Mosiah 27:25
King Lamoni’s father, after being taught by Aaron, desired to be born of God and connected it with receiving eternal life, having an internal transformation, and not being cast off, or in other words, redeemed:
What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day?
In a mass conversion incident, king Benjamin’s people cry out in one voice and say:
Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. […] whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.
Another mass conversion event with Lehi and Nephi involved a heavenly fire along with many other elements that we have observed such as being filled, hearts, glory, and speaking forth marvelous words, similar to the tongue of angels as mentioned in 2 Nephi 31:
…they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words. – Helaman 5:44-45
The prophet Mormon explains the whole process beautifully starting with baptism and what follows, a remission of sins, that changes the heart and invites a visitation of the Holy Ghost that fills the person with perfect love.
And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God. – Moroni 8:25-26
Jesus’ disciples experienced this event when they were baptized:
And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record… – 3 Nephi 19:13, 14
When someone is born of God and filled with the Holy Ghost and the love of God, they have a mighty change of heart due to the encounter. King Benjamin’s people explained that the Spirit of the Lord “wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts” (Mosiah 5:2) Alma talked about his father experiencing a mighty change of heart, and that their fathers experienced the same when he taught them and asked if they had received a mighty change of heart. (Alma 5:12-14)
Besides being filled with joy and a remission of sins, “peace of conscience” is also mentioned as a fruit of those born of God. Nephi teaches that after receiving the Holy Ghost, “then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.” (2 Nephi 31:13) Nephi taught his people further:
Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost? Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. – 2 Nephi 33:2-3
Speaking with the tongue of angels means that when the power of the Holy Ghost is upon you, it enables you to speak the words of Christ in the same way that angels do.
I think that this includes the divine beings that we generally associate with angels, but the Hebrew word commonly translated “angel” is מַלְאָךְ (malʾāḵ), meaning messenger or envoy. Its meaning depends on context: it can refer to a human messenger or to a heavenly messenger from God. Either way, each can speak the words of Christ.
You cannot endure this encounter with deity and remain unchanged. You will know how God sees you and feels about you as well as your neighbor. I cannot imagine how anyone could experience this and deny it. To do so would cause someone to become an irredeemable “son of perdition.” Having been born of God myself, imagining someone denying God afterward is inconceivable to me. I’m not surprised that those who believed in the words of Ammon “were converted unto the Lord,” and “never did fall away.” – Alma 23:6
Modern witnesses
I have already mentioned some quotes from Joseph Smith and there are many, many others from our day but I’ll leave you with these two wonderful quotes. In the first example, Benson quotes Spencer W. Kimball who mentions that there is something besides the ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands:
When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed. […] If it hasn’t happened to you—it should. Our Lord told Nicodemus that “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3.) Of these words President Kimball said, “This is the simple total answer to the weightiest of all questions. … To gain eternal life there must be a rebirth, a transformation.” Besides the physical ordinance of baptism and the laying on of hands, one must be spiritually born again to gain exaltation and eternal life. – Born of God, General Conference October 1985
In the final quote, James E. Faust talks about the importance of being born spiritually. He also mentions being baptized, confirmed, and then experiencing a remission of sins by fire and the Holy Ghost.
All of us need to be born spiritually, from 8 to 80—or even 90. When Sister Luise Wulff of the German Democratic Republic was baptized in 1989, she exclaimed, “There I was—ninety-four years old and born again!” Our first birth takes place when we are born into mortality. Our second birth begins when we are baptized by water by one holding the priesthood of God and is completed when we are confirmed, and “then cometh a remission of [our] sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” – Born Again, General Conference, April 2001
He further explains:
Those who possess the gift of the Holy Ghost after baptism and confirmation can receive more light and testimony. This is because the gift of the Holy Ghost is “a permanent witness and higher endowment than the ordinary manifestation of the Holy Spirit.” It is the higher endowment because the gift of the Holy Ghost can act as “a cleansing agent to purify a person and sanctify him from all sin.”
He concludes:
I witness that we cannot be fully converted until we “walk in newness of life” and are at heart a new person, “purged from [our] old sins.” This can only come about by being born again of the water and of the Spirit through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. In this way we receive divine forgiveness, by which we can know in our hearts that our sins are remitted.
Final thoughts
I’m going to say something controversial here that some readers may disagree with. I’ll admit that I could have an incomplete view or that some aspects of my perspective are not correct, but I think the general idea is accurate.
I think that if all that one says about the gift of the Holy Ghost is drawn from a single verse about “constant companionship” then they do not understand the scriptures, and have likely not received a baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost themselves.
This doesn’t mean that such a person is bad or hasn’t had any experiences with God, it just means that they haven’t yet had this experience. I say this because if one has received the Holy Ghost and all that the scriptures describe, then a single verse about “constant companionship” wouldn’t be the keynote of all they have to say about it.
That said, I leave you with my witness that what the scriptures and these servants of the Lord testify of concerning these things are true, because I have experienced it.
I once deeply desired redemption in Christ so, searched the scriptures. I searched and pondered like Nephi and Enos, I applied the words of Alma’s sermon in Alma 5, and I truly repented with faith in Christ.
Emptying myself, confessing my sins, and turning my whole soul over to Jesus Christ resulted in an encounter where the heavens opened and I was visited with fire and the Holy Ghost and was born of God.
Some things I can attempt to describe and other things would be impossible to articulate.
What I can say is that in the presence of God, he said “you are reclaimed” and that “nothing can ever wrest you from my arms.” I didn’t experience God’s love as a mere feeling, it is power unlike anything I can explain, the weight to it I can only describe as “crushing,” but not in the way of pain or discomfort. I know that doesn’t make sense removed from the context of the experience; we just don’t have words to precisely describe it. This is the pure love of Christ that Moroni called “charity” and that we must be “possessed of it.” I know what he was talking about. I also know what it means to be “perfect in Christ” and because of that, I “can in nowise deny the power of God.” (Moroni 10:32)
I understood how God felt about me and this completely changed me at the core, and while still in his presence another truth surfaced that expanded this experience outward and far beyond myself which caused me to utter, “Oh my God, this is how you feel about all of us.”
In the words of Ezra Taft Benson, “If it hasn’t happened to you—it should.”
A summary of the elements to look for in your own experience
Just as we know that the elements of being born of water are:
- An authorized servant
- The words of the ordinance
- Water
Being born of fire and the Holy Ghost also involves an initiatory ordinance by authorized servants whenever the Lord has organized his people into a church:
- An authorized servant
- Laying on of hands in the name of Jesus Christ
But they also involve divine interaction and elements that can precede it, follow it, or occur independently:
- Immersion in the presence/glory of God
- Knowing you have a remission of sins
- Filled with the love of God
- Filled with joy
- A mighty change of heart
- Peace of conscience
- Can speak the words of Christ with the tongue of angels
“…the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.” – 2 Nephi 2:4
