MRKH

I’ve always been a little weirded out by the notion that this or that thing “offends the spirit.” The image seems more befitting of a gossipy old lady. How does the idea of the offended spirit getting up and walking out in a huff square with Elder Bednar’s idea that it’s your own fault if you get offended?

Same thing about the spirit going to bed at midnight. No way the spirit is that square.

14: No, Rocking Eve does not get an exception because Dick Clark has obviously made some kind of pact with the devil which keeps him from aging. Either that, or he is a robot.

Give me your top five. Being up past midnight is, of course, a tongue in cheek reference to the common joke about the Holy Ghost going to bed at midnight which parents tell their teenagers. I stand by “violence in movies” as a real one though.

Vulgarity, profanity, immodesty, violence in movies, and being up past midnight are examples of things that we commonly refer to as “offending the spirit.”

Violence in movies? Being up past midnight? Are those really in the top 5 of things that offend the spirit?

“The part that I want to emphasize is the personal nature of the interaction…The spirit deals with me on a very personal basis.”

People report different sensations while experiencing the Spirit. For instance, I experience an energy running that runs up my spine sometimes to the crown of my head “Kundalini” style. My son has a similar sensation but running down the spine. I wonder how varied this is.

“I love when President Eyring tells us to pay attention to the thing the spirit brings to our mind during his talk, noting that it might not even be something he says.”

Our stake president asked us to take notes during talks and promises us that the Spirit will speak to us through these notes. My notes rarely convey the talk content but by jotting down only prompted phrases, they regularly convey current useful information about my life. Try it!

BiV,

I arrived at this opinion through the sorts of considerations described in the post rather than from the scriptures. I’d be interested if anyone has ideas of where we can find scriptural support (or disagreement) with my point. The first thing that came to mind for me was:

Therefore, what I say unto one I say unto all (D&C 82:5; 93:49).

Rachel,

Curses. Why don’t I own the Footloose soundtrack. There is no rational explanation.

Just because the spirit told nephi it was okay to kill someone doesn’t mean I should approve of everyone else killing people… etc. etc.

I love when President Eyring tells us to pay attention to the thing the spirit brings to our mind during his talk, noting that it might not even be something he says.

I recall hearing that (though not from him) for the first time tens years ago at the MTC. At the time I thought, “huh.” A few days later while sitting in class, I received some distinct impressions that had nothing to do with the grammar lesson going on; it was the coolest experience I had at the MTC as it was the first time I could distinctly put my finger on “feeling the spirit.”

I’ve heard the same idea repeated since and think it’s right on.