Today in church, a man was assigned to speak, and when he got up, I asked John who he was. I had never seen him before. Boy, you just never know the life experiences of anyone until you find out a little bit about them. Brother Mangino is about as Italian-American as it gets. He looks Italian, he sounds Italian, and his life story is Italian. I couldn't help but think about Globee Baby on her mission when I heard him speak. As John has said about investigators: you just never know who will join the church.
John called Brother Mangino afterwards and asked him for a copy of his talk for me. Here it is:
Good morning everybody, I was asked to do a talk on the Holy Ghost and how it blessed our lives.
Gospel Principles 21
The gift of the HG is the privilege-given to people who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, been baptized, and been confirmed as members of the church—to receive continual guidance and inspiration from the holy ghost. I will give you a little example but first
A little background about myself. I was brought up catholic until about 3 and half years ago
I was baptized on Halloween of all days. More on that later. And since then I believe the HG has been with me all along.
My mom wanted me to go to catholic school in my younger years. My mom, God bless her is 95 and still going strong. She watches the morning mass on tv everyday. she doesn’t want to be bothered until after her mass is over at 9:00am. Between us 3 siblings, older brother and younger sister and myself, which we don’t live too far away, we pop in on her all the time. A few years later.
I was 18 at the time and working at a steel mill where my dad worked for 26 years prior. He never went to church and it wasn’t until I was 18 that I found out he never believed in God. I remember working with him on the midnight shift and going to a bar at 8:00 o’clock in the morning after work. Some how God came up in our conversation
and he mentioned why would you want to go to heaven, you can’t drink up there and you can’t gamble up there. At the time I really didn’t know what to say. I loved my father, I really didn’t consider him an alcoholic because he just drank beer. He also smoked 3 packs of ciggerettes a day and died of a sudden heart attack at 51. I was 18
Fast forward 40 some years later after working many jobs being that they were a dime a dozen, I had no problem with work. I was able to collect a pension after 20 years at the PO from age 40-60. All along I was a musician playing in the smokey atmosphere clubs at the time following my dad’s footsteps drinking beer and smoking ciggerettes and doing drugs. My dad didn’t do drugs.
When I retired at 60, I was bored, lonely, never had been married, wondering what’s next.
Gospel principles 21
A person may be temporarily guided by the HG without receiving the gift of the HG. D and C 130:23—A man may receive the HG, and it may depend upon him and not tarry with him.
Thats when I ran into a couple of missionaries at the local park. I gave them an ear full of stuff that’s been happening in our world. I didn’t have regular tv or cable just internet with u tube to watch. I hated regular tv all the news was bias or fake stories come to find out later.
I watched all the underground news that main stream does not mention. Hollywood witches and their blood sacrifices, how the vatican is corrupt, weather or not we really been to the moon, after watching all this stuff, I didn’t know if the earth is flat or round anymore. The missionaries politely listened to me and began their speech about the book of Mormon. I declined them at first and then later ran into them 3 weeks later at a fair. We then went behind the Polish tent to prey and I had broke down.
From then on I went to all the meetings, I stopped all my bad habits and began listening to book of Mormon with my headset while riding my bike. We had scripture meetings every wednesday evening and home teachings at least once a week. I was on my way to a better self and understanding the lord and had set a date to be baptized. I was Baptized on Halloween to celebrate the opposite of whatever they do on Halloween. It just so happened to be a Saturday.
I had met my beautiful wife Mary just before I was Baptized walking around the neighborhood when I was riding my bike. We were married within a year later and she was also Baptized.
I have been blessed with the power of the HG. I remember laying in bed one night preying and feeling the the white light and calmness of the HG. It’s hard to explain but I’ll never forget it, It prompted a lyric in a song I wrote. I only hope to feel his presence more often. Sometimes we fall away and get distracted, I can be upset about something and all of a sudden swear and immediately I know what I have done and say I’m sorry right away, but coming to church and receiving sacrament and reading our scriptures reminds us of holding on to the iron rod and following the straight and narrow path.
Moroni 10:4-5 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true, and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the HG. And by the power of the HG, ye may know the truth of all things.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said onto them, repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the HG.
After people are baptized, they are confirmed members of the church and given the gift of the HG by the laying on of hands. The lord said whoso having faith you shall confirm in my church, by the laying on of the hands, and I will bestow the gift of the HG upon them. Every worthy elder of the church, when authorized, may give the gift of the HG to another person. However there’s no guarantee that the person will receive inspiration and guidance from the HG just because the elders have laid their hands on his or her head. To be worthy to have the help of the HG, we must seek earnestly to obey the commandments of God. We must keep our actions and thoughts pure. The HG usually communicates with us quietly. His influence is often referred to as a still small voice. The HG speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear. The gift of the HG is one of Gos’s greatest gifts to us. Through the HG we may know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that his church has been restored to the earth. We may have promptings of the HG to show us all the things we should do. The HG sacrafies us to prepare us for Gods presence.
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