D&C 46:18-33

46:18 – “To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge.” DJR comments “As indicated above, verse 18 can be viewed as having two gifts of the Spirit in it. Perhaps you have had the experience of having an instructor who had the gift of knowledge (able to learn and retain knowledge) but who did not have the gift of teaching.” The IM teaches, “The gift of knowledge is an endowment from God that comes by study and obedience. It is not just a storehouse of factual information but is a knowledge of the things of God obtained by revelation. Thus we read, ‘If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things- that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” This is referring to knowledge as not like a secular learning, like a spiritual learning. This lends itself to wisdom, and it comes to the “peaceable things” which is what we talked about yesterday about wisdom having an aspect to it of inner peace, no hostility.

46:19-22 - The Lord continues by listing more gifts, and I’m just going to put them here because I don’t have much to say about them. He says, “And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; And to others it is given to have faith to heal.” DJR has some interesting commentary here saying, “This gift applies both to healing physically as well as healing spiritually. Being healed spiritually, gaining a testimony, being converted to the Church, being healed of bitterness and anger, and so forth, are no doubt even more important than being healed physically, in the eternal perspective… By the way, the gift of healing is not limited to priesthood holders. Faithful women, including mothers, are often blessed with this gift and use it through their prayers of faith in behalf of the sick. The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of faithful sisters healing the sick. He said ‘If the sisters should have faith to hear the sick, let all hold their tongues, and let everything roll one.” This is pretty spot on when pondering the debate of women and the priesthood. The Lord continues, “And again, to some is given the working of miracles.” DJR comments, “Here, as with the gift of healing, we may tend to think  more in terms of the spectacular such as stopping rain or calming water, rather than the less conspicuous daily healings and miracles associated with these gifts. While there certainly are marvelous and obvious miracles- a definite blessing accompanying the gospel of Jesus Christ- if we don’t pay attention we may miss the ‘working of miracles’ that abounds on a less-obvious level. For example, the gift of working miracles could be seen in the lessening of contention, the impression to call someone who has an urgent need to talk, the sudden inspiration to solve a problem on an assembly line, the avoidances of a traffic accident, the calming of a child in discomfort, and so forth.” I am a big believer in small miracles, I see them every day in the sunset, in my children, in our safety and prosperity. The Lord continues, “And to others it is given to prophesy.” DJR comments, “Certainly, the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve have this gift for their stewardship over the whole world.” I thought that this statement was interesting in that he said that the Church leadership are not just in charge of our entire church population, but is in fact governance over the whole world, very interesting. DJR continues, “A faithful member could have the gift of prophecy by way of a good feeling or uncomfortable feeling dealing with whether to marry the person he or she is currently dating. The gift of prophecy could be helpful in choosing a career path in college, choosing between employment options, deciding whether to relocate, and so forth.” Personal revelation can equate to personal prophecy, I’m going to have to think about this.

46:23 – “And to others the discerning of spirits.” This is an interesting gift, the IM quotes Elder Stephen L. Richards as teaching that the gift of discernment ‘arises largely out of an acute sensitivity to impressions- spiritual impressions, if you will- to read under the surface as it were, to detect hidden evil, and more importantly to find the good that may be concealed. The highest type of discernment is that which perceives in others and uncovers for them their better natures, the good inherent within them. It’s the gift every missionary needs when he takes the gospel to the people of the world. He must make an appraisal of every personality whom he meets. He must be able to discern the hidden spark that may be lighted for truth. The gif of discernment will save him from mistakes and embarrassment, and it will never fail to inspire confidence in the one who is rightly appraised.” This seems to me to be closely linked to having charity, the pure love of Christ, for another person. It’s easy and common to see what’s presented publically and take that at face value, which usually only feed whatever insecurity we have for ourselves. But to look past what we see filtered through our own imperfect lens, and perceive the inherent goodness in another person, that is charity and discernment, because I think that I have defined discernment as telling good from bad, which is a part of it, but what I think we are trying to be taught here is that discernment can also be seeing the good out of the bad.

46:24-25 - “And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; And to another is given the interpretation of tongues.” I learned the difference between the gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues by listening to the story “Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites.” In the story, the kids not only were able to communicate to the Nephites while speaking English, but they were also able to understand the Nephites in the English that they understood. The author made it a note to show the difference between the two, it was pretty clever actually. The IM teaches, “This is one of the most misunderstood gifts. The Lord may grant the gift of speaking in tongues to give an unusual message or communicate with those who speak a different language, as on the day of Pentecost. But newly-called missionaries who quickly grasp a foreign language may also be experiencing the gift of tongues. Because this gift is often counterfeited and used to deceive, the Prophet Joseph Smith warned: ‘Be not so curious about tongues, do not speak in tongues except there be an interpreter present; the ultimate design of tongues is to speak to foreigners, and if persons are very anxious to display their intelligence, let them speak to such in their own tongues. The gifts of God are all useful in their place, but when they are applied to that which God does not intend, they prove an injury, a snare and a curse instead of a blessing.” I think it’s interesting that he didn’t say that those who are anxious to show how smart they are need to repent, but that they are a demonstrate their intelligence by using their own language, that was just an interesting statement to me.

46:26-27 - “And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God. And unto the bishop of the church, and unto such as God shall appoint and ordain to watch over the church and to be elders unto the church, are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God.” So basically the bishops are to have the gift of discernment. The IM quotes Elder Stephen L. Richards as teaching, “The gift of discernment is essential to the leadership of the Church. I never ordain a bishop or set apart a president of a stake without invoking upon him this divine blessing, that he may read the lives and hearts of his people and call forth the best within them. The gift and power of discernment in this world of contention between the forces of good and the power of evil is essential equipment for every son and daughter of God.” The IM also quotes Elder Abraham O. Woodruff as teaching, “The Saints should be guided by the Spirit of God, and subject to those who preside in the meetings. If the Bishop, who is a common judge in Israel, tells a person to restrain (a) gift, it is the duty of that person to do it. The Bishop has a right to the gift of discernment, whereby he may tell whether these spirits are of God or not, and if they are not they should not have place in the congregation of the Saints. No man or woman has a right to find fault with the Bishop for restraining him or her in any of these matters. The Bishop is the responsible party, and it is his privilege to say what shall be done under his presidency.” Lots of power and lots of responsibility.

46:28-33 – Finally the Lord concludes this revelation by telling us that “he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit…  He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God… And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with. And ye must practise virtue and holiness before me continually.” The IM teaches, “The gifts of the Spirit are available to all who pay the price, which includes entering into a covenant relationship with the Lord, obeying the commandments, and seeking perfection with all one’s heart. The gifts will be the greatest to those who seek most earnestly, but they are available to all: to the missionary who needs help in learning a foreign language, to the person whose temper frequently flares, to parents who seek help in rearing their children. President George Q. Cannon wrote: ‘How many of you… are seeking for these gifts that God has promised to bestow? How many of you, when yo bow before your Heavenly Father in your family circle or in your secret places contend for these gifts to be bestowed upon you? How many of you ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to manifest Himself to you through these powers of these gifts? Or do you go along day by day like a door turning on its hinges, without having any feeling upon the subject, without exercising any faith whatever; content to be baptized and be members of the Church, and to rest there, thinking that your salvation is secure because you have don’t this?... 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. If I am an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It is my duty to seek for charity, which envieth not. So with all the gifts of the Gospel. There are intended for this purpose. No man ought to say, ‘Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.’ He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lack wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning His Church. He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth. For this purpose He gives these gifts, and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth, notwithstanding their many weaknesses, because God has promised to give the gifts that are necessary for their perfection.” The Lord won’t force us to gain spiritual gifts, we must indicate that we desire and are ready for them by praying and growing in the gifts that he’s already blessed us with. Motivating to know that we can gain more through our diligence and prayer and the will of God.