What Research Has Been Done About The Holy Ghost?

[cryophil]

Over in another thread on archaeology, I got this response:

Science is not wrong. It is never wrong, being an eternal law of God. What is wrong is our understanding of it.

As far as I can tell, there are two options here. You can question and challenge what scientists are saying — scientists who are probably not using the promptings of the Spirit in their research — or you can question what the Holy Ghost has said about the Book of Mormon containing not only a literal history of a remnant of the house of Israel but also the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not simply "fictional moral teachings."

For me, that's an easy decision to make. Because I hope you understand that if the Book of Mormon is simply "fictional moral teachings," then the golden plates never existed, Joseph Smith never saw the Father and the Son, and he was thus one of the biggest frauds the world has ever seen, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the Church of Jesus Christ. There's no middle ground here. Either the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be, or it's a book of "fictional moral teachings" created by a man who was nothing more than a liar.

So which is it?

I wanted to start a new thread to ask the group some questions regarding the Holy Ghost as a guide to truth.

We are told that to find truth, we are to read, fast and pray. Moroni makes a promise that the truth of all things can be had by the Holy Ghost. The manifestation of it is promised in D&C 9 as a burning of the bosom (or stupor of thought) that will guide you to truth.

As a young missionary in the MTC, deciding I had to get the deep holy ghosty confirmation if I was gonna ask investigators to try the spirits, I went on a journey. I fasted and prayed nearly constantly. Two days into my fast, with no food and very very little water, I sat in class while the MTC instructor told us that he felt prompted we would feel the spirit strong that day as he told us about Joseph Smith's 1st vision. I was drained and worn from fasting, but onward I pushed. Not long into it, as I prayed hard, focused intently, I got a very sudden euphoric feeling. It began in my head, moved through my body and caused a feeling of floating, elevation and alertness that was hugely envigorating in contrast to the drained feeling I'd had only minutes before. I felt elation and expansion in my chest, and a desire to go do loving things for others. It was utter evidence to me. It was my rebirth. I drew upon that experience for the next two decades, until recently. I'm now troubled by this.

But I ask, really? Feelings guide us to factual answers? Could they be from our minds?

I've researched and searched for explanations and found out about something called "Fasting Ketosis". Here's an example of some current studies on this:

http://www.medical-h...0577-9/abstract

Which "clearly" states in biochemese: mild euphoria often noted with fasting or low-carbohydrate diets may be due to shared actions of BHB and GHB on the brain....BHB, like GHB, induces mild euphoria by being a weak partial agonist for GABAB receptors.

GABA can act as an antagonist to increases opiate euphoria in other studies. Deplete the brain of glucose (fasting and thinking hard--meditating), and ketones (GHB/GABA are products in the chain) are produced which can act at receptors in analogus ways to opiates. That is, this is right in the pathway of the brain that responds to opiate reactions and euphoria. Fasting can get you mildly and temporarily high. That is the spirit? I wonder now.

In my search I also learned that most cultures and religious systems have these burning of the bosom miracle signs. Hindus have the chakras, some of which have manifestations of elation, lifting and pure knowledge while meditating. For example, during mediation/mantra recitation (prayer), a flame is felt inside of the heart (part of the heart chakra), from which the mantra rings out; and this cooperates with the brow and crown (mind) chakras for realizing the "Clear Light".

Islam has the "hajj experience" and islamic transformation that are essentially just as strong or more than the mormon burning, as exampled by those who feel so emboldened as to commit suicide for their testimony.

Other Christian churches have spiritual manifestations in feelings, tongues and miracles.

This confuses me. I believed that my experience was a unique one to LDS only. But now I see that it isn't. How can I claim all these witnesses are false and the one we Mormons, who make up barely 0.2% of the world's population, are so much better? All these deeply felt spiritual manifestations are claimed to testify that each belief is true. A spectrum of beliefs that are often contrary to the others at fundamental levels (e.g., monotheism vs. polytheism). Is this the Holy Ghost truth meter pointing in all directions?

Edited October 27, 2011 by cryophil

[cryophil]

I also found this interesting article at Lds.org:

The Candle of the Lord

BY ELDER BOYD K. PACKER

Of the Quorum of the Twelve

....

We Can Be Deceived

Be ever on guard lest you be deceived by inspiration from an unworthy source. You can be given false spiritual messages. There are counterfeit spirits just as there are counterfeit angels. (See Moro. 7:17.) Be careful lest you be deceived, for the devil may come disguised as an angel of light.

The spiritual part of us and the emotional part of us are so closely linked that is possible to mistake an emotional impulse for something spiritual. We occasionally find people who receive what they assume to be spiritual promptings from God, when those promptings are either centered in the emotions or are from the adversary.

....

In other words, the most important way to us LDS in finding the truth (the spirit) is so easily counterfeited, you haven't a chance at finding the truth. It could be the Holy Ghost, or it could be satan, or it could be emotions. And how do you tell the difference? It's beginning to sound like an unfair truth meter to me...

[thesometimesaint]

Fasting for two days isn't the way it is done.

[cryophil]

Fasting for two days isn't the way it is done.

Can you please give me the instructions? If there is a pattern to receiving the Holy Ghost, that would be very useful information for all LDS and the world, if it works.

Alma, who had been visited by an angel and had seen God sitting on His throne, needed to fast and pray so he could receive a testimony through the power of the Holy Ghost (see Alma 5:45–46; 36:8, 22).

Edited October 27, 2011 by cryophil

[altersteve]

It takes a lot more than simply reading, fasting, and praying to know truth. A LOT more. And it's not simply a "feeling" that the Holy Ghost gives you. A feeling or emotion merely accompanies the experience.

[cryophil]

It takes a lot more than simply reading, fasting, and praying to know truth. A LOT more. And it's not simply a "feeling" that the Holy Ghost gives you. A feeling or emotion merely accompanies the experience.

So this experience I had is invalid?

--, I got a very sudden euphoric feeling. It began in my head, moved through my body and caused a feeling of floating, elevation and alertness that was hugely envigorating in contrast to the drained feeling I'd had only minutes before. I felt elation and expansion in my chest, and a desire to go do loving things for others. It was utter evidence to me. It was my rebirth.--