How Do I Know If It’s the Holy Ghost or Just Me?

This article is a written summary of a teaching from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles about one of the most common questions Latter-day Saints have about personal revelation: “How do I know if it’s the Holy Ghost or just me?” Through three powerful experiences from his life—as a missionary, stake president, and Apostle—Elder Bednar teaches that recognizing the Holy Ghost does not always mean receiving a dramatic spiritual impression. More often, the Lord guides faithful disciples quietly as they keep their covenants, follow Jesus Christ, and move forward in faith.

TL;DR: How Do I Know If It’s the Holy Ghost or Just Me?

Elder Bednar’s answer to the question “Is it the Holy Ghost or just me?” is surprisingly simple: quit worrying about it and press forward with faith in Jesus Christ. When we sincerely keep the commandments, honor our covenants, and try to do what is right, God can guide our thoughts and actions without us immediately recognizing that revelation is occurring. Elder Bednar’s experiences show that many promptings from the Holy Ghost are understood only in hindsight. Rather than waiting for dramatic revelation, disciples should move forward in faith and trust the Lord to guide their steps.

Watch Elder Bednar Teach About Recognizing the Holy Ghost

How Do You Know If a Thought Is From the Holy Ghost?

Elder Bednar begins by identifying a question he says members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ask him throughout the world: How can I tell whether something is the Holy Ghost or simply my own thoughts?

His answer challenges the tendency to overanalyze personal revelation:

“Quit worrying about it. Quit fussing. Quit stewing. Quit analyzing.”

Instead of becoming spiritually paralyzed while trying to identify the exact source of every thought or impression, Elder Bednar teaches disciples to press forward with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

His counsel is to be faithful, honor covenants, keep the commandments, and continue doing what is right. He promises that as disciples live this way, their steps will be guided. They will find themselves in the right places, say things that bless other people, and become instruments in God’s hands—sometimes without even knowing that the Holy Ghost has been directing them.

The 20-Mark Note: Following the Holy Ghost Without Knowing It

Elder Bednar’s first major example comes from his missionary service in Germany in 1972.

As a 20-year-old missionary, Elder Bednar received a telephone call from Elder Boyd K. Packer, who had been serving in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for approximately two years. Elder Packer and his wife were traveling through Germany when fog prevented them from taking their scheduled flight.

Elder Bednar and his companion picked them up from the airport, took them to the mission home, and eventually helped them board an overnight train.

That was essentially everything Elder Bednar remembered about the experience.

Twenty Years Later, Elder Packer Remembered Something Else

Two decades later, Elder Bednar was serving as a stake president in Arkansas and attended a regional conference presided over by Elder Packer. During a luncheon, Elder Bednar mentioned their earlier encounter.

Elder Packer remembered it immediately.

But he remembered something Elder Bednar had completely forgotten.

Just before the train departed, young Elder Bednar had given Elder Packer 20 German marks. Elder Bednar apparently worried that Elder and Sister Packer might become hungry during their overnight journey and would need German currency.

When Elder Packer reminded him of the money, Elder Bednar responded that he had absolutely no recollection of giving it to him.

Why the 20 Marks Became Critically Important

During the train journey, Elder and Sister Packer eventually reached the border between West Germany and communist East Germany.

East German officials entered the train and inspected passengers’ passports. Elder Packer’s passport was acceptable, but Sister Packer’s created a serious problem. Her three-year passport had been extended to five years, and the East German government was refusing to recognize passports with that particular extension.

The confrontation became increasingly tense. Elder Packer could not speak German, and the guard could not communicate effectively in English.

Then Elder Packer remembered the 20 marks.

He placed the money with the passports and handed them to the official. The guard left and later returned. The money was gone, but Elder and Sister Packer were permitted to continue through East Germany.

Only Later Did Elder Packer Understand the Danger

When the Packers arrived in Berlin, Elder Packer told a Latter-day Saint priesthood leader working for the United States government what had happened.

The man was shocked.

He explained that East German officials had been making a serious issue of precisely that type of passport and had reportedly been removing travelers from trains.

Only then did Elder Packer realize how dangerous the situation might have become.

And only approximately 20 years later did Elder Bednar learn what had happened to those 20 marks.

Was Giving Elder Packer 20 Marks a Prompting From the Holy Ghost?

Elder Bednar asks the obvious question: Was he prompted by the Holy Ghost to give Elder Packer that money?

His answer is yes.

God knew what was going to happen at the border. He knew Elder and Sister Packer would need help. And a 20-year-old missionary who was sincerely trying to honor his covenants happened to provide exactly what they needed.

But Elder Bednar emphasizes that he did not know any of this at the time.

There was no angel announcing what would happen. There was no unmistakable voice telling him to hand Elder Packer 20 marks. There was no dramatic spiritual experience explaining the future.

Elder Bednar simply thought they might get hungry.

That is precisely why the experience became such an important lesson about how to recognize promptings from the Holy Ghost.

Personal Revelation Is Often Quiet and Recognized Only Later

Elder Bednar explains that sometimes Latter-day Saint culture can create an expectation that every spiritual prompting should be unmistakable.

Members may assume they need to know:

• Exactly when the Holy Ghost is speaking.
• Exactly what God wants them to do.
• Exactly why they are receiving an impression.
• Exactly what will happen if they follow it.

But Elder Bednar teaches that this is not how most personal revelation works.

Occasionally, he says, disciples receive an impression and clearly know beforehand that it comes from God. Powerful and even dramatic spiritual experiences are real.

But he teaches that the overwhelming majority of impressions come while faithful people are simply living the gospel.

They keep the commandments. They honor their covenants. They serve. They pray. They move forward. And as they do, God places them where they need to be and helps them do what He needs them to do.

Often, they may never fully recognize how much divine guidance was involved.

Why Waiting for Revelation Can Keep Us From Receiving It

Elder Bednar warns against becoming spiritually “paralyzed” because we are waiting for unmistakable confirmation before acting.

The scriptures teach disciples to press forward with steadfastness in Christ—not to sit still until every uncertainty disappears.

Faith requires movement.

Rather than saying, “I will act when God tells me exactly what to do,” Elder Bednar encourages disciples to get busy doing what they already know is right.

As they move, the Lord can guide them.

This requires trust in Jesus Christ. We trust that if we sincerely try to follow Him, He is capable of redirecting us when necessary.

The Basketball Game: Another Prompting Elder Bednar Did Not Recognize

Elder Bednar’s second major experience occurred while he was serving as a stake president in a geographically enormous stake covering portions of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

Because members traveled great distances, stake meetings were consolidated onto particular Saturdays.

On one of those Saturdays, Elder Bednar was supposed to preside over a priesthood leadership meeting. At the same time, his ninth-grade son’s basketball team was playing in a tournament championship approximately two hours away.

For Elder Bednar, the conflict was difficult. As a father, he wanted to watch his son. As stake president, he believed he needed to preside over the meeting.

An Unexpected Feeling to Leave the Meeting

Shortly before the priesthood meeting began, Elder Bednar looked into the congregation and noticed an elders quorum president whose son was playing on the opposing basketball team.

Suddenly, Elder Bednar felt that he should leave.

He asked his counselor to take over the meeting and arranged for the elders quorum president to meet him.

He told the man:

“I don’t know why we’re doing this.”

Elder Bednar suggested they use the two-hour drive as a personal priesthood interview and then attend their sons’ basketball game together.

They arrived about 20 minutes before the game. Their sons were thrilled to see them, and the fathers enjoyed watching the game together.

Was It Revelation or Just a Dad Wanting to Watch Basketball?

Afterward, Elder Bednar questioned his decision.

Had the Holy Ghost actually directed him?

Or had he simply rationalized leaving an important Church meeting because he wanted to see his son play?

Even his wife jokingly suggested that he would do almost anything to attend a basketball game.

For months, Elder Bednar wondered whether he had made the right choice.

Six Months Later, the Reason Became Clear

Approximately six months later, Elder Bednar received a phone call around 4:30 on a Sunday morning.

It was the elders quorum president.

His son had suffered a terrible accident and was in the hospital.

The young man had been splitting wood with a metal maul. A tiny piece of metal broke away, passed through his clothing, entered his chest cavity, and injured his heart. The wound was difficult to detect, and the young man began bleeding internally.

Despite efforts to save him, he died.

When Elder Bednar arrived at the hospital, the grieving father embraced him.

Then he said something Elder Bednar would never forget:

“President Bednar, I am so glad we were able to go to that ball game because that’s the only chance I ever would have had to see my son play in a game like that.”

God Knew What That Father Would Need Before He Did

In that moment, Elder Bednar understood the experience differently.

He testifies that the Holy Ghost had moved him to leave that priesthood meeting because the Lord knew what would happen to the young man months later.

Heavenly Father knew that this father would treasure the opportunity to watch his son play one final championship basketball game.

Yet once again, Elder Bednar did not recognize the prompting when it occurred.

Even after serving as a bishop and stake president, he wondered whether the impression came from the Spirit or from himself.

The meaning became clear only in hindsight.

How Becoming More Like Jesus Christ Helps Us Follow the Spirit

Elder Bednar connects these experiences to the larger purpose of discipleship.

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, disciples seek to put off the natural man and woman and gradually become Saints. That transformation happens “line upon line, precept upon precept.”

As we become more like Jesus Christ, our desires, thoughts, and instincts should increasingly become more like His.

Therefore, Elder Bednar suggests that the Lord should not constantly need dramatic manifestations of the Holy Ghost to get our attention.

As disciples mature spiritually, God can increasingly trust them to think what Christ would think and do what Christ would do.

That means ordinary goodness can become an instrument of revelation.

Nephi Shows How to Move Forward Without Knowing Everything

Elder Bednar encourages listeners to study the Book of Mormon account of Nephi returning to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates.

Nephi did not know beforehand exactly how the Lord would deliver the plates into his hands. He moved forward faithfully and received direction along the way.

That pattern reinforces Elder Bednar’s teaching about personal revelation: sometimes God gives us enough light to take the next step rather than showing us the entire path.

Faith is not always knowing before we move. Sometimes faith means moving because we trust that God knows.

Changing a General Conference Talk Because of a Quiet Feeling

Elder Bednar’s third major example comes after he had been called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Before traveling to Europe, he prepared his upcoming General Conference message early so that it could be submitted for translation.

After returning home, however, he woke one morning and told Sister Bednar that he thought he was supposed to give a different message.

Again, the prompting was not dramatic.

He simply felt unsettled.

Rather than endlessly analyzing that feeling, he acted on it and prepared the message Honorably Hold a Name and Standing, focusing on the protecting power of temple covenants and ordinances.

How the Lord Coordinated General Conference Messages

Elder Bednar explains that speakers in General Conference are not normally assigned topics. He did not know what Elder Dallin H. Oaks would speak about immediately before him or what Elder Gary E. Stevenson would address afterward.

Yet the messages came together with remarkable unity.

Elder Oaks discussed selfless service and covenants of sacrifice and consecration. Elder Bednar taught about the protecting power of temple ordinances and covenants. Elder Stevenson then spoke about the temple and its influence in the home.

President Thomas S. Monson concluded the session with another significant emphasis on the temple.

Elder Bednar says those messages were “orchestrated by heaven.”

But he did not understand why he had felt prompted to change his talk until he listened to the other messages during the conference itself.

The experience demonstrates that even Apostles can receive personal revelation without immediately understanding why.

What Missionary Work Teaches About the Holy Ghost

Elder Bednar closes by describing conversations he has with converts throughout the world.

He often asks converts what it was like when missionaries first taught them. According to Elder Bednar, one common answer is that the missionaries’ explanations initially made very little sense.

They heard unfamiliar teachings about Joseph Smith, angels, golden plates, and the Restoration.

So Elder Bednar asks another question: Why did they keep listening?

The answer often has less to do with the missionaries’ eloquence and more to do with what the investigators felt.

They felt something while listening to the missionaries. That spiritual influence encouraged them to continue learning until the message began to make more sense. Eventually, they could pray and seek their own witness from God.

How to Recognize the Holy Ghost Without Overthinking Every Prompting

The central lesson of Elder Bednar’s message is not that we should ignore spiritual promptings. Rather, it is that the Holy Ghost may be guiding us much more frequently than we realize.

Instead of constantly asking, “Was that the Spirit or was that just me?” Elder Bednar encourages disciples to focus on becoming people the Lord can trust.

• Press forward with faith in Jesus Christ.
• Honor your covenants.
• Keep God’s commandments.
• Act on good and righteous thoughts.
• Serve other people.
• Trust God to redirect you when necessary.
• Do not wait for dramatic revelation before doing something good.

The 20-mark note, the basketball game, and the changed General Conference message all teach the same principle: God can guide us before we recognize that we are being guided.

Final Takeaway: Press Forward With Faith and Trust the Holy Ghost

For anyone wondering, “How do I know if it’s the Holy Ghost or just me?” Elder Bednar offers a reassuring answer. You do not need to perfectly identify every prompting before moving forward.

There will be moments when revelation is unmistakable. But much of the Lord’s guidance is quiet, subtle, and woven naturally into a faithful life.

As we draw closer to Jesus Christ, honor our covenants, and sincerely seek to do good, we become more capable of being instruments in God’s hands. Sometimes we will understand His guidance immediately. Sometimes we will recognize it years later. And sometimes we may never realize how the Lord used one seemingly ordinary decision to bless another person.

Elder Bednar’s repeated counsel captures the heart of the message:

“Quit worrying about it. Get to work. Press forward with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rather than allowing uncertainty about personal revelation to keep us from acting, we can trust the Savior enough to move forward. As Elder Bednar teaches at the conclusion of the message, “Everything that is good comes from God.”