Episode 9 - The Holy Ghost

Welcome to episode nine of the Nothing Doubting podcast. In this episode, we're going to ask the questions you have always wanted to ask. To begin, I revisit a few key ideas from the previous discussion on foundational tools for observing divine experiences and dig deeper into understanding the feeling of God's presence, often described as the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. I reference various descriptions of the Holy Ghost, like a burning feeling or sensation of perfect love. We also also get into a scientific study that observed the brain activity of devout Latter-day Saints experiencing the Holy Ghost, discuss its implications and the unique consistency of spiritual experiences among the Latter-day Saints. We clarify that such experiences are not pathological but fundamental aspects of the human experience.  Lastly, the episode touches on the universal nature of divine experiences across various faiths and encourages listeners to identify and record their own encounters with the Holy Ghost.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:54 Reflecting on Past Episodes

01:52 Understanding the Holy Ghost

02:34 Scriptural Examples of the Holy Ghost

07:29 The Holy Ghost in Doctrine and Practice

11:17 Scientific Study on Spiritual Experiences

21:06 Personal Experiences and Observations

34:25 Conclusion and Next Week's Preview

References

1. Luke 24:13-16, 32

2. Moroni 8:26

3. Acts 2:1-4, 16-17

4. John 14:25-26

5. Doctrine & Covenants 130:22

6. Ferguson, M. A., Nielsen, J. A., King, J. B., Dai, L., Giangrasso, D. M., Holman, R., Korenberg, J. R., & Anderson, J. S. (2016). Reward, salience, and attentional networks are activated by religious experience in devout Mormons. Social Neuroscience, 13(1), 104–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2016.1257437

7. TEDx Talks: Ferguson, M. A., This Is your Brain on God

8. Chapter 21: The Gift of the Holy Ghost. (2011, January 1). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-21-the-gift-of-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng#title4

9. “Upon you my fellow servants.” (n.d.). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/landing/upon-you-my-fellow-servants?lang=en

10. Doctrine & Covenants 121:46

11. Menezes A Jr, Moreira-Almeida A. Religion, spirituality, and psychosis. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2010 Jun;12(3):174-9. doi: 10.1007/s11920-010-0117-7. PMID: 20425277.

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20425277/

12. Greyson, B. & University of Virginia. (2014). Differentiating spiritual and psychotic experiences: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. In Journal of Near-Death Studies (Vol. 32, Issue 3). https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/360/2017/01/NDE69-cigar-JNDS.pdf

13. Helaman 3:35