I will tell you in your heart and in your mind, by the Holy Ghost

Elder Bednar told the following story at a Ricks College Devotional in 1999, "I once was traveling to a stake conference assignment on a small and noisy commuter airplane. Seated in the row just in front of me on the plane was a woman with three young children ranging in age from an infant to a four-year-old. Because the plane had only two seats on each side of the center aisle, the mother was situated quite some distance from her oldest child, a cute little boy who obviously was flying on an airplane for the very first time. His nose was pressed firmly against the window so he would have a good view of everything that was taking place, and he delighted in describing what he was seeing to his mother as the engines started and as we taxied down the runway for takeoff. The little boy’s eyes were wide and his voice was full of excitement as the plane climbed into the sky.

During all of this time, however, the mother was busy with the two youngest children, getting them buckled into their seats, finding toys, and responding to their needs and requests. The mother consistently had been responding to the little boy’s enthusiastic exclamations in a calm, soothing voice. But because of the noise of the engines and the clatter of the small airplane, the little boy could not hear his mother’s responses. After we had been in the air for about five minutes, and thinking that his mother was not paying adequate attention to him, the little boy blurted out, "Mom, you’re not listening to me!"

I then observed a very interesting thing. The wise mother continued to respond and talk to her son in the same calm tones, never raising her voice. Eventually the little boy was able to hear his mom’s voice in spite of the engine and other noises on the plane. The mother’s voice did not change; rather, the little boy’s ability to hear her voice in the midst of the noise increased. It took some time, but the little boy learned how to block out the distracting noises around him and focus upon the familiar voice of his mother."

I think there are two parts to this lesson:

• First, what does the Holy Ghost feel like.
  
• Second, how can we block out the distracting noises around us so we can hear and recognize the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost: (these are the scriptures directly from the lesson)
D&C 6:22:23, D&C 8:2, D&C 9:8-9, D&C 11:12:13

Many of the scriptures were given as revelations to Oliver Cowdery. The Lord was teaching him in a kind and loving manner how he speaks to his children.

What can we do to stay in tune with the Holy Ghost.

Elder Bednar gave these four principles:

1. We must desire the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
2. We must invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
3. We must heed simple promptings.
4. We must heed promptings quickly.

When I was a missionary, we tried to teach others how to feel and recognize the Holy Ghost. When you are a missionary, you always have the spirit with you, so sometimes it is difficult to tell when it is there. My dear mission president, told us one way we can tell if the spirit is present: we learn more about the gospel. President Eyring taught that every time we feel the influence of the Holy Ghost we change, and draw nearer to our Heavenly Father.

So how do you feel the spirit? More importantly, how do you stay in tune with the spirit.