HUBBLElife Episode 13. Who is The Holy Ghost. Not just a feeling.

We often talk about “feeling the Spirit,” but who is the Holy Ghost really? In this episode of Hubble Life, we explore the identity of the Holy Ghost as a member of the Godhead—not just a feeling, but a divine being who teaches, comforts, and testifies of truth. Understanding who He is changes how we listen, how we trust, and how we recognize His influence in our daily lives.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome back to Hubble Life, where we learn to have understanding, be believing, and live extraordinary. We are learning together to see our lives through an eternal lens and better understand who we are. Today I want to start with something that I think almost all of us have felt, and that's the idea of a perfect family. Before we get started, I just want to say I'm so grateful for the family that I was raised in. And there are I have seven siblings. Six siblings, seven of us. I'm the oldest of seven. And we are all different. We're all unique and we believe differently, we think differently, we um politically we're differently, all of these things, and yet that's what makes it great is that we are all so different. And I'm grateful for the family that I was able to raise. I also had seven children, and they couldn't be more different. I remember when I had my first baby, I thought, oh, she's amazing. I I the love that I had for my first child was intense and beautiful, and I got pregnant with my second child, and I thought, this is so sad, I will never be able to love another child the same way that I love my first. And what happened was after I had her, my heart grew, and there was the ability to love another person equally, and it's been an amazing thing to see. And so the love that we have for family can be really strong, but the idea of a perfect family, um, sometimes we see that on social media, or even families around us, they look like they're perfect, like everything is going, or maybe it's just something that we've imagined in our minds, and sometimes that idea of a perfect family can leave us feeling like, how come my family doesn't feel like that? Um, why is this harder than I thought it would be? But when we turn to the very beginning, to Adam and Eve, the very first family here, we don't see perfection. We see something that's much more real. Adam and Eve entered into mortality just like we all have. They were learning, growing, they were trying to navigate a world that included opposition, agency, and consequences. And they were doing it as a family. There wasn't a guidebook, there wasn't, they didn't have an example to follow, they were the example. And just like us, their family wasn't without struggle. One of the most well-known parts of their story is the relationship between Cain and Abel, and that's a hard one. We see a lot of jealousy, anger, and choices that lead to deep pain. And it reminds us that even the very first family had challenges, real challenges. Can you imagine family dinner after one son had murdered the other? Uh I bet there was some stressful moments in his parents, how heartbreaking that must be. The love that they had for their children and to see these things going on. And this matters because sometimes I think that we believe if I were doing the right things, my family would feel easier. But Adam and Eve, they were doing the right things, they were faithful, they were trying. And still their family experienced heartbreak. So, what do we learn from that? We learn that families are not meant to be perfect, there's gonna be struggle. Family units are meant to be a place of growth where we can figure out life. Adam and Eve taught their children faith, repentance, they even taught them hope in Christ. And even though things didn't go the way that they had hoped, they didn't give up. They didn't give up on each other, they didn't give up on their purpose, and they didn't give up on their faith. And that's where resilience is built. Not in the perfect moments, but in choosing to keep loving, to keep trying, and to keep believing and to keep moving forward. Now, I want to pause and acknowledge that's something that's important. Not all families' struggles are small, some are really deep, some are painful, and some are very complicated, and some wounds do not heal quickly. And if that's something that you're experiencing, that matters. And there is a space for that, but there is also hope through Christ that healing is possible, that growth is still possible, and that joy is also still possible. Even if it looks like it might not be, and even if your family looks different than what you expected, something that I've noticed in my own life. I have seven children, and one of my daughters has a cousin who's like a month or two older than her, and she's an only child, and it's interesting because growing up, my daughter would constantly say, She has the best life. I wish that was my life. I wish I was an only child. I wish I could have the Cinderella bed, and I wish I could have the Jeep, and I wish I could have all the things that she saw her cousin get being an only child. But then my niece, in return, would look at our family and think, I wish that I had siblings. I wish I could have Christmas morning with a room full of people. I wish that I could have somebody to talk to at night and play with during the day. And it made me realize something that sometimes we think life would be easier or better on the other side, right? Like the grass is always greener on the other side. They both wished for a long time, I think, that they had the other's life. And sometimes we do the same thing. We look at other families and think, well, that would be easier or that would be better. But the truth is every family has its own challenges and its own gifts. Another powerful thing we learned from Adam and Eve is this idea of cleaving to one another. Even in a fallen world, and even with heartbreak in their family, they stayed united. They relied on each other, they relied on their faith, and they relied on their hope. And that teaches us something that's really important that strong families are built through unity, through supporting each other, communicating, and facing challenges together. Even when everything else feels uncertain, that foundation can hold. And sometimes that's hard. It's easy to start nitpicking what's going on. But we can find unity in our families. Elder Quintin L. Cook taught this: there are no perfect families, but each family can experience growth and happiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ. President Irene said the plan of happiness is for families to gain eternal joy as we learn and grow together. Again, this is that laboratory. We are put into this laboratory here on earth in family units, and this is our these are our classmates. These are this is our team. This is who we get to figure things out with. And it doesn't mean that our family has to be perfect for it to be meaningful. It doesn't have to be easy to be working. There's a lot of things that we can learn from our families, as imperfect as they are. Your family, whatever it looks like, can be a place where you learn patience, compassion, forgiveness, love. I know that when I get with my siblings, they make me laugh harder than anybody else can. Same with my children. I love to see them together. This week, I would encourage you to just take a moment to reflect. What is my family teaching me? Maybe you're going through some hard things right now, and maybe you're not. But taking a moment to realize that our differences can make us stronger, and that the things that we're going through help us to become more Christ-like. Families are not perfect, but they are powerful. They are one of the primary ways that we are shaped, refined, and prepared for something greater. This is where we get to practice all of the things we're trying to learn. Even in the very messy moments of family life, there's growth, there's purpose, and there's hope.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Let them know that you're thinking about it and that you're grateful for it and you're grateful for the lessons that you learned because you're a family. As we have understanding, understand that we've been put here and placed in families so that we can learn and grow together, that we can find joy, that we can become better people as we believe, be believable, believe that there's something better for us to do, so our families can be a little bit better, or maybe a lot better. And then live in good. Have fun. Enjoy being with those people that are around you, your family, or the family that you choose.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Until next time, this is Hubble Life, and I'll see you next time.