D&C 46:11-17

46:11-12 - Here we get into the topic of gifts of the Spirit, again, I don’t know a whole lot about these things but let’s have at it. As an introduction to this topic the Lord begins, “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.” The IM quotes Elder Orson Pratt as teaching, “whenever the Holy Ghost takes up its residence in a person, it not only cleanses, sanctified, and purifies him, in proportion as he yields himself to its influence, but also imparts to him some gift, intended for the benefit of himself and others. No one who has been born of the Spirit, and who remains sufficiently faithful, is left destitute of a spiritual gift. A person who is without a spiritual gift has not the Spirit of God dwelling in him, in a sufficient degree, to save him; he cannot be called a Saint, or a child of God; for all Saints who constitute the Church of Christ, are baptized into the same Spirit; and each one, without any exception, is made a partaker of some spiritual gift… Each member does not receive all these gifts; but they are distributed through the whole body (of the Church), according to the will and wisdom of the Spirit… Some may have all these gifts bestowed upon them, so as to understand them all, and be prepared to detect any spurious gifts, and to preside over the whole body of the Church, that all may be benefited. These spiritual gifts are distributed among the members of the Church, according to their faithfulness, circumstances, natural abilities, duties, and callings; that the whole may be properly instructed, confirmed, perfected, and saved.” This makes sense that not all are given every gift, that it’s appropriate that we each have our strengths and our weaknesses in order for everyone to have purpose and confidence, and also so that everyone can remain humble and teachable.

46:13 – The first gift of the Spirit is “to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.” Concerning this the IM teaches, “’This knowledge is placed first among the special gifts, because it is obtained only by revelation. To believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Anointed One, the Messiah, and that He was crucified for the sins of the world, is not to know it. Knowledge is a special gift.’ Concerning the gift to know, President Joseph Fielding Smith counseled: ‘When the Spirit speaks to spirit, the imprint upon the soul is far more difficult to erase. Every member of the Church should have impressions that Jesus is the Son of God indelibly pictured on his soul through the witness of the Holy Ghost.’” I’m kind of unsure about the “know” part of this, when it says that to know is not to know, I would think that it means something along the lines of not being a perfect knowledge but a really strong faith, which goes along with the “impressions” part of it. Chapter 22 of the Manual has teaches, “This has been the gift of prophets and apostles who have been called as special witnesses of Jesus Christ. However, others are also given this gift. Every person can have a testimony through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. President David O. McKay taught: ‘It is given unto some, says the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, to know by the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Son of God and that He was crucified for the sins of the world. It is to these I refer who stand firm upon the rock of revelation in the testimony that they bear to the world.” This makes it seem like it’s a more diffusely bestowed gift, surely this gift doesn’t come in a “one size fits all” formula, and so each of us can gather it by degrees, as we are faithful and ready.

46:14 – “To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful.” This is a step down from the knowledge of the divinity of Christ. Before you can have the witness for yourself, you have to believe the testimonies of others first. The IM teaches, “Some receive the gift of believing in the testimony that others have received. This gift could be manifested in the lives of people who investigate the Church because they believe in the testimony of members of missionaries while not yet possessing a personal testimony of their own. Children may receive this gift of believing in the testimony of their parents until they receive their own testimony. This gift follows the one spoken of in verse 13, perhaps because it refers to the gift that prophets and Apostles have of receiving a special witness of the Savior. The gift of the Spirit spoken of in verse 14 for the Saints in general to believe on the testimony of God’s servants.” If verse 13 refers to a “perfect knowledge” then it would make sense that that perfect knowledge might be the special witness received by the prophets and Apostles. Then because the rest of us don’t have a perfect knowledge, we can believe the testimonies of those who do and build our own testimonies by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. Chapter 22 has another approach, “By the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. If we want to know whether someone else is speaking the truth, we must ask God in faith. IF the thing we are praying about is true, the Lord will speak peace to our minds. In this way we can know when someone else, even the prophet, has received revelation. Nephi asked the Lord to let him see, feel, and know that his father’s dream was true.” That’s an interesting take on it, just because we know or deeply believe that Jesus is the Christ, that doesn’t necessarily constitute belief or acceptance of other teachings that can come from the pulpit. We can have a strong testimony of Christ, but still need to bring the teachings of the prophets to the Lord and as we do that the Holy Ghost will bear witness to us so that we can know for ourselves. Because really, we need to believe that what others say is true so that we can ask the question to know for ourselves.

46:15 – “And again, to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men.” This is a pretty complex verse. Is this the gift of leadership? The gift of the management of people? The IM asks and answers, “What is meant by differences of administration? By referring to the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 12:5, where the Apostles Paul is speaking about the same thing, we may get a suitable answer. Apparently by ‘difference of administration’ is meant the distinctive varieties of service and ministration by which things are accomplished in the Church. The Lord seems to be saying that while there are diversities of services and ministers or agents, such as Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, and the like in the Church, they all depend on the same Lord and Savior, who is the head of the whole Church. One who has the gift by the Holy Ghost to know differences of administration is one who discerns correctly the services and agencies by which the Lord works.” I don’t understand this at all.

46:16 – “And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, and the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal.” This sounds to be like the gift of discernment, a very valuable gift. The IM teaches, “The world today is filled with false philosophies and false prophets. This gift gives one the ability to distinguish between those things that are of the devil and those that are of God. To avoid deception requires constant vigilance and acquiring the gift or following those who have received the gift; otherwise, even the elect, according to the covenant, could be deceived.” Again, I don’t really understand that concept of the righteous being deceived or the gifts of the Spirit so I don’t have a lot to say about this.

46:17 – “And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom.” DJR and the IM both are adamant that we remember that this is about the application of knowledge and not the Word of Wisdom referred to in section 89. For me, wisdom is being able to use the past experiences of yourself and others to understand things as they really are and as they really were and as they really will be. I also associate wisdom with an inner peace, anger or temper seems to be the anti-thesis of wisdom. There is a long term perspective, a consideration of others, a peace, a calm to wisdom. It doesn’t seem that wisdom can be kept in any other manner. DJR comments that wisdom “is the gift of having wisdom, seeing through the façade, and getting to the root cause, etc. It includes the gift of seeing ahead to the ultimate consequences of a particular course of action.”