Another Comforter

At the Last Supper, Jesus promised His apostles that the Father would send them “another Comforter … even the Spirit of truth.” He also reiterated that they would see Him again: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” But even in His absence, “the Comforter, which is 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 14:16, 18, 26).

In 1832, Joseph Smith received a revelation which he called the “Olive Leaf … the Lord’s message of peace.” The revelation opens with reaffirmation of the Savior’s promise:

I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John.

This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:3-4

By calling this Comforter “the Holy Spirit of promise,” the Savior emphasized the hope and witness we can receive that we are on the right track, that we are becoming what God wants us to become. As President Henry B. Eyring has taught:

If you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost today, you may take it as a sweet evidence that the Atonement is working in your life.

“Our Constant Companion,” General Conference, October 2023

Paul assured church members in Ephesus that they had been “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of our purchased possession” (Ephesians 1:13-14). Of course, we didn’t purchase eternal life; we can’t afford it. But the Savior purchased it on our behalf, and the companionship of the Holy Ghost today functions like earnest money—a good-faith deposit—assuring us that God will provide the full blessing in due time.

The prophet Mormon also used the title “Comforter” to describe the Spirit’s forward-looking and hope-affirming function:

Because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.

Moroni 8:26

Today, I will be grateful for the comforting influence of the Holy Ghost. I will be grateful for the companionship of the Spirit of truth—the holy Spirit of promise—who gives me hope and courage to carry on, with the expectation that I will one day receive all the gifts God has offered to His children.