Elder Neil L. Andersen explained that the Spirit communicates with us in different ways at different times. “Those listening to the Apostle Peter ‘were pricked in their heart[s].’ The Lamanite woman Abish believed the ‘remarkable vision of her father.’ And a voice came into the mind of Enos…. There are times when spiritual feelings go down into our heart like fire, illuminating our soul…. The Savior Himself spoke of a people with great faith who ‘were [blessed] with fire and with the Holy Ghost, [but who] knew it not'” (“Spiritually Defining Memories,” General Conference, April 2020).
The ancient psalmist Asaph wrote about that first type of inspiration, the feeling that we need to change:
My heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
Psalm 73:21-23
He feels sorrow for his shortcomings, but because of his trust in God, he is motivated to move forward and try again.
When Peter and the other apostles received the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentacost, a diverse crowd gathered to hear them talk, marveling that they all heard them in their own language. When Peter testified of the mission of Jesus Christ, the people “were pricked in their heart.” They wanted to change, but they didn’t know how. With faith, they asked the apostles, “What shall we do?” Peter responded that they should repent and be baptized (Acts 2:37-38).
Jarom tells us that about two hundred years after the arrival of Lehi and his family on the American continent, the people of Nephi remained righteous because of the hard work of “the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers” among them. He said that they “did threaten the people of Nephi…exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence…. And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance” (Jarom 1:10-12). It sounds like the people responded to the warnings, but it was a shame that the warnings had to be so direct.
Mormon lamented to his son, Moroni, that he had a hard time calibrating his teaching in a way that motivated his people without alienating them:
I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them.
Moroni 9:4
Today, I will strive to be responsive to the Spirit of the Lord. When I am “pricked in [my] heart,” I will follow the examples of Asaph and of Peter’s listeners, exercising faith in God and trusting that He will help me grow and change.