What are spiritual gifts?
I recently had the opportunity to lead a discussion in church surrounding spiritual gifts. I am always edified by the process of preparing for a lesson and the thoughts and beliefs of my dear friends at church. We started our discussion by identifying spiritual gifts we have noticed in others or been blessed by from others. Some examples included: the gift of discernment, the gift of patience, the gift of healing, the gift of leadership, and many more.
My main takeaway from this portion of our conversation was that there are so many different spiritual gifts, and that it is often through identifying them in others that we are able to find them in ourselves. One of my favorite gifts we discussed was the desire to know Christ, and seek him out. Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, portrays this gift vividly. Upon being asked to leave their home and journey in the wilderness, Nephi must have had doubts; however, I love his response in 1 Nephi 2:16, "Having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe."
I often look to Nephi's example of unwavering faith and am quick to overlook the phrase "he did soften my heart." Through his desire to know Christ, and seek him out, Nephi's heart was softened and he went on to live a miraculous life.
What is the purpose of spiritual gifts?
Gary Stevenson summarizes this beautifully in his general conference address Promptings of the Spirit. He says, "The Lord invites us to earnestly seek the best gifts, even spiritual gifts. He gives spiritual gifts to bless us and to use in blessing others." In discussing this point, we referred to the parable of the talents as taught in Matthew 25:14-28. I won't go into detail summarizing the parable, but we replaced the word talents with spiritual gifts. As we take the spiritual gifts we have been given and use them to bless others, our gifts are also increased.
I have not always liked sharing my beliefs with others. Growing up, I was timid in sharing my beliefs and often hid myself in the crowd because that was the "cool" thing to do. You can read more about that in my blog post Be Not Ashamed. As I turned to the Lord and asked for help to have confidence in sharing my beliefs, it turned into my favorite thing to do, hence this blog. And as I have shared this spiritual gift with others, I have realized so many more gifts that God has been trying to provide me.
The power of consistency
In the same address, Stevenson highlights the importance of exercising spiritual gifts just the same as we would if wanting to improve a physical gift. I am not a bodybuilder by any means but growing up I was an avid golfer. This physical gift grew better each day through consistent efforts of doing a similar routine, not by trying to increase that effort everyday. Consistent effort is not easy, which is why I think there is so much power to it.
A thought was shared by a friend that expanded on my thoughts in Don't Discount Good. I loved how he described not wanting to settle for good and wanting to be the best. He shared how when a good thought comes to mind, he often goes through iterations of how to make it better or even the best; however, the constant battle of thinking of ways to improve this initial good thought often ultimately leads to nothing being done at all. As we consistently exercise our spiritual gifts, I trust the Lord will help our efforts and gifts increase. He will lead us naturally to greater gifts, but just asks that we take action with each gift we've been given today.
- HM