Question
Gramps,
1 Nephi 13:37 says that the blessings of bringing forth Zion include the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost. Is there a difference between the gift and power? If so, what is it?
James
Answer
James,
After baptism, we talk of “feeling the Spirit” in sacred meetings or plead that “the Spirit will be with us” in prayer, yet our understanding can become blurred. What, for instance, is the difference between the Holy Ghost’s influence that touches all people and the Gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed by priesthood authority following baptism?
It’s crucial to distinguish between what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints identifies as the “influence” or “power” of the Holy Ghost and the “Gift” of the Holy Ghost. These are not just different in degree, but in kind.
All people—regardless of faith, background, or church membership—can receive communications from the Holy Ghost. This “power” or “influence” is described as spirit-to-spirit communication, or “the Holy Ghost testifying of truth when we encounter it in this life.” Such moments may strike as spiritual epiphanies, whisperings of right and wrong, or feelings of comfort during trial.
Elder Joseph F. Smith taught, “the Holy Ghost…bears record of the Father and the Son, who takes of the things of the Father and shows them unto men, who testifies of Jesus Christ…is not given unto all men until they repent…Then they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…”. This shows that before baptism and confirmation, the influence of the Spirit is temporary, coming and going as people encounter and are open to truth.
Only after baptism by priesthood authority can one receive, by the laying on of hands, the Gift of the Holy Ghost. With this gift, as we remain worthy, the Holy Ghost becomes a constant companion—available not just in fleeting moments, but in daily, ongoing guidance, comfort, and revelation.
This Gift allows for deeper, transformative experiences. With the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the other missions and roles of the Holy Ghost have an opportunity to become part of our everyday lives. In this capacity, the Holy Ghost is called the Comforter…He can guide us in our actions, lead us to truth, instruct us, and testify to us of truth, as well as move us to speak of the truth we have received. He can grant us wisdom, power, and judgment. He can reveal others’ thoughts and intentions…show us what we should do, grant remission of our sins, and sanctify us according to our worthiness.”
Thus, the difference is not merely academic. The Gift opens the door to the “full purposes” of the Holy Ghost—including the critical work of sanctification, the central issue for life after death and eternal life with God.
To understand why the Gift of the Holy Ghost is required even after death, one must understand the doctrine of sanctification. In the words of Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “If justification removes the punishment for past sin, then sanctification removes the stain or effects of sin…We may appropriately speak of sanctification as the baptism of the Spirit, or being ‘baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost’” (Ensign, June 2001). The process is not only about receiving knowledge or comfort; it is about becoming spiritually clean—“spotless before God” and able to dwell in His presence.
Alma describes this remarkable process:
Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence… (Alma 13:12).
The scriptural summary is clear: only by receiving the Holy Ghost can individuals be “sanctified” and enter into the rest of the Lord. This is restated by the Savior Himself in the Book of Mormon:
And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood…that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. (3 Nephi 27:19-20)
While baptism by water allows the justification part of the Atonement to cleanse us from sin’s punishment, it is the Gift of the Holy Ghost—“baptism by fire”—that enables the sanctification without which no one can stand in God’s presence at the last day.
The sweeping implication for the afterlife is this: no one, regardless of how much truth is acknowledged or spiritual communication experienced after death, can enter the Celestial Kingdom without this ordinance and the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Some have wondered, as one questioner did, whether the Gift of the Holy Ghost is still needed “after one dies”—because it is assumed that all who pass to the other side gain “instantaneous spiritual communication, regardless of their religious persuasion.” Does this not render the ordinance and the Gift obsolete?
The answer from scripture and Church teaching is a definitive “no.” While enhanced understanding and communication with the Spirit may be available after this life, the unique, covenantal power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost—received only by those authorized and confirmed—remains essential for sanctification and, ultimately, exaltation.
“What is required to gain entry into the Celestial Kingdom? …to be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day” (3 Nephi 27:19-20). The journey of faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost does not lose force after death. This is why temple ordinances—including proxy confirmations—are performed on behalf of the dead. Without these, those in the spirit world could not be fully cleansed and endowed for Celestial glory.
To quote Hugh Nibley’s summary of Joseph Smith’s teaching:
This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence…It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing intellect with present knowledge…For as the Holy Ghost falls upon one…his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence…the Spirit of Revelation is in connection with these blessings.
While all can benefit from the influence of the Spirit, it is the effect of the Gift that ultimately transforms, prepares, and sanctifies the soul for the highest glory.
Such distinctions are not trivial; they are divine design, necessitating ongoing faithfulness, humility, and the seeking of authorized ordinances—even by proxy if not possible in this life.
Gramps
