Let me offer an insight from electronics. There is something called a signal-to-noise ratio. I first experienced this while driving across Nevada in a car with an old analog radio dial. The tuning display was not very accurate and it could be difficult to find the station you wanted to listen to. We would leave the Salt Lake City area on the way home from college and listen to KSL radio as we drove into the salt flats and the desert. At first the radio signal was easy to hear and easy to tune in. We could enjoy music or news broadcasts. Then, as the miles accumulated, we would hear roughly equal parts static (noise) and radio station (signal). Finally, the signal would get so weak that all we could hear was static. In fact, it became impossible to find KSL, if you were not already listening to it, when the signal was weak on that old radio with a knob for tuning. When the signal-to-noise ratio is high we can lock on to a strong signal because it dwarfs the static. When the signal-to-noise ratio is low, like when we are distant, it can be very difficult to tune in to the radio signal through the static. But, over time, I learned just where on the dial to find KSL, even when the signal was weak.
Life is noisy. The Spirit is a still, small signal that whispers through the noisy static of life. It is important to learn how to tune in to the Spirit even when the noise of life's challenges makes it difficult. The time to really learn to hear the voice of the Spirit is not during difficult times, but in times of peace and quiet and the spiritual signal-to-noise ratio is high. Then, we are prepared for the times in life that seem filled with static. I would like to suggest an approach to prayer in order to learn to hear the voice of the Spirit. Then, we will be better prepared for those times when we really need to be able to tune in to the Spirit through life's difficulties.
Pray to know the truth of the teachings of the prophets. Here are three examples:
Oliver Cowdery met Joseph Smith and heard the message of the restoration. It seems that he prayed to know if these things were true. The Lord said to Oliver (in section 6:22-23), "cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?"
Nephi heard his father begin to cry repentance in Jerusalem and saw the people turn against his father. It seems that Nephi struggled to know the truth of the words of his father. He says (in 1 Nephi 2:16), "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."
Regarding the Book of Mormon, Moroni invites us (in Moroni 10:4-5) to, "ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."Notice the result of praying and asking God about the truth of His words. It is peace to your mind, a softened heart, and an increased ability to believe. And, by this you will know the truth. This is accomplished through the power of the Holy Ghost. This is an experiment that can be repeated as often as we like. Choose any principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ask God if it is true, with real intent to accept and act upon the answer, and you will find that you will feel peace in your soul and a softened heart with an increased ability to believe. This is the voice of the Holy Spirit. Repeat this often enough and you will have a strong testimony of all of the principles of the Gospel and, importantly, you will know how to tune in to the voice of the Spirit in time of need.
Prayer is as simple as, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find." Let me just expand that to say, ASK God to manifest the truth of the words of His prophets and you will receive peace and a softened heart that will increase your ability to believe. SEEK in the words of the scriptures and you will find the next principle to ask about. Repeating this simple process during times of relative quiet will increase your ability to tune in to the voice of the Spirit in times of need.
The analogy to KSL radio signals as you head from SLC or Provo to California can actually be extended to reinforce your later observation.
ReplyDeleteKSL is (or at least was at the time of your undergraduate travels) a clear channel station. Nonetheless, during the daytime, the solar rays agitate the atmosphere sufficiently that the interference or white noise element becomes more prominent in the signal-to-noise ratio as we distance ourselves from the signal source, and ultimately, all you get is the noise.
As we are learning to perceive the impressions of the spirit, it is helpful to begin when the signal-to-noise ratio is high, as you said. I have noted that after the sun sets, the atmosphere, and particularly the ionosphere, return to calm, so that the signal to noise ratio stays fairly high, even at long distances of 500 miles. Analogously, there are quiet times during our early morning, late night, or even during our dreams when we are prone to have less clutter from the noise of life so that we are more able to perceive the signals from the Spirit. Yes, the signals may be equally strong throughout the day and night, but the noise isn't.
Thank you for your thoughts regarding receiving answers to prayers. Your signal-to-noise ratio metaphor is interesting. Let me add to it. There is a signal modulation scheme (actually several related schemes) called spread-spectrum modulation that are used for secure communications. It is used by the military to prevent jamming and eavesdropping. Signals that contain information, such as voice, are narrow-band signals, since the frequency range, such as the KSL signal, is relatively small. That's why each radio station is assigned a frequency band over which it can broadcast. Such a signal is easily jammed and anyone can tune it in. One popular spread spectrum approach is called code division multiple access (CDMA). Each broadcaster is assigned a code that spreads its narrow-band signal over an extremely wide range of frequencies. Essentially, it embeds the signal in the noise background. The receiver, who has the same code, can de-spread the signal and recover it, but no one else is even aware of the signal's existence.
ReplyDelete"So here is my rather lame but maybe useful take on this. I don't know what the spiritual analogue to frequency might be, but suppose that when we receive the Holy Ghost we are supplied with the spiritual "code" with which we can "de-spread" the signal that the Holy Ghost is communicating to us --- the still small voice. Satan cannot eavesdrop and no one can jam the signal, but we need to use the code in order even to know that a communication is being sent.