GIFTED

“I remember the Prophet arising to preach to a large congregation in the grove west of the Temple in Nauvoo. He stated that he would preach on spiritual gifts…..Joseph stated that every Latter-Day Saint had a gift, and by living a righteous life, and asking for it, the Holy Spirit would reveal it to him or her.”  (Amasa Potter, “A reminiscence of the Prophet Joseph Smith”, Juvenile Instructor, Feb 15, 1894, p 132)

Nobody would know this concept better than Joseph who had only a grammar school knowledge of reading and writing and yet had the ability to translate records written centuries before in a language of which he had no knowledge. The fact that Joseph had this gift was attested by Mormon who wrote on the title page of the Book of Mormon that the golden plates would be interpreted by the gift of God. This gift of God was the gift of translation given to Joseph Smith (Teachings of Presidents, Chapter 9: Gifts of the Spirit)

The latter-day witness came from Oliver Cowdery: “These were days never to be forgotten – to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim…..the history or record called “The Book of Mormon” (Joseph Smith History 1:71 - From a letter from Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept 7, 1834, Norton, Ohio)

The gifts of the spirit are given for the purpose of developing traits we lack and need to have, not only for our benefit but most importantly for the benefit of the Church for it is for this purpose they are given (D&C 46:10:29). They are also a tool for overcoming weaknesses: “…..if any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections.” (“Millenial Star, April 1894, pp 260-61).  

I have taught several lessons over the years on the gifts of the spirit as outlined in D&C 46.  The last time I taught it I decided to seek a gift I needed to help me overcome  a long-standing weakness.  As I pondered about it I realised I didn't know which gift was needed for me to have for this particular weakness so I decided to pray about this and ask which gift I should seek.  I knew the answer that came to me was straight from above because I would never have come up with it in those words on my own. 

I tend to have a somewhat dogmatic manner at times and this has troubled me over the years and has created clashes with people which necessitated later apologies.  This weakness also makes me detest unfairness and causes me to stand up for myself even in less important situations such as customer service. 

The gift I was told to pray for was the gift of 'forbearance and self-restraint'.  As I contemplated this definition of the gift I realised I had other weaknesses that could be overcome with this gift.  It was rather humbling to discover I had so many weaknesses that they could be grouped into a whole category.

I thought obtaining this gift was going to be a simple matter of praying for it and one day I would wake up with this gift under my belt ready to take on the world.  Unfortunately, it didn't prove to be that simple.  I prayed many weeks for this gift and one day I had another 'customer service' incident that left me feeling less than good about myself.  I was wrongly done by and I gave as good as I got.  I walked away thinking I really could have used the gift of forbearance and self-restraint that day and wondered when I was going to get it.  As I thought about it, I realised what I had been doing wrong. 

As Ether 12:27 tells us, weaknesses are designed to bring us to God that we might be humble. I lacked that humility in receiving this gift.  What I needed to do was humbly call upon God for my gift in the moment that I needed it and then act in faith as if I had it. In other words, some effort on my part was needed as well.

I realise it can be very hard to make yourself call on God in the moment when you are facing your weakness instead of giving into it because a lot of our weaknesses come with payoffs, payoffs that we enjoy and more than often want. The key is desire.  When the desire becomes greater than the payoff, you are half way there.  When you no longer want to be the person you see in the mirror, you are ready to change.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Translation Process by LDS Art)