During the April 2017 General Conference, Russell M. Nelson, then the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave a talk titled “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives.”1 That talk had a profound impact on me. It has influenced my study of the scriptures and how I think about my relationship with the Savior.
A few years later, when I started a fairly intensive study of the sacrament,2 particularly research regarding the Holy Ghost,3 I began to see correlations between the Holy Ghost and the Savior’s power in our lives. This shouldn’t have been surprising, considering the gifts of the Spirit and the abilities that come from those gifts,4 but I had always thought about the Holy Ghost in conjunction with revelation. So as I started to see the relationship between the Savior’s power and the Holy Ghost, I thought more and more about President Nelson’s talk about drawing the Savior’s power into our life. Ultimately, I came to believe that if we wanted the Savior’s power in our life, we needed to do the same things that were required to invite the Spirit into our life.
This post comes from a talk I gave during stake conference in August 2025. As with everything on this site, these are my opinions only, and should not be considered the opinions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Because of Jesus Christ, we have access to godly power
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we proclaim that because our Heavenly Father loves us, he sent his son Jesus Christ.5
President Nelson has taught that Jesus Christ gave his life for us so that we could have access to godly power to deal with life’s burdens, obstacles, and temptations.6
So, how do we access this godly power?
We have access to godly power through the Holy Ghost
During the last night of the Savior’s mortal ministry, He met with His disciples and tried to prepare them for the difficult time ahead. He told them he was going away,7 but then He said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”8
Because He had told them he was going away, they wondered how He would come to them.9 He answered that by saying, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”10 He would come to them by sending the Holy Ghost in His name.
The scriptures teach that the Savior gained power from the Father.11 It is with this power, and because of His atonement, that Jesus Christ can offer us comfort, godly knowledge, and peace. Because the Holy Ghost is one with the Father and the Son,12 it is through the Holy Ghost that we can receive those blessings.
Power, healing, and sanctification come through the Holy Ghost
When Ammon saved King Lamoni’s flocks, the king wanted to know by what power he was able to do such great things.13 Ammon said, “I am a man, and am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people. And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge and also power, according to my faith and desires which are in God.”14
In the days leading up to the Savior’s death, the prophet Nephi ministered “with power and great authority.”15 Because of his ministry, there were many who were converted and testified that “they had been visited by the power and Spirit of God.”16
There were also many who were healed, and they “did manifest unto the people that they had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God.”17
After the Savior’s resurrection, he visited the Americas and taught his gospel. He said, “This is the commandment, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost.”18
I don’t pretend to know all the ways that we can access the Savior’s power, but these scriptures are clear that we receive comfort and peace through the Holy Ghost. It is the Savior’s comfort, and the Savior’s peace, made available to us because of his atonement, and we have access to that power through the Holy Ghost.
It is through the Holy Ghost that we have access to God’s knowledge and wisdom. It is through the Holy Ghost that we have access to the Savior’s power to accomplish difficult tasks, and it is through the Holy Ghost that we have access to the Savior’s miraculous healing and sanctifying power.
How do we access the Savior’s power?
So, how do we access the Savior’s power in our lives? I believe that the answer to that question is the same as the answer to the question, “How do we invite the Spirit into our lives?”
There are many things we can do to receive the Holy Ghost. Elder Bednar taught that the words “receive the Holy Ghost are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a priesthood injunction—an authoritative admonition to act and not simply to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26). The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because hands are placed upon our heads and those four important words are spoken. As we receive this ordinance, each of us accepts a sacred and ongoing responsibility to desire, to seek, to work, and to so live that we indeed ‘receive the Holy Ghost’ and its attendant spiritual gifts.”19
I have previously written about an experience wherein I changed my focus, so rather than worrying about how to recognize the Spirit, I instead focused on trying to invite the Spirit into my life. (See my post, “How Can I Recognize the Holy Ghost?“) So as I began studying and trying to do those things that would invite the Spirit, I began to be focused on three things. These three things changed my life, as they helped me not only learn to recognize the Spirit, but by doing them I began to recognize the Savior’s power in my life.
Invitation 1: make sacrament meeting and the sacrament your highest priority
First, make sacrament meeting and the sacrament your highest priority. Do everything you can to attend every week. But more than just attending, make the mental, emotional, and spiritual effort to be engaged in the meeting. Let the songs of the righteous be your songs.20 Let the prayers from the pulpit and the sacrament table be your prayers. As you listen to the speakers, have a prayer in your heart that the Lord will teach you through the Comforter. And during the sacrament, let your heart and mind be focused on the Savior.
Invitation 2: study the sacrament prayers
Second, study the sacrament prayers.21 These prayers are meant to be said with precision, because every word matters. In the last general conference, Steven J. Lund, who was serving as the Young Men General President, called the sacrament prayers “the most powerful words that anyone is ever allowed to say out loud in this lifetime.”22 So study them, read them often, ponder them, read general conference talks that reference them. The more you understand those prayers, the more powerful experience you will have during the sacrament, and the more you will understand how to draw the Savior’s power into your life.
I have a testimony that the effort to study the sacrament prayers yields great blessings. I have written about my experience studying the sacrament prayers, which you can read in several posts, but particularly, “The Sacrament: an Introduction,” and “The Sacrament: Conclusion.”
Invitation 3: live your sacrament covenants
Third, live your sacrament covenants. The sacrament prayer for the bread ends with this blessing: “that they may always have His Spirit to be with them.”23 Always. The promise is “always.”
We may always have the Spirit to be with us. We may always have access to His comfort and His peace. We may always have access to his knowledge and his power to overcome life’s challenges. We may always have access to his miraculous healing and sanctifying power.
The sacrament prayers teach us what we need to do to receive that tremendous blessing. We must be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, and always remember Him, and keep His commandments which He has given us.
Three covenants. Three basic principles that teach us how to invite the Spirit into our lives. Three teachings that apply in any circumstance in which we might find ourselves. I have written more about these covenants in my posts, “The Sacrament: The Name of Christ,” “The Sacrament: Keep His Commandments,” and “The Sacrament: Remember Him.”
So when you are at work and are faced with a difficult challenge, repeat those covenants in your mind. “Take upon myself the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, keep his commandments which he has given me.” Then take another look at the problem, and have the courage to make a decision that best helps you keep your sacrament covenants.
When you are communicating with someone, whether in person, over the phone, or through text, email, or social media, let your sacrament covenants influence every word. Surely, if you keep your words consistent with your covenant to take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ, always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given you, the Spirit will be present to guide you, whether you realize it or not. And if His Spirit is with you, you have access to His power to face any challenge that may arise.
Whether you are facing major life decisions like purchasing a new home or taking a new job, or whether the decision seems small and insignificant, such as picking up your phone during a few moments of downtime, reflect on your covenants to take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ, and always remember him, and keep his commandments with he has given you, and let your decisions be guided by those covenants.
Those three sacrament covenants are conditions to always having His Spirit with us, and so are conditions to always having access to the Savior’s power. But this is not a situation like a race where the Savior is waiting at the finish line and we have to finish the race to satisfy the conditions. Instead, the Savior walks with us every step of the way. The word in the prayer on the bread is “willing.” In the moment that we repeat those covenants in our mind with a willingness to keep them, the Savior sends us His Spirit, and we have access to His power to help us keep our covenants.
I testify that the Savior’s power is real. I know that we have access to His power by doing the same things that invite the Spirit into our lives. If we will make sacrament meeting and the sacrament our highest priority, if we will study the sacrament prayers, and if we will make every effort to live our sacrament covenants every moment of every day, we will always have access to the Savior’s comfort and peace. We will always have access to his knowledge and his power to overcome life’s challenges, and we will always have access to his miraculous healing and sanctifying power.
References
- Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” April 2017, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/04/drawing-the-power-of-jesus-christ-into-our-lives?lang=eng. ↩︎
- See my post titled, “The Sacrament: The Conclusion” for a description of my study and my various posts relating to the sacrament. ↩︎
- See my post titled, “The Sacrament: The Promise of the Holy Ghost.” ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 46. ↩︎
- John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” See also Russell M. Nelson, “The Love and Laws of God,” https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/russell-m-nelson/love-laws-god/, “[T]he Father and the Son love us with infinite, perfect love.” ↩︎
- Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” April 2017, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/04/drawing-the-power-of-jesus-christ-into-our-lives?lang=eng. ↩︎
- John 14:2. ↩︎
- John 14:18. ↩︎
- John 14:22, 28. ↩︎
- John 14:26-27. ↩︎
- Helaman 5:11; Matthew 28:18. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 11:36. ↩︎
- Alma 18:16. ↩︎
- Alma 18:34-35. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 7:17. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 7:21. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 7:22. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 27:20. ↩︎
- David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” October 2010, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/receive-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng&id=p18#p18. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 25:12. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:77,79. ↩︎
- Steven J. Lund, “Divine Authority, Sublime Young Men,” April 2025, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/04/22lund?lang=eng. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:77. ↩︎
