Topics / Godhead
A person, a gift, and several distinct manners of speaking
The Holy Ghost
A member of the Godhead rather than an influence, and the difference matters for how a person expects to be spoken to. This topic covers what He is, what the gift confers, and the specific channels scripture describes.
20 min2 sections
Person, and gift
Three things are commonly run together and are distinct: the Light of Christ, given to every person born; the influence of the Holy Ghost, which anyone can feel; and the gift of the Holy Ghost, conferred by the laying on of hands after baptism, which is the right to His constant companionship.
| Who has it | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| The Light of Christ | Every person born into the world | Moroni 7:16–19; John 1:9; D&C 84:46 |
| The influence of the Holy Ghost | Anyone, on occasion — Cornelius before baptism, for instance | Acts 10:44–48; Moroni 10:4–5 |
| The gift of the Holy Ghost | Those confirmed by authority after baptism | Acts 8:14–17; Articles of Faith 1:4; D&C 20:41 |
15Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
The New Testament pattern the Restoration recovered: baptism and the gift are two ordinances, and the second requires authority.
How He speaks
2Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
3Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.
- In the mind and in the heart — both channels, named together, which means thought is not excluded from revelation.
- As a still small voice — the Hebrew of 1 Kings 19:12 is qol demamah daqqah, 'a sound of thin silence,' which corrects what most people are listening for.
- As a burning in the bosom, or as a stupor of thought — D&C 9:8–9 treats both as answers.
- By fruit over time — Galatians 5:22–23 gives love, joy, peace and longsuffering as the test that outlasts an impression.
- By direction rather than intensity — Moroni 7:12–17 tests the source by what it invites you toward, not by how strongly it arrives.
Principle
Revelation through the Holy Ghost is tested by its direction and its fruit, not by its intensity — which is what makes it possible to distinguish from a strong feeling.
What this topic holds
The Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit and a member of the Godhead, not an impersonal influence.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of hands after baptism and confers a right to His companionship.
He speaks to the mind and to the heart, and the test is direction and fruit rather than force.
Check your reading
3 questions01What is the difference between the influence of the Holy Ghost and the gift?
02What does the Hebrew of 1 Kings 19:12 literally say?
03What test does Moroni 7 give for the source of a prompting?
Where to go next
Sources