Following the Holy Ghost.
Is there anything more important in this life?
I would say no.
I taught primary for years and years. As often happens in primary classes, the teacher will take some time at the beginning for “apples and onions” or the kids can share something good and something bad that happened to them during the week.
I didn’t like to doing that. Rather I would ask the kids to tell me an experience where they felt the Holy Ghost. It gave the kids an opportunity to associate feelings and experiences with the Holy Ghost. Sharing and expressing them with the class led to some pretty amazing conversations.
There were always those kids who didn’t want to share anything, but there were those times that kids shared incredibly profound spiritual experiences. We all ought to look for those interactions with the Holy Ghost in our lives.
For me, when too much time passes without those feelings, my spirit feels weak, my days feel burdened, and I long for the refreshing uplifting influence the Holy Ghost gives.
What are things I can do the more regularly to feel the Holy Ghost? First I need to recognize it. So, maybe take time each day to note when I have felt the influence, when I felt inspired, when I felt my words or deeds were inspired, when I felt the fruits of the spirit. Maybe this could be written, maybe it could be recapped daily in prayer.
Honestly, I look at my life and see all my imperfections. I have not been as consistently faithful at seeking and following the Holy Ghost as I ought to have. But, every day is a new day and an opportunity to improve.
I can say that as passionate as I was with this focus in primary, I was less consistent at home where I should have been equally diligent at teaching my own children to feel the Holy Ghost. It’s easy to ge into a habits and routines that are good, when they could be better or best.