REbaptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost?

[jeffrey09]

This thread is to discuss possible RE-baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. Feel free to share any experiences of your own or others you may know about, along with any doctrinal statements/talks/quotes/etc supporting the idea if you choose. I do not know if this thread has been done before, so forgive me if it has. This post (for me anyway) is to help answer some questions I have, but its open to help anyone else as well or to just discuss it in general. I will pose a few (but not limited to) questions, then I will share an experience of my own.

1) Is RE baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost even possible?
2) Does it happen again because someone "fell away" for a time, or can it happen again and again in degrees based on worthiness and progression?
3) SHOULD we seek it? (For any of the two or more reasons above)
4) HOW do we seek it?

My personal experience:

I have not had a RE baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost but I do feel confident that I have had the initial BoFatHG. A little background info for you... my parents divorced when I was a newborn so I was partially raised in the Church and partially not. Partially, because my mother is a member. Partially not, because my father is not a member. I was baptized when I was 8, had hands laid on my head for the right to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, ordained a Deacon when I was 12, but ultimately my family went "inactive" shortly after that and I personally began to act like a heathen.

When I was about 17 I was invited to another church (Nondenominational/Pentecostal background) by a friend and I really loved it. I'll save you the chit chat about WHY I loved this church because I’ll get off topic. But needless to say, I really got into it. For the first time in my life I really felt close to my Savior. As close as I could be at the time anyway. I esp. focused really hard on trying to have an experience with speaking in tongues, which is something they emphasize. Well one Sunday service during this praise & worship I freely went to the "altar" they had and began to pray to the Lord. I can't remember now if I was praying more to Father or to Jesus Christ (darn that trinity doctrine!) Anyway, at the time it didn't really matter because my only interest was connecting with the Heavens and offering myself as a living sacrifice. For the first time in my life I genuinely gave my everything to God. I remember saying something along the lines of "You can have everything about me! My words, my thoughts, my hands and feet, everything!" This went on for a few minutes and then something extraordinary happened...

I was just standing there and I began to feel something happen around me and all the sudden my own arms wrapped around my body as if the Lord was hugging me through...me. By now I’m weeping uncontrollably. Then it was almost as if someone took an unseen spiritual blanket it and laid it over me. The best way I can explain it is when you make your bed and you lift up the comforter in the air and lay it down so it covers the whole bed- that’s what happened to me. Only it was spiritual, not an actual blanket. I also liken it to a blanket because not only was I feeling it cover my body, but I also felt it descend AROUND me. By that point I couldn't stand up anymore and just fell to my hands and knees. The second I did that, something else happened...

I began to speak in tongues. It wasn't like the gift of the Spirit when I’m communicating a gospel message to someone of another language; it was just between me and God. Don't ask me what the interpretation of it was, because I have no clue. It just happened, and there was nothing I could do about it. No one could hear me but myself. But as this was happening I could actually think in my mind "is this really happening? Jeff, try and shut your mouth. Try and stop" but for the life of me I just couldn’t stop. It was so spiritual for me.

After I stopped speaking in tongues I instantly started saying "Thank you Jesus" over and over again. I was so grateful for that experience. I remember finally opening my eyes and I realized I was laying face down on the floor. I had tears and snot all over me, and I’m sure someone noticed, but I didn't care. I just had the best experience of my life. I stood up and I remember feeling so...sinless. So pure and innocent as if I were cleansed completely from the inside out. I walked around all day like I was on Cloud 9. To this day I will NEVER forget it nor deny it.

But now I have a few problems... One, at that time this church (remember it’s of Pentecostal background) really only cared about the fact that I spoke in tongues. They call the experience I had "Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost" as well, especially because it was accompanied with tongues (which is a major doctrinal point in their theology) However, I was never briefed on the actual cleansing part. So for about a week after that I continued to live my life as if normal. I didn’t understand that it was more about the cleansing then the speaking in tongues. Which was unfortunate, because I didn’t take my experience serious enough and I began again to do the things I did as a heathen.

About two years later I started to go back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Why would I after an experience like that? Well even though I was being a heathen, I also had times where I was doing very well. Studying, praying, fasting, worshipping, preaching, etc. So during those good times, I realized some things about that church that didn’t make sense to me. For example, they believe in prophets and apostles, but there are literally thousands of them across the world. And none of them meet in a quorum or even know each other for that matter. I noticed all the many churches in the world and how they all taught different things. Anyway, I had questions and I couldn’t find them, I began to investigate the LDS Church, and came I eventually came back. I am now 23.

Now here are my final remarks. I REALLY wish I would have had this Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost while I was actively in the LDS Church. Because now I have a hard time accepting if it was the same experience the LDS church teaches. And if so, why did I experience it in the Pentecostal church and not when I re committed myself in the LDS church? Also, it’s been on my heart the past year to RE experience the BoFatHG now that I’m in the LDS Church. Mainly because 1) I’ve done plenty of these to lose the Spirit in my life and I feel as if I’ve lost a part of the gift I received in the initial experience 2) I’m in the LDS church now 3) I want to be back to feeling like I’m on the right path again.

What say ye? I may not have explained something good enough, so feel free to ask any questions. What are your thoughts about my experience or this topic in general? BTW, if you read this whole thread, Kudos’s!! I’m truely sorry it was a long one. :ymblushing: (-| ;)

Love you all!

[pjbrownie]

I think so. God is peculiar in that I believe he can give manifestations (according to their knowledge). It has been stated that the Gift of Tongues is the easiest gift of the Spirit for Satan to copy and make real. Food for thought.

[jeffrey09]

No doubt. I've seen it ;) I'm wondering if because I was baptized already I was allowed that experience. Maybe it wasn't about the Church as much as it was about wanting to be close with my Savior? Which I think is a "prerequisite" to having such an experience even if you're in the Church. I know Brighams brother (and many others) had an experience with the Spirit world before he joined the Church. After he joined the Church his experience was confirmed and made more sense. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Zathura]

We can have this experience more than once in our lives. I have had it 3 times.

My first time was when i was 17 and was struggling with depression,and many other problems I was also inactive,and wasnt obeying some commandments. I didnt know what else to do and I started to pray and cry begging God for help,and after about 15 minutes i experienced exactly what you explained,as if someone was hugging me tightly,and i was filled with pure joy,and fire throughout my whole body and i couldnt help but cry and thank God. At that time,I didnt know what it was.

I had the same thing happen again on my mission after praying for a long time,and I still didnt quite understand what it was. It wasnt til later in the mission that I started to understand and learn what The baptism by fire was,that God revealed to me through revelation that those 2 experiences was the baptism by fire. I was filled with this desire to have it again,and so i searched and studied all of the conversion stories in the Book of Mormon every day ,asking God for The baptism by fire,and a remission of my sins.

Its quite a long story,but long story short,The Lord gave me exactly what I desired,and I was baptized by Fire,and it was the first time i had recieved it KNOWING exactly what it was,having asked specifically for it. If you want to know more details you can send me a message!

I believe that different blessings come with this baptism by fire each time. I can say that the first 2 times I didnt have peace of consciousness,and it wasnt until the 3rd time that The Spirit truly remained with me for weeks,and I had a constant burning in my chest,I truly had no desire to sin,The Lord completely changed my heart and I was born again. There are many details that I´d like to understand about The baptism by fire and conversion and im still searching to completely understand it!

I hope this helped!

[Zathura]

Also,from what i have searched a read,the only people that i have ever met that have had This Baptism by Fire and felt exactly what i felt,and afterwards felt The nonestop presence of The Holy Ghost for a long period of time are people that had already been baptized and confirmed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When we are confirmed,we are told to seek to recieve The Holy Ghost,we dont passively recieve it just because 4 words were spoken. The Baptism by Fire is the promised reception of The Holy Ghost.

[TannerG]

This is a question I've been asking myself all week. While I have never spoken in tongues I have felt the cleansing portion during some spiritual experiences. Yet, as I study the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost (in the scriptures, not necessarily from the modern lds perspective) I see that I have not obtained every aspect of it. My friend pointed out yesterday that birth and rebirth are more than one simple events. A human baby takes about nine months of growing before the potentially painful hours of labor required to be born. I'm sure there is significance to that.

At any rate, I don't doubt your experience in the least. It might have been necessary for you to experience what you did in the Pentacostal church and not in an lds chapel (hopefully Annalea will be here soon to back that up).

If you have been reborn, maybe you should focus now on growing to the full stature of your spirit seeking to have your calling and election made sure.

PS it's nice to see another 23 year old on the forum

[jeffrey09]

Thank you Stahura and TannerG! I really appreciate both your comments.

@Stahura! I'm going to PM you, thanks for letting me know I can do that. I want to reiterate something you said, so everyone can see it as well and have hope it can happen more than once. You said "I was filled with this desire to have it again, and so I searched and studied all of the conversion stories in the Book of Mormon every day ,asking God for The baptism by fire, and a remission of my sins...It's quite a long story, but long story short, The Lord gave me exactly what I desired, and I was baptized by Fire, and it was the first time I had received it KNOWING exactly what it was, having asked specifically for it"

I loved that you testified it CAN happen more than once and that you experienced it again because you SPECIFICALLY asked for it. That's exactly what I had hoped to hear.

@TannerG! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and letting me glimpse into some of your experiences. I too believe that going through the Pentecostal church was necessary. One example why is... because their teachings on gifts of the Spirit, Apostles and Prophets, etc really helped prepare me to gain a testimony with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I KNOW I wouldn't have came back if I didn't understand those things like I did. So I believe that was a means for the Lord to get me to open my eyes and come back.

I too am glad I'm not the only 23 year old on here. I specifically put my age out there to see if there was anyone else my age

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[taliesin]

Hi Jeffrey - I also live in Columbus, Ohio. I've been here for 8 years. But I'm a little more than 50% older than 23. By that I mean that I'm 36.

My understanding is that it is possible to experience the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost more than once. I would say that I have experienced it at least twice - once at age 9 1/2, again at age 19 1/2 (the second time while on my mission). So I just said a prayer in my mind asking if I have really experienced it at least twice and the immediate answer was 5. So I've experience it twice where I could recognize it fairly easily, and apparently 3 times where it was not as easy to recognize it as such. The experience can range from being almost imperceptible and lasting just a few seconds to seeing Christ, angels and the spiritual fire and feeling like you are spiritually on fire for several months. It is the change from being a Telestial being to a Terrestrial being. The next major spiritual milestone is calling and election made sure, which has more to do with going from a Terrestrial state to a Celestial state (Celestial = Sanctified = Holy = Heavenly; those are typically all equivalent adjectives in the scriptures).

The fact that baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is between you and God and not between you and any particular church makes me believe that your first experience in the Pentecostal church was a valid BFHG experience since it was, as you said, about you and God being connected. I hope the best for you as you continue your spiritual journey.

[TZONE]

Yes. You do not even have to be a church member to receive it. Joseph receiived it before he was ever a member. Likewise countless examples in the book of mormon. (keep in mind you are not a member until you are confirmed) Baptism does not make you a member of the LDS church.

[jeffrey09]

@Taliesin that's awesome you live in Columbus! I'm glad to see other like minded members near me. Hopefully I'll get to know more about you. Also, thank you for your comments. I agree it's all between the person and God.

@TZONE you said some interesting things. I've always acknowledge that being baptized doesn't make you a member. However, except for a few instances in scripture, I've never thought about receiving the BoFatHG without first having hands laid on your head for the Holy Ghost. I say that because in the Church today you're baptized, confirmed a member, THEN they say "receive ye the Holy Ghost". So confirmation comes first. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the challenge!

[HeberC]

This is a topic that is always interesting to me.

When it happened to me, I didn't know what it was but it didn't start until I knelt on the ground. Then it happened suddenly and it lasted until I got off my knees. I had the impression that it would have continued as long as I remained on my knees. I was 23 or 24 at the time and a nonmember. I was changed but if I had had the earthly ordinance of the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, maybe the feeling would have continued for a long time, like Stahura said. The feeling was so intense that it would have been redundant for a less intense feeling to continue for a week or two. The burning filled me and surrounded me. It was even more intense in my heart. The message was clear; Heavenly Father heard my prayer, he would answer me, soon, and Jesus Christ is real. That's all I asked for. Some keys of knowledge I had regained from before this life formed a foundation, the BFHG acted as mortar (more than just that, really), then came the gospel principles from the missionaries. I am most grateful for this.

It's nice to know it can happen to me again.

[jeffrey09]

Thanks, HeberC! I share the same experience with you when you say " I didn't know what it was but it didn't start until I knelt on the ground. Then it happened suddenly and it lasted until I got off my knees. I had the impression that it would have continued as long as I remained on my knees".

I can relate to every word in that quote. Esp having the impression it could have lasted longer. Let's experience it again, brother.

[JaredAlmond]

Time doesn't exist in eternity. In reality, time is temporal and part of our illusion. The Spirit doesn't exist within the constraints of time. The Spirit exists in the present. Spiritual experiences are beyond time which is why it is absolute reality to think of a previous spiritual experience and re-experience the event in the present. It is possible to be uplifted and increase your frequency when you ponder and relive experiences that you have had with Heaven.

[jeffrey09]

JaredAlmond, that was quite the digest. It was plain and simple to read, but I'm an even similar man, so I had to re read it a couple times :p I've read all your statements before individually, but never all together like that. I'm tracking that we are currently living IN eternity. I'm tracking that we can relive or reexperience spiritual things. But help me understand how "The Spirit doesn't exist within the constraints of time. The Spirit exists in the present" comment ties in with a reexperience. Can you re word that please?

[TZONE]

JaredAlmond, that was quite the digest. It was plain and simple to read, but I'm an even similar man, so I had to re read it a couple times :p I've read all your statements before individually, but never all together like that. I'm tracking that we are currently living IN eternity. I'm tracking that we can relive or reexperience spiritual things. But help me understand how "The Spirit doesn't exist within the constraints of time. The Spirit exists in the present" comment ties in with a reexperience. Can you re word that please?

Im not him but I will stab at it.

What WE think the order must be, may not be the order of heaven. For example Joseph saw God at age 14. The scriptures say no man can see god and live without hte priesthood (fulness of hte priesthood). Therefore Joseph at age of 14 had priesthood else he could not live. However he was/still received the outward ordinance of being ordained by man. Though both are neccesary, the order can vary and are not dependent on each other.

So one can receive the BFHG before baptism, if it were not so, Lamoni could not have been washed clean from his sins when he layed dead on the ground and woke up a new man having had experiences with the divine. That is just one example.

Two ordinations are required, By God, By Man. By God bestows the spiritual blessings, man bestows the temporal visible ordinance. In the church we rush to get the outward, while neglecting the inward. Or as I hear members say, you receive the holy ghost when its pronounced "receive the holy ghost".That's not saying you get it right than, its an admonition to GO RECEIVE IT, if you don't have it yet. Its a symbolic ordinance.

This is why Christ could be clean, obedient, experience the holy ghost and be baptized at age 30 as a "witness and a testimony". He already had all those blessings! Yet he did still receive the outward. The order is not dependent on man but God. If you read Lorenzo Snows BFHG experience he had not received his for 2-4 months after his baptism AND confirmation. Keep in mind Christs words on the BFHG.

3 Nephi 12:1

..I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I[Christ] will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost

Its God who bestows this. We don't control the order of WHEN it happens. But we can call upon him in mighty supplication to receive it.

[JaredAlmond]

JaredAlmond, that was quite the digest. It was plain and simple to read, but I'm an even similar man, so I had to re read it a couple times :p I've read all your statements before individually, but never all together like that. I'm tracking that we are currently living IN eternity. I'm tracking that we can relive or reexperience spiritual things. But help me understand how "The Spirit doesn't exist within the constraints of time. The Spirit exists in the present" comment ties in with a reexperience. Can you re word that please?

Pondering is essential to comprehending things of the spirit. This is especially true with spiritual experiences. The more you ponder them the more meaning will be unfolded.

Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard. 2 Nephi 4:16

The Spirit does exist in the present. All things are present with God. Your spirit, the Holy Ghost, is your connection to God. Spiritual experiences or experiences with the Spirit are real and exist. As you ponder them it doesn't matter if they were 10 mins ago or 10 years ago they can and are being re-experienced having a similar edifying and sanctifying affect. Your soul and body doesn't see the difference in time.

You ARE eternal, or what makes up what you really ARE is eternal. Your ARE something amazing. You need to BE that in the present. Everything that is not THAT is temporal and the natural man. Cast that off and BE.

Your intelligence is light and truth which existed with God.
I think it is so common for us to look at our current reality separate from eternity. Meaning, We see and live our life in a physical world temporary removed from eternity.

This is false- an unbelief! Eternity is NOW. We currently sit in the midst of eternity flowing like an ocean surrounding us. Now is the day of our probation.

[JaredAlmond]

Now here are my final remarks. I REALLY wish I would have had this Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost while I was actively in the LDS Church. Because now I have a hard time accepting if it was the same experience the LDS church teaches.

Maybe there was a reason you experienced this outside of LDS church?

Maybe God is no respector of persons and no respector of "edifices".

Maybe it's what within you that matters?

Also, what good is a gift if you don't receive it?

For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giverof the gift. D&C 88:33

[jeffrey09]

Love it. I get it. I can check that off the unbelief list, now time to practice it. Thanks for taking the time to explain that! Now I understand your quote “Live life through the eyes of your Soul."

Also, the more I consider it the more I agree it happened outside the LDS Church for a reason. I was explaining to pjbrownie that I believe it was more about my wanting to a tuned with my Savior than the actual church I was associated with at the time. I also appreciate the D&C 88 verse you posted. That gives me something to consider.

You rock. Thanks for being willing.

[brrgilbert]

God Bless.

[Rose Garden]

I haven't read all the posts yet. I just wanted to chime in and say, when I had my baptism of fire, I also felt like something had been placed upon me. I was standing up and it felt like something was put on my shoulders and around my waist, like a cloak or something of that nature.

I would say your experience was genuine. The Lord is does not confine his work only to the LDS church. He gives to each individual exactly what they need in the way they need it.

[Rose Garden]

Wow! Having read the entire thread now, I have to say there is some incredible stuff here.

By the way, how do we know Joseph Smith wasn't baptized before receiving his vision?

[Annalea]

At any rate, I don't doubt your experience in the least. It might have been necessary for you to experience what you did in the Pentacostal church and not in an lds chapel (hopefully Annalea will be here soon to back that up).

Jeffrey, you're not the only person who has received the baptism of fire at another church. ;)

I've shared mine elsewhere on the forum. Let me see if I can find the links . . . not sure I'm ready to post it in the public area. Although, you've been brave enough. Maybe it's time to take (another) leap of faith and put my testimony out there. One thing to note: none of the powerful experiences that I've had have occurred within the walls of a ward building. They've all been outdoors, or at the charismatic/pentecostal church I've mentioned before.

My first baptism of fire:

During a Girl's Camp testimony meeting high in the Sierra Nevadas, lit by firelight and hemmed by the astounding, earnest love of a hundred and fifty girls and their leaders, I felt the presence and love of God so powerfully that I felt like a new person. It changed me, and was the first tectonic event in my new creation in Christ. I walked around for days, then weeks, in a glow, thinking "So this is what a testimony feels like." I didn't understand, didn't know what to do with that first amazing taste of the transformative power of His love. And, in desperate ignorance, I took the final step in abandoning that change a little over a decade later, after the ravages of depression and more loneliness had taken their toll.

It took another twelve years before the chance came again, and this time I had just enough knowledge from more careful reading of the word between times, and the close friendship of some who knew more than I did in my spiritually infantile, socially isolated early teens. And oh, what a difference. What a difference. This time, I know a little more what I'm about, and am intent on not letting this change slip away.

RE-baptism of fire:

I received the Baptism of Fire when a Christian pastor took my hands in his and prayed for me. He had stated that that was his purpose, at the beginning of the service: to pray, for anyone who wished it, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He preached for more than an hour on the Holy Spirit, and how to bring him into your life. (He taught about scripture study, prayer, and worship. It was beautiful.)

I had only seen this man once before, and had never spoken with him about anything going on in my life. He did not know what church I belonged to. As he prayed for me, he paused a couple of times to share insights about what I was going through then, my awakening, and how correlated teachings played into it. (Although he didn't use the term "correlation". ;) ) I didn't know what to expect . . . I just desired to be closer to God. I was seeking Jesus, seeking real, deep, true relationship with Him. I had been seeking Him earnestly for several months at that point, learning to open my heart more and more as the years of spiritual abuse healed, and as I let go of the lies about God that had caused them.

And a few moments later, when he said to me, "Be filled!" . . . I was. I experienced something very near what King Lamoni did, except I didn't faint dead away. ;) But my legs lost their strength, I was filled with the most astounding love I have ever known as Jesus Christ made Himself manifest to me through the Holy Spirit. I saw visions, and received revelation for that moment, for me. I was given the interpretation of a dream I had had ten months before, and prophecy of things to come for my family. I was covered with the most amazing heat, but I didn't feel hot and didn't sweat, despite the thick fleece blanket that had been put around my shoulders as I knelt on the floor. (This was at a point where my hormones were acting up, and I would break into a sweat when I got even the tiniest bit warm.) I was soaked in the fiery love of Jesus, and He made me into someone totally new. Since then, I have had the ability to see nothing like I did before, because my understanding is tempered by the knowledge of how He truly loves all of us. (I sometimes forget to take the time to actually "see" things, instead of looking at them as old habit dictates. Gotta love being human. #-o )

And when I stood up, after kneeling for quite some time, my legs weren't asleep. For as far back as I can remember, kneeling has always cut off the circulation in my legs from my knees down. Always. But this time, when I stood, my legs were as if I hadn't knelt at all.

And finally, the message that has come from the new heart He gave me:

I have seen Him in the spirit, dancing and rejoicing as I've worshipped in music, but only twice during hymns at church. Those times were interesting, though, because I knew He was saying "FINALLY!!! Someone worshipping Me in truth in this place!" (Our ward has a thing about music--it's like they suffer through every hymn. )

I've been caught up in His arms in the spirit, and run with Him hand in hand through this huge stone courtyard into the Father's throne room, where I climbed up into Father's lap like a child, and was held, safe from all harm. I was, in relation to Him at that moment, the size of a very young child, easily cradled against His chest, my head not even reaching His collarbone. These visions were with dimmed glory, without color, and yet the love & peace & joy nearly overcame me. They are so precious, because they have shown me that He will give me whatever I can and will receive, right up to the limit of my endurance. I'm still not able to let the Holy Spirit overcome me, but I hope to be able to believe and trust in Him enough for that to be natural for me.

Long before I saw any of that, I was immersed in the fire of His love, and remade into a new creature in Christ Jesus. That experience agrees perfectly in character with the others expressed here: because of the absolutely unstinting reality of His love, I know my sins--past, present & future--are of no consequence. I am forgiven . . . always have been, and will be until the final day of judgement. That day is the only one in which the justice of God could fall upon me, if at that point I have somehow figured out how to abandon Him. That is the FURTHEST thing from the desires of my heart, though, and He has taken me at my word when I have called upon His name, and has had answers for me as soon as I could possibly receive them, often answering before I have a chance to get very many words out, or even form them in my mind.

He works with us according to our desires, not what we think of as "worthiness". His victory gave Him power to come to us, regardless of our sinful state. We ALL sin & fall short of the glory of God. It doesn't matter what sin it is--they all disqualify us equally. But He triumphed! He holds the power, and the deep desire of His love, to be with us every moment of every day. And He IS. He is infinite....that means He loves each one of us as His favorite, only child. All at the same time. He walks with every one of us, constantly . . . and we come to Him much like we come to consciousness after sleep. The only thing that changes is within us.

Oh, how I love Jesus! My Lord, my God, my friend that loves, adores & delights in me. In ME!, who I am, who He created me. He knows my expressions, my idiosyncrasies, my failings, my delights and my sorrows. And I bring Him joy, just by being who He created me to be: Annalea.

And He loves YOU.

Seek THIS Jesus . . . for He WILL be found, and closer at hand than you ever dreamed.

How's that, Tanner?

When I pled for a friend--just one friend that I could really and truly trust--God brought me one . . . and then so many more . . . friends from outside of my ward, and used them as instruments to radically change my life. I learned Who He IS . . . and as I've started studying the Lectures on Faith recently, I've been astounded to see there all of the things I've already learned through those friends about what God's really like. I know that in order to learn the things that I needed to learn to draw closer to Christ, to discover the spiritual gifts I've been given and to begin to learn how to develop them, to be able to be prayed for and healed in ways I desperately needed, it had to happen in this little church outside of the traditions of my fathers. . And I will forever be grateful for it.

[DarthVernacular]

I found a book written on the subject, Experiencing the Mighty Change, which I quite enjoyed. It does address the experience and also that one can experience and have a renewal as well. Anyway,
here is a link for a PDF: http://justandtrue.com/share/ETMC.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (I hope it works, but you can also search "experiencing the mighty change pdf).

[Annalea]

DarthVernacular, that is one of the most spectacular pseudonyms I've ever seen. Awesome!

[jeffrey09]

I found a book written on the subject, Experiencing the Mighty Change, which I quite enjoyed. It does address the experience and also that one can experience and have a renewal as well. Anyway,
here is a link for a PDF: http://justandtrue.com/share/ETMC.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (I hope it works, but you can also search "experiencing the mighty change pdf).

You rock , good brother. I saved it to my computer and I'll be reading it shortly! Thank you.