Recognizing the Lord's Voice: Hearing Him Part 5

Part of getting answers to our prayers, inspiration throughout life, and otherwise hearing the Lord is being able to recognize when he's speaking to us. Moroni 7:15-17 contains an overarching principle that helps me know that I am hearing Him:

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

If we examine what we are feeling, or what we perceive to be communication from the Almighty, and it brings us closer to Christ, then it is "sent forth by the power and gift of Christ." If not, then it is not. Sometimes we have experiences where we aren't 100% sure whether it is from the Lord or not, but this is a bright and clear standard we can use to rule some things out. If an experience is not uplifting, or if it causes us to distance ourselves from the Gospel, our covenants, or Christ Himself, then it is not from God.

The feelings of the Spirit are often emotional, so if we are already emotional it can cloud our judgment about a matter and make it more difficult to know that we've received direction from on high. It is helpful to step back and examine things from this guideline: is it bringing us closer to Christ? Some more specific ways of asking ourselves this question might be: is this bringing out my inner virtue? Am I truly willing to give this up if its the Lord's will? Do I feel selfish and prideful when I consider this question? Does this bring me closer to my family and loved ones? Will this help me keep my covenants? Is this in agreement with things I know are true according to the testimony I have received? Does this help me feel the Lord's love?

I know that God speaks to us; He wants us all to hear Him and listen to His voice. I know that efforts we spend towards doing so will bring us closer to Him and help us feel His peace in spite of the world.