The Gifts of the Spirit

One of the hallmarks of Jesus Christ’s true Church is the possession of spiritual gifts among its membership for the edification of all within the Church. These gifts are given by the Holy Ghost to the faithful believers of the Lord’s gospel by means of the Light of Christ, the force through which the Holy Ghost accomplishes His mission. “They are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; . . . To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:9 & 12). Instructions relative to the gifts of the Spirit may be found in chapters 12, 13, and 14 of 1 Corinthians; in chapter 10 of Moroni; and in D&C 46: 8-33. Given their essential role in the gospel, these gifts are the subject of the seventh Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.”

For the purposes of this writing, Section 46 of the D&C will serve as the gospel text. Faith is one of the gifts of God, but not all of the faithful receive it. To some is given the gift of belief, the ability to believe in and to follow the words and works of the faithful, thereby successfully satisfying the first principle of the gospel namely, faith. (verses 13-14)

Another gift, the gift of the “differences of administration,” is a working understanding of the complex duties and responsibilities that exist within the Church’s organization whereby the Lord’s work is accomplished through the efforts of the Priesthood brethren and those called to serve in its auxiliaries. The Kingdom of God on the earth must be a house of order if it is to fulfill its earthly mission. (15)

Each faithful member of the Church has received at least one gift of the Spirit according to the promise given. Those gifts which we individually possess and nourish will have a bearing upon the types of callings we will receive from our Church leaders. The gift of “diversities of operations” allows Church administrators to call members who possess gifts appropriate to those required for their new callings. It is for this reason that I have been called during my lifetime to serve in a variety of administrative and teaching callings but have never been called to be a scout master, even though I am an Eagle Scout. It is even more clear that no ward will ever have to suffer my being called as their organist. (16)

Wisdom and knowledge are gifts of the Spirit. It is one thing to acquire knowledge; it is another to use it wisely. We are commanded to gain knowledge through study and experience. But the wise use of this acquired knowledge allows us to be more successful stewards of all that which God has entrusted to us for our learning and progression. (17-18)

The power to heal and to be healed are also among the enumerated gifts. The gift of healing goes far beyond the ability to give a Priesthood blessing and command the sufferer to “rise and walk.” Many of our members are employed in one way or another in the dietary, medical practitioner, and medical research professions. Many Priesthood brethren are called upon rather frequently to participate in blessings to the sick or injured. While the wording of most blessings is not dramatic, miracles do occur often in a quiet way observed mostly by those close to the recipient. Those who receive such blessings have a major role to play in their success. An individual who does not believe that receiving a blessing will be to their benefit will most likely experience little or none. Faith is the first principle of the gospel, and an absence of faith in God and the power of His Priesthood will generally yield the unbeliever minor benefits. (19-20)

Miracles happen for the benefit of the believers. It has been my experience that non-believers generally seek or assume dramatic ends when they speak of miracles. We believers know otherwise. We know that miracles happen far more often than our non-believing friends would imagine. We realize that their happenings are almost always anything but dramatic, but that in their quiet way their effects are powerful. Two of the richest sources of miracles in my life concern themselves with missionary work and the blessing of the sick. (21)

The dictionary defines “prophesy” as “to speak as a prophet.” A prophet is someone who having authority and being inspired by the Holy Ghost teaches or preaches the gospel bearing testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ and of the truthfulness of His gospel. Thus this gift is possessed by many members of the Lord’s Church. When asked, “Do you believe Joseph Smith, Jun., to be a Prophet?” the Prophet himself responded to the inquiry thusly: “Yes, and every other man who has the testimony of Jesus. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.--Revelation,. xix: 10th verse” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 119). (22)

The ability to discern between good and evil spirits is another gift of the Spirit. More specifically, this gift concerns itself with the ability to discern between the Light of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, on the one hand, as opposed to the workings of the devil, on the other. This gift is important to those who administer in the Lord’s kingdom as well as those who comprise its membership. (23)

The gift of tongues and the gift of the “interpretation of tongues” were manifest in the Church founded by the Lord during His mortal ministry. They have also been manifest in the restored Church. The traditional workings of these two gifts in conjunction with each other have never been experienced personally by this writer. However, the gift of tongues to the extent that those called to the Lord’s service are blessed with an enhanced ability to learn and use foreign languages to assist in the dissemination of the gospel is very much a gift experienced often by the Saints in today’s Church. (24-25)

The Lord concluded this enumeration of the gifts of the Spirit saying, “And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:26).