At about 3 am this past Wednesday, all of our smoke detectors started blaring. This was not a drill! We had been soundly sleeping and now our bodies were fully alert. So, with what wits one has at 3 am, we checked all smoke detectors to see if any of them might have a reason to cause this disturbance. After inspecting each detector and finding nothing amiss, we really wanted to get some sleep and needed the noise to stop. Our windows were also open so we could enjoy some cool night air and we were wondering if maybe our neighbors were also experiencing this cacophony. As a ward we had been recently taught by a friendly fire marshall that unplugging the smoke detector in the master bedroom would cause the other detectors to stop as well. We quickly followed what we had learned. Now, it could have been a little bit of impatience, but this action did not seem to have the desired effect. All the smoke detectors were still sounding. We thought that maybe turning off the circuit breaker would help. No, they were still fully operational. So, in order to salvage the remainder of our sleep, we decided that the only thing we could do was to unplug all detectors and remove their batteries. After doing this there was finally a peaceful silence in our home. We were still pretty awake now, but we did finally get a little more sleep.
There are many lessons that can be learned from this experience and lots of ways that one could apply those lessons to one’s life. I’d like to focus on three core lessons.
The first lesson I’d like to discuss relates to our study of the scriptures. As I had mentioned, we had been well taught by our knowledgable fire marshall how to turn off our malfunctioning alarms, but we had never actually needed to do it. We had knowledge, but no experience.
I wonder if sometimes that is how it is for our scripture study. There are many great resources available to broaden our understanding and to teach us much about the scriptures. Perhaps we started listening to a podcast as a supplement to our own scripture study, but now we have found that we are busier and we only spend time listening, forgoing our deeper study of the scriptures. Perhaps we have inadvertently given up our own scripture study and thus our opportunity to have our own converting experience in the scriptures.
Perhaps this is also similar to the parable of the ten virgins. All ten of the virgins were waiting for the bridegroom, but only half of them had taken the time to fill their lamps with oil and bring extra for the wait. Our study of the scriptures does this for us; it fills our lamps and our reserves with oil.
I know and love the many wonderful podcasts, social media posts and other resources that help build faith in Christ and remind us of Him. It is important to spend time surrounded by good things. However, there is revelation that comes by no other way than by reading, studying and pondering the words of Christ directly from the scriptures. As Nephi wrote, “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3)
My first invitation is that each of us will spend time in the scriptures on a daily basis. Find a time that works best for you and do it daily, consistently. We may feel that our understanding of the scriptures is inadequate or that we aren’t good at reading. We can exercise our faith and seek to overcome any obstacle that stands in our way. We can seek guidance from heaven on what we can do to make scripture study a part of our life. We may even be prompted to use a podcast or other media to help in our scripture study. We can use these resources to help us understand more about the scriptures we are studying, but not replace our important revelatory experience.
Recently this happened to me while reading the scriptures for a Come, Follow Me lesson. Reading about the passover preparation sparked a thought that touched me and gave me new insights that I didn’t have before. In Exodus 12, we learn about the preparations for passover. In verses 3 and 4 we are taught, “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.”
I was touched by the way each household was to make sure that their neighbor was included if they had more lamb than their household could consume. It made me think about how we can invite our friends and neighbors to our sacrament meetings and have them participate with us in worshiping Jesus Christ.
This was something that was meant for me and touched me that I might have missed had I not been in the scriptures myself.
Another obvious aspect of a smoke detector is that they give advanced warning to a potential danger in the home. Just as it was important for us to go through the house and inspect each location for possible problems, I’d like to suggest that we all from time to time should go through our spiritual homes and see if there are areas that we need to inspect or of which we need to be more mindful.
One such area that I’d like to mention is how important it is for us to follow the priesthood admonition to “receive the Holy Ghost”.
Elder Bednar shared three things we can do to receive the Holy Ghost:
- Sincerely Desire
“We first should desire, yearn for, and seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost. You and I can learn a great lesson about righteous desires from the faithful disciples of the Master described in the Book of Mormon:”
“And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause that the multitude should kneel down upon the face of the earth, and should pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus. …
“And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them” (3 Nephi 19:6, 9).
“Do we likewise remember to pray earnestly and consistently for that which we should most desire, even the Holy Ghost? Or do we become distracted by the cares of the world and the routine of daily living and take for granted or even neglect this most valuable of all gifts? Receiving the Holy Ghost starts with our sincere and constant desire for His companionship in our lives.”
- Appropriately Invite
“We more readily receive and recognize the Spirit of the Lord as we appropriately invite Him into our lives. We cannot compel, coerce, or command the Holy Ghost. Rather, we should invite Him into our lives with the same gentleness and tenderness by which He entreats us (see D&C 42:14).”
“Our invitations for the companionship of the Holy Ghost occur in many ways: through the making and keeping of covenants; by praying sincerely as individuals and families; by searching the scriptures diligently; through strengthening appropriate relationships with family members and friends; by seeking after virtuous thoughts, actions, and language; and by worshipping in our homes, in the holy temple, and at church.”
- Faithfully Obey
“Faithfully obeying God’s commandments is essential to receiving the Holy Ghost. We are reminded of this truth each week as we listen to the sacrament prayers and worthily partake of the bread and water. As we pledge our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments, we are promised that we may always have His Spirit to be with us (see D&C 20:77). Thus, everything the Savior’s gospel teaches us to do and become is intended to bless us with the companionship of the Holy Ghost.”
“Consider the reasons we pray and study the scriptures. Yes, we yearn to communicate in prayer with Heavenly Father in the name of His Son. And yes, we desire to obtain the light and knowledge available in the standard works. But please remember that these holy habits primarily are ways whereby we always remember Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son and are prerequisites to the ongoing companionship of the Holy Ghost.”
“Reflect on the reasons we worship in the house of the Lord and in our Sabbath meetings. Yes, we serve our kindred dead in the temple—and our families and friends in the wards and branches in which we live. And yes, we enjoy the righteous sociality we find among our brothers and sisters. But we primarily gather together in unity to seek the blessings of and instruction from the Holy Ghost.”
“Praying, studying, gathering, worshipping, serving, and obeying are not isolated and independent items on a lengthy gospel checklist of things to do. Rather, each of these righteous practices is an important element in an overarching spiritual quest to fulfill the mandate to receive the Holy Ghost. The commandments from God we obey and the inspired counsel from Church leaders we follow principally focus upon obtaining the companionship of the Spirit. Fundamentally, all gospel teachings and activities are centered on coming unto Christ by receiving the Holy Ghost in our lives.”
I invite us all to consider ways we can act, or continue acting on the priesthood admonition to receive the Holy Ghost.
The last lesson that I will touch on, is the need to be increasingly pure.
Perhaps you’re wondering how we resolved our dilemma with our smoke detectors. One option could have been to do nothing. We could have simply removed all the smoke detectors, patched the holes in the ceiling and repainted. Having no smoke detectors would definitely prevent future 3 am wake up calls. However, it would be unwise to leave our home unprotected just as it would be unwise to leave our spiritual lives unprotected. Again, the advice of our friendly fire marshall came to the rescue. We replaced all of the old smoke detectors since they were all well expired and no longer functioning properly. With new batteries and devices, I’m confident that we are now prepared for the future.
Clearing out the expired and malfunctioning smoke detectors could be compared to becoming more pure.
In his April 2025 message, Confidence in the Presence of God, President Nelson shared,
“Brothers and sisters, as the world grows more wicked, we need to grow increasingly pure. Our thoughts, words, and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous and filled with the pure love of Jesus Christ towards all men. The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be.”
As we continually work on becoming more pure, we can be inspired on what to work on next. Perhaps we don’t need an obnoxious alarm to alert us but as we focus on the messages of our leaders we can heed their quiet yet persistent plea to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.
Testimony - We are doing great. Start where you are. Don’t give up. Look for the simple progress. Christ makes up the difference and consecrates our righteous efforts.