This week we received the question about how we can tell the difference between our own thoughts, and inspired thoughts that come from the Holy Ghost. This is a very common question for many members of the Church. So common actually, that when Elder David A. Bednar was president of BYU-Idaho he said that this question was asked more frequently than any other at family home evenings he attended with students. “In fact,” he said, “during the entire time we have been holding family home evenings with students, I cannot remember a single time when some version of this question was not asked” (BYU-Idaho Devotional, “Receiving, recognizing, and responding to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, Aug. 31, 1999).
One key to remember is that inspired thoughts are usually confirmed with inspired feelings. D&C 8:2 teaches that the Holy Ghost tells us in our mind and our heart; there is a connection there. When ideas come to our mind that are accompanied by powerful feelings in our heart from the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23), then it is usually an indicator that what we are thinking is right. This powerful connection to the heart is an indicator of inspired thoughts. To help us decipher whether or not our thoughts are in harmony with the gospel, we have put together a few “tests” that can help evaluate the appropriateness of what we are thinking:
