Voices

I first want to apologize for the length of time since I last posted on this blog. I have had quite a few people really quite upset about it and I am sorry. My excuse is two-fold: I have been very busy at work (for which I am very grateful), and I set a goal to read the Messiah Series by Elder Mcconkie this year and this has been a bit overwhelming. His subject matter is very deep and difficult to blog about.

A couple of weeks ago a couple of books were recommended to me by a reader of this blog. Karen is a great friend and someone I highly admire. Both books are by John Pontius. The first one is “Following the Light of Christ into His Presence” and the other is “The Triumph of Zion”. I have read the first one, “Following the Light of Christ into His Presence” and have really learned from it. It is this book that is the inspiration of this post.

In the second chapter of this book is a section called “Voices”. In the June 2006 Ensign, President James, E. Faust wrote the following: “But we hear other voices. Paul said, ‘There are… so many kinds of voices in the world…’ (1 Corinth. 14:10) that compete with the voice of the Spirit. Such is the situation in the world.”

Brother Pontius writes “There are three main sources of voices in a healthy mind. The first is the voice of your own mind. You hear yourself think. You talk with yourself, discuss things with yourself, argue with yourself, berate, praise and jabber with yourself all day long. This voice is distinguishable because it is unsure, or in other words, it questions things, and is seldom decisive. It almost always asks questions. “What was that? Who said that? Why did you say that? What does it mean? Do you suppose? What would happen if? I wonder? Even when it is emphatic, it leaves open the possibility of change. “I’m definitely going to bed now- Okay?” “I’m going to town- if the car will start.” You will notice this voice usually takes the personal case; “I think I should fast today.” The Holy Ghost would have said “Fast today.”

The second voice comes from Satan’s realm. It is unlikely that we receive much attention from the king of that kingdom personally. Rather, we deal with his minions, his messengers, and his tempters. These beings have been in the business of tempting mankind as long as the earth has existed, perhaps longer. They are undoubtedly very skilled and highly motivated. Each have probably thousands of people like ourselves. They have spent thousands of years of intimate contact with mortals. They have much more experience with tempting mortals than we have in resisting it.

When we hear a voice from this source, it will be cleverly disguised and enticing. It will appeal to the natural, carnal, sensual, and devilish side of us. There is rea; intelligence in the message, the malice aforethought. They plan and plot against us, and their messages are carefully chosen.”
In the same article, President Faust says “The adversary tries to smother the voice of the Holy Spirit with a multitude of loud, persistent, persuasive, and appealing voices: murmuring voices, conjuring up perceived injustices; whining voices, abhorring challenge and work; seductive voices, offering sensual enticements; soothing voices, lulling into carnal security; intellectual voices, professing sophistication and superiority: proud voices, relying on the arm of the flesh; flattering voices, puffing us up with pride; cynical voices, destroying hope; entertaining voices, promoting pleasure seeking; commercial voices, tempting us to ‘spend money for that which hath no worth’ and our ‘labor for that which cannot satisfy…’ (2ne. 9:51), and delirious voices, spawning the desire for a ‘high’… which is death-defying experiences for nothing more than a thrill.”

Pontius continues “ A prompting from this source will nearly always be stated as an absolute. “Don’t let him get away with that. I’m too tired to pray. You deserve better. Pay him back. No one will notice. It should be yours anyway—just take it. She is your wife—not your mother. Football only happens once a year, the church can get along without you for one Sunday. She wants you—it is only natural. He loves you more than your husband, how can you not love him back?”

These promptings will always lead us away from the truth. They prompt us to disobey, not to pray, to abandon church and family responsibilities, to commit sin and walk in forbidden paths. They do not limit themselves to voices alone. They draw from the trash stored in our minds to dredge up old memories which will either lure us away from purity and virtue, or keep our minds harrowed up with memories of our sins—even after we have repented of them.

The evil ones cannot read our minds or hear our silent prayers. It seems they hear what the Holy Spirit says to us, for they respond immediately. When the Holy Spirit prompts “say your prayers,” you immediately hear, “Don’t say your prayers, you are too tired.”

“Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest the thoughts and intents of thy heart.” (D&C 6:16)

The Third source of information in our minds is the voice of the Lord through the Holy Spirit. It begins with the conscience, the light of Christ, and is a free gift. It its most rudimentary stages it is quiet urging to choose the right, to abandon wrong choices, and to seek greater truth. This voice grows in content and quality as one heeds its direction until it becomes a significant guide, and the measure of truth. Following baptism and the bestowal of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit assumes greater power and authority, and though remaining a still small voice it becomes a comfort, guide, and source of great strength as we learn to obey it.

This voice always entices us to do good, to believe, serve, pray and repent. It nearly always prompts contrary to where you were headed. If you were lying under the car on Sunday morning, it would tell you to go to church. If you were already on your way to church, it would prompt nothing, but would give a feeling of comfort and satisfaction.

The voice of conscience is easy to recognize, because it is the only one of the three which prompts to do good. These promptings come as absolute statements. The Holy Spirit would say, “Fast today.” Your mind would have said, “I wonder if I should fast today,” or “Perhaps I should fast.” Any time you have a prompting to do good, it has come from God.

Perhaps the term promptings needs clarification. A prompting is information that originates outside of one’s mind. The Holy Spirit prompts us to do good, the devil prompts to do evil. Our minds consider and analyze the promptings, and make decisions concerning them. These promptings all appear, and sound, exactly like our own thoughts, the only way to differentiate between them is the way we have already discussed. Good comes from God. Evil comes from the adversary. Questions and analysis come from within. It really is just that simple.

In Moroni 7 we read “12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.
13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.”


This section of this book was very revealing to me and clarified much in my mind. Ann and I have discussed these voices on numerous occasions but it was never very clear. I feel I have a much greater understanding now.

I know personally that I can think back on times in my life that I have heard and listened to each of these voices. I wish I could say that I have always followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit but I haven’t. I feel however that as I really try to obey the still small voice, and often write the prompting down, that I am becoming more adept at following the Holy Spirit.