The voice of the Good Shepherd is a doctrinal subject worth our most careful study at this time. It is inexorably tied to the gift of the Holy Ghost, which, according to the scriptures, performs multiple roles as an influence and tool of the divine upon our spirits:
"After they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ" (Moro. 6:4, emphasis added);
"The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26, emphasis added);
"By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5, emphasis added);
"The Spirit shall give utterance in all your doings in the house of the Lord, in the school of the prophets, that it may become a sanctuary, a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit to your edification" (D&C 88:137, emphasis added);
"The Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say" (Luke 12:12, emphasis added).
Though there is a an individual belonging to the Godhead whom we refer to as God the Third, or the Holy Ghost, what we call the gift of the Holy Ghost is more closely tied to the ministering of angels. Consider the teaching that those who speak by the Holy Ghost—be they mortal, deceased, or immortal—speak the words of Christ, or put another way, channel the voice of the Good Shepherd:
"Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost? 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 Ne. 32:2 – 3, emphasis added).
This is why the promise made in the sacrament that those who worthily partake may "always have his spirit to be with them" is administered by those who hold the "keys of the ministering of angels" (D&C 13:1):
“How does the Aaronic Priesthood hold the key to the ministering of angels? The answer is the same as for the Spirit of the Lord. In general, the blessings of spiritual companionship and communication are only available to those who are clean. As explained earlier, through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will always have His Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but also to the ministering of angels, for 'angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.' So it is that those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels" (Dallin H. Oaks, Conference Report, October 1998, p. 39, emphasis added).
This means that promptings from through the gift of the Holy Ghost may actually be the words of departed and exalted spirits and angels:
"[…] Our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given to them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh" (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 436).
This ability for angels to minister to us as though they were God the Third, and the ability for God the Third to administer as if he were God the Second—or the Son—is known as the divine investiture of authority, and actually shows up in the Doctrine & Covenants when Christ talks as if he were the Father (see for example D&C 29:1, 42, 46) and in the Book of Revelation when John confuses an angel speaking as if her were Christ for Christ himself:
"I fell to worship before the feet of the Angel who was showing me these things. And he said to me: 'Seer, no! I am your fellow Servant and of your brothers the Prophets and of those who observe these words of this book. Worship God!'" (Rev 22:8 – 9, HPBT)
This communication network (for lack of a better word) of spirits and angels who are able to channel the very words of Christ, upon which we should feast, and speak them to our hearts is at the core of what the Lectures on Faith call the "mind of God":
"The Son being filled with the fulness of the Mind, glory and power, or, in other words, the Spirit, glory and power of the Father—possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom: sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father—a Mediator for man—being filled with the fulness of the Mind of the Father, or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father: which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments: and all those who keep his commandments shall grow up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being transformed into the same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all: being filled with the fulness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one" (Lectures on Faith 5:2, emphasis added).
It is possible for someone to speak under this influence and shout praises to the holy one of Israel and for the hearers to be convicted that the person is speaking truth by the same spirit. This has been the case with many prophets and church leaders throughout the years since Joseph Smith. But there's a great warning for a leader and those whom he leads who may be tempted to assume that anything a leader says can be the truth and mind of God from moment to moment. Brigham Young warned:
"I have said to the Latter-day Saints, many and many a time, and I say to them now, live your religion, that the Spirit of God may be within you like a well of water springing up to everlasting life. Suppose I were to give way to the spirit of the enemy and leave the spirit of the Gospel, then, if you were not prepared to judge between the voice of the Good Shepherd and the voice of the stranger, I could lead you to ruin. Be prepared that you may know the voice when it comes through the servants of God, then you can declare for yourselves. ‘This is the word of the Lord.’ My caution and counsel to the Latter-day Saints, and to all the inhabitants of the earth is—Live so that you will know truth from error.... "Suppose you are careless and unconcerned, and give way to the spirit of the world, and I am led, likewise, to preach the things of this world and to accept things that are not of God, how easy it would be for me to lead you astray! But I say to you, live so that you will know for yourselves whether I tell the truth or not" (JOD 18:248).
It would be great if our leaders could always speak under the power and influence of the Holy Ghost, but church history has proven that one can never assume this state of things:
"We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen" (D&C 121:39 – 40).
Those who are called, set apart, and even anointed to lead require our prayers in their behalf that they might discern between the precepts of man and God's mind just as the rest of us must do. Even when David's life was under threat by the Lord's anointed, he respected the calling and office of Saul without giving allegiance to his every word; for David knew the spirit and mind of God and that Saul's words were no longer the words of the Good Shepherd though he was yet the Lord's anointed (see 1 Sam. 24:2 – 12).
David was wise to not give in to the spirit of accusation, which is the very spirit of the devil for he is called "the accuser of our brethren" (Rev. 12:10). Had David given in to bitter feelings of anger and hatred, he would have lost the mind of God at that time too. What he was required to do is what each of us are required to do: we must each live so that we may hear the "still small voice," (1 Kgs. 19:12) even the quiet spirit of Jesus.
Only this way will Zion come, to a body of people who "are valiant and inspired with the true independence of heaven" (JOD 1:312) which is the "spirit of freedom" (Alma 61:15).
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