The Mormons are careful to distinguish
between the Spirit of God and the Holy Ghost. To them, the first is the power
and influence that radiates from the personality of God Himself. It reflects
His love and will and touches us in much the same way as we are affected by the
presence of a dynamic and vital individual. Because God is omnipotent, the
influence of His spirit is not limited by time or space, but only by our
spiritual capacity to perceive is presence. The Holy Ghost, being also a divine
personality, has this same power to project His influence; but His responsibilities
are limited and He can only touch the lives of men under certain conditions.
On rare occasions, the presence of the Holy
Ghost has been manifest to some who were not necessarily believers—as at the
baptism of Christ or on the day of Pentecost. We are told in the New Testament
that one occasion He was sent to an unconverted gentile, the centurion
Cornelius. But from modern revelation, we learn that He generally comes only to
those who have accepted Christ, have become repentant, have been baptized, and
have had the Gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed upon them.
The Gift of the Holy Ghost, like other gifts
of God to us, is not to be enjoyed without responsibility on our part. It is an
opportunity, rather than a right. We are offered the privilege of the companionship
of the Holy Ghost, but He can come to us or stay with us only when we are righteous
and in spiritual tune with Christ and His precepts and purposes. To enjoy His
companionship we must continue to be humble, faithful, and repentant. He cannot
perform this mission if we turn away from God. (Wallace F. Bennett, Why I am a Mormon [3d ed.; Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book Company, 1964], 223-24)
