Operations of the Spirit, Part 2 of 12, Confusing Terms

Operations of the Spirit, Part 2 of 12, Confusing Terms

II. CONFUSING TERMS

Understanding who or what the Spirit is can be befuddling. So understanding the operations of the Spirit can be perplexing. The difference between the Spirit, capitalized or not, and the Holy Ghost is often blurred in general discourse, which means these terms may be either used interchangeably or differentiated. Many scriptures seem to use the terms synonymously.¹ Indeed, the scriptures use the following terms when describing the Spirit: (1) light of Christ, (2) Spirit of Christ, (3) Spirit of the Lord, (4) Spirit of God, (6) Spirit of truth, and (6) Holy Ghost.²

Five of these terms are problematic, (1) light of Christ, (2) Spirit of Christ, (3) Spirit of the Lord, (4) Spirit of truth, and (5) Spirit of God. Light of Christ is the least used in the scriptures.³ Spirit of Christ is, also, infrequently used.⁴ The Book of Mormon equates these two, seldom-used terms; so the spirit and light of Christ are synonyms, and the Doctrine and Covenants equates light of Christ with the Comforter,⁵ so both light of Christ and Spirit of Christ refer to the Comforter.

A digression is helpful to consider the use of the term light of Christ. Notwithstanding the synonymous use of these terms in the scriptures, Light of Christ is usually differentiated from the Comforter or Holy Ghost because the idée reçue of Church members says all people are born into the world with the light of Christ and cannot have the gift of the Holy Ghost until it is bestowed by priesthood authority during the confirmation ordinance following baptism.⁶

Popular opinion says the light of Christ is one’s conscience, not the gift of the Holy Ghost or the Comforter. And this has become a quasi-canonical differentiation.

This differentiation is contrary to scriptures; indeed, difficulties are encountered when one analyzes the scriptures relating to whether an individual can have the gift of the Holy Ghost before baptism and confirmation.⁷ These difficulties are latent, so they do not affect popular notions about the light-of-Christ, notions reinforced by leaders of the Church who equate the light of Christ with a conscience,⁸ even though, as noted above light of Christ is a synonym for the Second Comforter, the “promise which I give unto you of eternal life [in the Celestial Kingdom].”

There are more problems with the use of this metaphor. Light is a metaphor for knowledge—as in shedding light on a subject—so light militates in favor of concluding that light of Christ refers to the light, rather than darkness, that comes from knowing the truth; this is the sense of this phrase in the just four times light of Christ is used in the scriptures. In each instance, light of Christ is a reference to the spirit of Christ in the same way one may refer to the spirit of a person as a reference to the attributes and characteristics of that person. Every individual has a spirit that can be characterized using various descriptors: good, evil, light, dark, happy, sad, cheerful, etc. The spirit of an individual can be pervasive, as well, like the tone set in an office by either a supportive or abusive boss.

The manifestation of the spirit of one’s boss at work is easy to understand: seeing the boss in action is enough, and segue to understanding the term Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord is not discerned by being in His presence; rather, it is by the revelatory office of the Holy Ghost:

For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man, then cometh speedy destruction. . . . And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God; And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost . . . .¹⁰

On occasion, however, incorrect ideas yield to rational thought. An example is the translation of the Book of Mormon. Faithful scholars struggle with the operations of the Spirit when it comes to the how of the translation process. Not knowing how the Book of Mormon was created ¹¹has provoked scholars, both those who are and those who are not convinced of its divinity,¹² to search for an answer that explains how it was done.¹³ These searches are fascinating, of course, but unsatisfactory in the sense that they result in only translation hypotheses incapable of proof. But there is a collateral benefit. As with all attempts to gain knowledge: dots in the lithograph or pixels forming the picture of understanding are added to the how of the Spirit’s operation, the subject of this paper. Examining individual dots and pixels of information, however, is like using a loupe to look at a lithograph or zooming a digital image until it becomes pixilated. The operation of the Spirit is best understood, perhaps, by standing back to see the big picture and, then, applying that general perspective to particular instances. The general, stand-back view is presented in Part VI of this essay after the confusion of metaphors is discussed in Parts III through V.

1. E.g. Luke 4:1 (Savior being full of Holy Ghost was led by the Spirit into the wilderness); John 1:32 (John saw “the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove”); 1 Corinthians 2:12–15 (Paul compares the Spirit of God to the spirit of man in context of what the Holy Ghost teaches); D&C 50:14 (the Lord equates the Spirit with the Comforter) D&C 121:26 (“God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost”).
2. Spirit of the Lord is used twenty-two times in the Old Testament (KJV) while spirit of God appears fourteen times. The New Testament (KJV) uses spirit of the Lord five times and spirit of God seven. The Book of Mormon predominates with spirit of the Lord, thirty-five times, using spirit of God seventeen times, and spirit of Christ twice. The Doctrine and Covenants uses spirit of the Lord, spirit of God, spirit of Christ, and spirit of Christ two, three, one, and one, respectively. The Pearl of Great Price uses spirit of the Lord once and spirit of God four times. Spirit of truth appears four times in the New Testament and twelve times in the Doctrine and Covenants. Spirit of truth appears in only the book of John and the Doctrine and Covenants, four and twelve times, respectively, and it refers to both the Holy Ghost and the Savior. Holy Ghost does not occur in the Old Testament, but it appears eighty-eight times in the New Testament, ninety-two times in the Book of Mormon, about fifty times in the Doctrine & Covenants, and ten times in the Pearl of Great Price.
3. Alma 28:14; Moroni 7:18, 19; and D&C 88:7.
4. Romans 8:9, 1 Peter 1:11, Moroni 7:16, 10:17, and D&C 20:37.
5. D&C 88:3–13. This equation is provocative. Joseph Smith sent this revelation to William W. Phelps with a transmittal letter that says, “I send you the ‘olive leaf’ which we have plucked from the Tree of Paradise, the Lord’s message of peace to us; for though our brethren in Zion indulge in [bad] feelings towards us . . .we have the satisfaction of knowing that the Lord approves of us, and has accepted us . . . . History of the Church, vol. 1:316. The scripture says, “This [Second] Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life [in the] celestial kingdom; which glory is [the glory of God] through Jesus Christ his Son . . . [Jesus Christ] comprehendth all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ.”
6. Joseph Fielding Smith was a proponent of differentiation. He said,

   Now there is a difference between the Light of Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Ghost is only given to those who are baptized for the remission of their Sins and have hands laid upon their heads for the gift of the Holy Ghost. That’s a far greater blessing. But the Light of Christ will lead every soul to righteousness, to the keeping of the commandments of the Lord, if they will hearken to it. I think this Light is many times spoken of as conscience. What is it that speaks to you when you say your conscience troubles you or your conscience directs you to do this or that, maybe when you are tempted to do something that is contrary to that which is right? Well, I would interpret it as the Light of Christ that’s in you, that gives you that spirit of discernment and understanding so that you can choose the right and avoid the evil, if you will just hearken to it. But how much greater is the light that comes through the gift of the Holy Ghost! And that is the privilege given to every member of this Church by the laying on of hands after baptism.

   Joseph Fielding Smith, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1961 (October 26, 1961) at 4. The audio of this speech is available at https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/joseph-fielding-smith_tried-tested-proved/ where the forgoing quote may be found beginning at this time stamp: 21:52–25:03.

   Bruce R. McConkie put it this way:

   Christ is “the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (D&C 93:2, John 1:9.) This enlightenment is administered to all men through the Spirit of Christ, or the Spirit of the Lord, or the Light of truth, or the light of Christ—all of which expressions are synonymous. This Spirit fills the immensity of space, is in all things, and is not to be confused with the Personage of Spirit known as the Holy Ghost (or Spirit of the Lord). (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 38-54.)

   The light of Christ is the Spirit of the Lord which leads men to accept the gospel and join the Church so that they may receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Men are commanded to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.” D&C 84:44-46.) Those who hearken to this Spirit come into the Church, receiving “of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins.” (D&C 84:47-48; Alma 19:6; 26:3; 28:14.) Men are born again by following the light of Christ to the point where they receive the actual enjoyment of the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Mosiah 27:24-31; Alma 36.)

   Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966) at 446–447 s.v. light of Christ.

7. The difficulty justifying this popular idea is worth noting because it contributes to the confusion associated with different terms. The Holy Ghost is described in the Book of Mormon as a gift from the Father,

   And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.

   2 Nephi 31:12.

   Being baptized, of course, is a manifestation that one has turned to the Savior for salvation, but baptism is not set out as a requirement for the influence or gift of the Holy Ghost. Indeed, Nephi goes to some lengths to explain that the Holy Ghost comes after one, anyone, turns to the Savior as that person’s savior. “[T]he Holy Ghost . . . he received by faith on the Son of God . . . the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him . . . .” 1 Nephi 17:17.

   No one conferred the Holy Ghost on the Savior following His baptism; rather, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the form of a dove. 1 Nephi 11:27; 2 Nephi 31:9; D&C 93:15; Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32. It was akin to a gift from the Father, and there are New Testament scriptures that say the Holy Ghost is such a gift. E.g., Acts 5:32; Acts 10:38.

   A particular New Testament scripture, “And when Simon saw that through [translated from the Greek δια] laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money” for this power. Acts 8:14–20 (KJV), a scripture translated differently in the NIV, which uses the word at, one of the many different ways δια, a preposition, has been translated in th KJV. The scripture could just as easily, for example be translated, “And when Simon saw that after the laying of hands the Holy Ghost was given.” There are scriptures in the New Testament that do not necessarily say the gift of the Holy Ghost is the result of a priesthood ordinance, e.g., Acts 1:2–8 (apostles to receive power after they receive the Holy Ghost); Acts 2:4 (apostles receive the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost without laying on of hands); Acts 7:51 (the stiffnecked Jews castigated for resisting the Holy Ghost like their ancestors); Acts 10:45 (“the gift of the Holy Ghost” given to Gentiles before baptism); Acts 11:15–18 (the gift of the Holy Ghost falls upon gentiles before baptism when Peter preaches to them). The manuscript history of the Church records the reception of the Holy Ghost by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery following their baptism in May 1829. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 17–18, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 28, 2017, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/24.

   The Doctrine & Covenants says members of the church are confirmed by the laying on of hands and are then, afterward, given the gift of the Holy Ghost, but this bestowal is not by the individual confirming the convert.

   And ye shall remember the church articles and covenants to keep them. And whoso having faith you shall confirm in my church, by the laying on of hands, and I will bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost upon them.

   D&C 33:14–15.

   The term articles and covenants in the foregoing quote means D&C 20, because this is how what is now section twenty was identified then. See, The Evening and Morning Star, vol. 1, no. 1 (June 1832). http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelations-printed-in-evening-and-morning-star-january-1835-june-1836?p=1&highlight=evening%20and%20morning%20star. Individuals were baptized into the church but not confirmed by the laying on of hands—which is clearly the way one is confirmed a member—nor allowed to partake of the sacrament until they had been taught “all things concerning the church of Christ to their understanding.” D&C 20:68.

   Notwithstanding the seeming difference between confirmation by the laying on of hands and the gift of the Holy Ghost, there are scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants that imply or say, perhaps in passing only , that the laying on of hands is essential. “[T]hey shall receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, even as the apostles of old,” D&C 35:6.

   A comment by B.H. Roberts is apropos:

   It is often the case that misconceptions arise through a careless use of words, and through using words interchangeably, without regard to shades of differences that attach to them; and this in the scriptures as in other writings. Indeed, this fault is more frequent in the scriptures perhaps than in any other writings, for the reason that, for the most part, they are composed by men who did not aim at scientific exactness in the use of words. . . . [I]n scripture, and I might say especially in modern scripture, a lack of careful or precise choice of words, a large dependence upon the general tenor of what is written to convey the truth, a wide range in using words interchangeably that are not always exact equivalents, are characteristic, [like] the terms “Spirit of God,” and “Holy Ghost;” “Spirit of Christ,” and the “the Holy Ghost;” “Spirit,” and “Soul;” “intelligencies,” [sic] and “spirits;” “spirits,” and “angels.” I mention this in passing, because I believe many of the differences of opinion and much of the confusion of ideas that exist arise out of our not recognizing, or our not remembering these facts. Hereafter let the student be on his guard in relation to the use of the words “intelligencies,” [sic] “spirits,” “soul,” “mind,” etc.; and he will find his way out of many a difficulty.

   Brigham H. Roberts, Seventy’s Course in Theology, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City, Deseret News, 1907–1912) at 9.

   Saying that one receives the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands may be just sloppy language. After all, the apostles of old did not receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands according to any scripture in the bible. Still, there are verses in the Doctrine and Covenants that say those who are baptized “shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of the hands of the leaders of the church.” D&C 49:14. D&C 138:33 says the dead in the hereafter are taught about “the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.” (Interestingly and as will be discussed in a later part of this essay, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received what would be called the Melchizedek priesthood today sans the appearance of Peter, James, and John, and thereafter proceeded to bestow the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.)

   Joseph Fielding Smith, as always, was unequivocal about how one got the gift of the Holy Ghost. He wrote:

   Likewise the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of hands by one who has been officially invested with divine authority. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received this authority from Peter, James, and John who were sent to confer upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood.

   Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, vol. 4 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, Co, 1965) at 88.

8. There are many statements like the following:

   The gift of the Holy Ghost is enjoyed only by those who have been baptized and confirmed members of the Church [citation omitted]. All men and women are born with the Light of Christ or Spirit of Jesus Christ (see John 1:9; Moroni 7:16; D&C 84:46). One of the manifestations of the Light of Christ is conscience, the internal moral monitoring system by which every soul can know to choose good from evil. If a person attends to the light of conscience within him, he is further directed in righteous paths and led to greater light and knowledge. If he ignores or rejects the Spirit of Jesus Christ and lives after the manner of the world, he will eventually sear his conscience and stifle the promptings toward that which is good and ennobling. “The Holy Ghost does not strive or entice,” Elder Bruce R. McConkie has written. “His mission is to teach and testify. But those who heed the enticements and submit to the strivings of the Holy Spirit (which is the light of Christ) are enabled to receive the Holy Spirit (which is the Holy Ghost).”

   Joseph Fielding and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: Book craft, 1987–1982) at 1:303.

   Nephi does not seem to limit operations of the Holy Ghost to just those who have been baptized when describing his desire to“see, and hear, and know . . . by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him.” 1 Nephi 10:17. The Articles of Faith do say that one of the ordinances of the Church is the “Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost,” but confirmation as a member of the Church did not immediately follow baptism in the early Church. Early members would be baptized more or less spontaneously, but their confirmation had to await the exposition “of all things concerning the church of Christ to their understanding, previous to their partaking of the sacrament and being confirmed by the laying on of the hands . . . .” D&C 20:68. Perhaps, then, the “laying on of hands” for confirmation into the church is part of or a manifestation of diligently following Christ, which makes the convert accepting of the Holy Ghost.

10. 2 Nephi 26:11–13. This scripture provokes another inquiry. Must one live righteously to have the influence of the Holy Ghost. The rote answer is yes. For example a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles said the following to answer how one can have the Spirit to be with them:

    First, we strive to live worthy of the spirit.

    The Holy Ghost accompanies those who are “strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day.” [Footnote omitted.] As the Lord counseled, we must “lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better,” [Footnote omitted.] for “the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples.” [Footnote omitted.] We must always try to obey God’s laws, study the scriptures, pray, attend the temple, and live true to the thirteenth article of faith, “being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and … doing good to all men.”

    Ronald A. Rasband, “Let the Holy Spirit Guide,” general conference talk (April 2017)(bolding in original). https://www.lds.org/general-onference/2017/04/let-the-holy-spirit-guide?lang=eng.

    The implication by Rasband is that one will not have Spirit if they are not living worthily, as though the enlightenment one receives is either on or off, binary rather than analogue. Wickedness can be so complete, of course, that the Spirit will have no effect, but to suppose that the Spirit does not enlighten even when one is engaged in unrighteous behavior seems inconsistent with the office of the Holy Ghost, to enlighten the path that leads to the presence of the Father and the Son. What else is one to glean from the parable of the lost sheep, Matthew 18:12–14 and Luke 15:3–10, whom the shepherd, leaving the ninety and nine, searches out. The Holy Ghost must, in other words, be with the unrighteous to turn enlighten them so they will turn from their ways until they are so lost as to be irredeemable. The Spirit will be with a person even when they are unrighteous, in other words.

    The importance of enlightenment via the Holy Ghost for the wayward cannot be overstated. It is common in the Church for people to think that once persons are excommunicated, for example, they are deprived of or not entitled to the gift of the Holy Ghost. That the Father no longer cares enough about them to help them see the right path? That the Father via the Holy Ghost is not going to enlighten the excommunicate? That these people are left in the same state as those described in scriptures as so wicked the prophets did not intercede? See Ezekiel 24:24 (Ezekiel commanded not to intercede for the Jews); Jeremiah 14:10–12 (Jeremiah commanded not to pray for the Jews); Mormon 1:14, 17 (no gifts from the Lord, “Holy Ghost did not come upon any,” Mormon forbidden to teach). Thus, it appears that the only time the Holy Ghost is not going to enlighten a person is when they are so overwhelming wicked there is no hope so there can be no light, like a black hole absorbs all light leaving blackness, so, like the prophets who are commanded to remain mute because the people are so wicked, the Holy Ghost, likewise, may have no effect or, extrapolating from the words of Mormon, be kept from having any effect because of wickedness. Total blackness. No light. Certainly, the effect of the Holy Ghost is more or less, depending upon the willingness of an individual to accept this gift of the Father, but it is not binary.⁹ An abundance of ideas among Church members that have assumed this quasi-canonical status because they have been so frequently repeated that no one really questions them. These ideas have become the rote responses to questions, “You do not have the gift of the Holy Ghost before baptism, only the light of Christ.” Rote responses can be correct, but parroting by rote does not mean something is understood. The idea that a catechumen has only the light of Christ—a metaphor for the manifestations of the Holy Ghost—before baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost—not using the metaphor—afterward is indicative of thoughtless repetition of a learned response. Constant companionship of is another term associated with the Holy Ghost that, likewise, suffers from too much repetition with too little thought. The term for such nescience is confirmation bias, a bias that hardens one’s mind to new thoughts on a subject: new ideas just bounce off. Confirmation bias is discussed in later parts of this essay.

11. Joseph Smith never described how he translated the Book of Mormon. His most elucidating comment was recorded, apparently, at a conference of the church on October 25, 1831, in the Town of Orange, Ohio. These minutes appear in Minute Book 2 of the Far West record as copied into that minute book by Ebenezer Robinson in early 1838 from, presumably, minutes taken during that 1831 conference; this copy of what is presumed to be the original and now lost minutes of the meeting would present admissibility problems in a courtroom. The minutes, which are posted on the internet by the LDS Church as part of The Joseph Smith Papers, present a subject-matter and, therefore, summary record of the events at this conference. They have this to say about the translation of the Book of Mormon:

    Br. Hyrum Smith said that he thought the best that the information of the coming forth of the book of Mormon be related by Joseph himself to the Elders present that all might know for themselves.

    Br. Joseph Smith jr.[sic] said that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon, & also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things &c.

    http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/minutes-25-26-october-1831?dm=image-and-text&zm=zoom-inner&tm=expanded&p=4&s=undefined&sm=nonehttp:// (accessed September 16, 2013).

    Thus, the creation of the Book of Mormon is left like the creation of the world: we do know the Lord did it, but we do not know how, and He is not about to tell us until His return:

    [I]n that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things—Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose thereof . . . .

    D&C 101:32–33.

12. Many, of course, do not think the Book of Mormon is divine, that it is not something “given by or proceeding from God, having the sanction of or inspired by God,” the second definition of divine in the Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), Oxford University Press, 2009) (“OED”) s.v. divine.
13. Many, of course, do not think the Book of Mormon is divine, that it is not something “given by or proceeding from God, having the sanction of or inspired by God,” the second definition of divine in the Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), Oxford University Press, 2009) (“OED”) s.v. divine.