https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/priesthood-and-personal-prayer?lang=eng
President Eyring has long been one of my favorite speakers. I enjoy reading his words and even books. This talk was given in Priesthood session but is definitely for all of us. I love that. He starts by talking about a missed opportunity of his youth. Because he hadn't been diligently seeking the Spirit, he was caught off guard and unable to maybe help someone. Often there are times when we will need the Spirit on hand, without time for preparation. We need to be constantly seeking the Spirit so we may have it on hand at all times. President Joseph F. Smith said, "“We do not have to cry unto him with many words. We do not have to weary him with long prayers. What we do need, and what we should do as Latter-day Saints, for our own good, is to go before him often, to witness unto him that we remember him and that we are willing to take upon us his name, keep his commandments, work righteousness; and that we desire his Spirit to help us.” Our prayers need to be constanly asking the Spirit to attend us.
President Eyring is speaking in terms of having the Spirit to use the Priesthood, but it applies to all of us. We need the Spirit constantly. Sometimes we don't have time to call on Him and pray when we need revelation or inspiration. We need to already have prepared. We all have stewardships that need care. I have my family and those I visit teach. Our own judgment isn't enough. We need to know what the Lord would have us to do care for them.
Because we have such potential, whether in the Priesthood or as women, the adversary targets us when we try to stay close to the Spirit. I heard a story once about two men. If you could see through the veil, you would see one man had many strong devils surrounding him and the other just had one tiny devil. The viewer asks why the one is so encompassed by evil, assuming the man with many devils was an evil person. The truth is that the man with only one devil doesn't need much to persuade him to do evil. The man with many devils was so righteous that it took many to tempt him. Our prayers for the Spirit need to include asking to be warned of evil and temptation.
I like this talk because it applies to everyone. It is not just about the Priesthood. We all need to take care to have the Spirit in our everyday lives. Without it we would miss opportunities to do good and be tempted.
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