Gifts and fruits, of the Spirit

I was assigned to speak in church today, and the topic was, "How can we use our spiritual gifts to help others?"

It didn't matter a bit that I last spoke in only June, or that I had a column due for next Wednesday, or that I had to prepare a lesson on Job after a lesson on all of Proverbs.  I told a friend that I could roll two different things around in my head and work on them, and was not so good at three being simultaneous.  But I found direction, and I'm grateful for that.

I started, at home, by charting the gifts listed in the three places in scripture:  I Corinthians 12, Moroni 10, and Doctrine & Covenants 46.  There are a few differences, but not many.  Moroni includes the beholding of angels and ministering spirits, where the others say the discerning of spirits, which I have always taken to mean whether they be of God or of the devil. Moroni and Paul take as a given that you have received a testimony of the Savior, where the D&C lists first the gift of knowing that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that he was crucified for the sins of the world, and second the gift to believe on the words of those who know, and continue faithful..

The Lord told Joseph Smith (in section 46) to:

8b "...seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;

9 For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts.

10 And again, verily I say unto you, I would that ye should always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that are given unto the church.

11 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.

12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.

I actually missed reading verse 9 over the pulpit, which I meant to do.  The gifts are to benefit "those who love me and keep all my commandments [that seems an impossibly tall order sometimes} and those "that seeketh so to do [where we can include ourselves more easily]."  In other words, if we're striving, we have that promise.  They're not to show off or to demonstrate how great we are, but to become better Saints.

The thought of spiritual gifts may be intimidating, like being assured that we all have talents.  Some of us don't find it easy to think so. We also may think that if you have one of these gifts, it's just handed to you, boom!, full-blown and instant, where the truth is, we learn our way into most of them.  They may come with us into this life, since we each have a unique set of gifts, possibilities, and work to do, but they are given to us or shown to us by the Spirit and power of God as we live the life of a believer.

I love that last chapter of Moroni.  We can quote verses 4 and 5 readily, but we may not turn to that final chapter of the Book of Mormon for the rest of its message.  We should.  After the familiar promise that we may know by the Holy Ghost the truth of the book and of all things, Moroni goes into the principles of gifts.

6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.

 God works by power, on the same principles and promises in every generation and time.  Moroni, and Paul also, go from the list of the gifts that come of the Spirit into a short statement (Moroni said more in chapter 7) or (Paul) a long discourse on faith and hope and charity:  For both of them, spiritual gifts and the value of the individual in the whole, are bound up in the precepts of faith and love.

  

19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men.

20 Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.

30 And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift,...

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

These gifts are given, we are told, for our profit and learning.  We are counseled to seek them, be open to receive them, and be taught by them.  It is by the grace of Christ and his love for us, his sacrifice, that we become perfected.  These gifts are given to us by the Spirit of God, the power of the Holy Ghost.  We cannot receive them, experience them, except by experiencing the Spirit.  That process of experiencing yields the fruits of the Spirit.  Paul said:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith," (Galatians 5:22)  When we have those actions, those answers, those experiences that open and fill us up with light and understanding, we are filled with love, joy, peace, and faith, and we pour them out to others.  How can we find these gifts without blessing the lives of more than ourselves?  I don't think we can, it's a natural extension.

If we think in terms of 'gifts of the Spirit' which will be given to all those who are striving and seeking, in our day as in days of old, rather than Spiritual Gifts that intimidate us (they shouldn't, but they can), it is easier to see ourselves having them.  They will bring us a richer life, and make us richer in service.

Whatever we learn and experience in the Spirit is a gift to us--we will have opportunities to extend ourselves in those things to others.  Our Father said that his work and glory are to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man; these gifts offer us a chance to be a part of that work among his children.  To see as God sees, as we experience the power and blessings of the Holy Ghost in our lives, brings the increasing ability and clarity to love others as a  result.  We are organized as a church to edify and bring strength to each other, as well as to learn our own journey; and the two purposes cannot be separated.  That is a glorious vision.