1 Nephi 17:45 states, "Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember to the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder."
I really loved reading this scripture verse and studying it further. As I was reading this I instantly thought of the relationship that we gain with the Holy Ghost. Have we heard his voice from time to time and yet were past feeling, that we too could not feel his words? Are we inviting the Holy Ghost to be with us throughout our day? President James E. Faust of the First Presidency compared a person's worthiness of receiving the Spirit to receiving a signal on a cell phone:
"Cellular phones are used for much of the communication in our time. Occasionally, however, we find dead spots where the signal coming to a cell phone fails. This can happen when the cell phone user is in a tunnel or a canyon or when there is other interference. So it is with divine communication. The still, small voice, though still and small, is very powerful. It 'whispereth through and pierceth all things' [D&C 85:6]....Perhaps something in our lives prevents us from hearing the message because we are 'past feeling' [1 Nephi 17:45]. We often put ourselves in spiritual dead spots-places and situations that block out divine messages. Some of these dead spots include anger, pornography, transgression, selfishness, and other situations that offend the Spirit" (in Conference Report, Apr. 2004, 67-68; or Ensign, May 2004, 67).
President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, described spiritual communication:
"The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear. It is described as a 'still small voice' [D&C 85:6]. And while we speak of 'listening' to the whisperings of the Spirit, most often one describes a spiritual prompting by saying, 'I had a feeling...' Revelation comes as words we feel more than hear. Nephi told his wayward brothers, who were visited by an angel, 'Ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.'[1 Nephi 17:45]" (In Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 77; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 60).
I think that it is important that we ask ourselves whether the way we are living is inviting the Holy Ghost to be with us. He is waiting for us if we will only seek after Him and live our lives in tune with the Spirit. We must focus on recognizing that "feeling" we gain when the Holy Ghost is present. Are we listening?
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