Holy Ghost

FAIR Answers—back to home page

The Holy Ghost

Jump to Subtopic:

• The "burning in the bosom" in Mormonism as a method of determining truth

Anachronistic Holy Ghost in Book of Mormon?

Summary: Why is the Holy Ghost mentioned so many times in the Book of Mormon prior to the time of Christ (e.g., 1 Nephi 10:17) and yet in the Old Testament there is hardly any mention of the Holy Ghost, especially with regard to his mission of bearing witness of the truth?

The "burning in the bosom" in Mormonism as a method of determining truth

Jump to details:

• Question: Is a "burning in the bosom" simply a subjective, emotion-based, unreliable way to practice self-deception?
• Dallin H. Oaks (1997): "Surely, the word “burning” in this scripture signifies a feeling of comfort and serenity. That is the witness many receive. That is the way revelation works."
• Question: Why do critics of Mormonism who belong to other religions discount spiritual experiences?
• Question: Can a person "feel the spirit" while watching movies?
• Dr. Wendy Ulrich (2005): "How do the goosebumps and tearfulness I experience when someone speaks in a testimony meeting differ from the goosebumps and tearfulness I experience when the 4:00 parade begins at Disneyland?"
• Question: Can someone feel the spirit when listening to stories of apostasy?
• "Recognizing the Voice of the Spirit" (Podcast): "How can I come to know that spiritual experience is not just a product of chemical processes in the brain?"
• Question: Will our manifestation of truth from the Holy Ghost be a "spectacular" witness?
• Question: How can you know if an answer to prayer, a personal revelation, is true?
• Question: Why might someone not be able to see their spiritual impressions come to successful, obvious, and/or beautiful fruition?
• Question: Can spiritual experiences be simply willed to reality?
• Question: Can one simply decide when one feels and doesn't feel the Spirit?

The Holy Ghost is divine but does not possess a physical body

Jump to details:

• Question: Can the Holy Ghost not be fully God, because he does not have a physical body?
• Question: Will the Holy Ghost ever receive a physical body?
• Question: Did certain Church leaders claim that Joseph Smith "held the office of Holy Ghost"?

The "office of the Holy Ghost"

Summary: I have heard a few claims about certain Church leaders saying that Joseph Smith is the Holy Ghost (or "held the office of Holy Ghost"). Are there quotes or citations supporting or alluding to this somewhere?

Moroni's promise

Summary: Critics have made a variety of attacks Moroni's promise (Moroni 10:3–5): They claim that praying about the Book of Mormon is not an objective standard for determining if the book is true or not, and should therefore not be trusted. They claim that many people have read and prayed about the Book of Mormon and have either received no answer, or an answer from God that it is false.

Similar experiences

Summary: Some claim that when religious experiences of people of other faiths sound similar, it calls into question LDS spiritual experiences.

Testimony and doubt reconciliation

Summary: How can a person reaffirm their testimony when they learn disconcerting facts that may bring their testimony into doubt?