[Music] When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. May our testimonies be as deep and as strong as that of Jacob, who when confronted by one who sought to destroy his faith, declared, "I could not be shaken. [Music] Hello my friends. This is Unshaken. I'm Jared Halverson and I'm realizing what a total nerd I am. As I was preparing the lesson for this week, I was thinking back to my undergraduate days at BYU and I had a Doctrine and Covenants class and I just wanted to memorize every section and what it contained, just the number and then some what's in that in that revelation. And I remember as I would walk out of the Joseph Smith building each week and take the long staircase down south of campus, there are steps and a landing and steps in a landing down this massive hill. And whatever landing I hit on, what number I would count the steps and when I got to a landing, whatever number I was on, I'd have to say to myself what that number uh section of the Doctrine Covenants contained before I could start down the next set of stairs. And so if I was going down and hit step five, oh that uh Martin Harris, uh down to step 13, oh, restoration of the priesthood, down to step 25, oh, Emma Smith, and just keep going until I hit the bottom of the stairs. Yes, total nerd. But I remember if I ever landed on on step 46, that was an easy one to remember because section 46 is where we learn about the gifts of the spirit. And that's what we'll start talking about today. We'll do 46 and 47 and 48. I could never seem to remember what was in 47 and 48. But section 46, gifts of the spirit. Or at least so I thought. That's what section 46 is most famous for. For some reason, it seems like every book of scripture has some chapter that emphasizes spiritual gifts. Maybe that tells us something about the importance of understanding who they're coming from and what they're for. In the Book of Mormon, we end with that. Moroni 10, Moroni teaches us spiritual gifts. In the Bible, it's 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul teaches us about spiritual gifts. And in the Doctrine of Covenants, it's section 46. But the irony of of this revelation is that that's not what it was meant to be about. At least that wasn't what was on the mind of the members of the church as they were seeking the Lord's guidance. They were wondering about church, not about spiritual gifts, and wondering how church was supposed to run. I don't know about you, but have you ever tried to run a meeting that you've never seen run before? and you're kind of uh how do I do this? In fact, it doesn't even have to be a meeting that you've never seen before. It could be one that you've seen your for your whole life, but when you're the one in charge, all of a sudden, it's like, how are we supposed to do this again? When I turned 16 and would had to bless the sacrament for the first time, I kept like beating myself up going, I've been watching this my whole life. How come I have no clue what they do up here? Or the first time that I had to conduct sacrament meeting, same thing. I'm like, I've been watching the sacrament meeting for 20 plus years and now that I have to to conduct it, I I have no idea what I'm doing. Even worse, that first time I conducted a general authority happened to be present uh for I think it was a granddaughter or grandson's baby blessing. And so he had next sat next to me on the stand and and even corrected me when I messed up, which happened frequently that first time. Uh just how do how are we supposed to do this? And as section 46 comes, uh the saints, the church again less than a year old are wondering, are we doing this thing right? And one of the great ironies here is the Lord's answer in a way is actually no, you haven't been doing it quite right. So glad that you asked. So look at what they're wondering about. 46:1 hearken how he begins so many of these revelations. Oh ye people of my church, for verily I say unto you that these things were spoken unto you for your profit and learning. Now that last phrase prophet and learning hopefully triggers in our minds that that same phrase from 1 Nephi chapter 19. That's where Nephi says that he likened all scriptures unto himself and to his people that it might be for their profit and learning. I love that verse because Nephi is giving us a clue as to how to make scriptures profitable. how to actually learn something from it. And that's by applying it to our own lives. Now, what I love about what he's saying here is you've got a question in mind. I'm going to give you an answer. Are you going to implement it? Will it be for your profit and learning? Is it going to be for your benefit? Because it's it's not going to do me much good just telling you something I already know as God. But if you'll take into practice the things that I give you, it will profit you. If you'll actually open your mind ready to act on the message that that comes, then you'll be ready to learn. I hope that's our approach no matter where we happen to be studying in scripture. If you want it to be for your profit and learning, then get ready to act on it. Verse two, but notwithstanding those things which are written, it always has been given to the elders of my church from the beginning and ever shall be to conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit. Now he's just given them two answers in that verse. Two different approaches that hopefully come together and merge into one as far as how we should be conducting the meetings of the church. The first is these things which are written that there are actually written directions in places. The Book of Mormon gave them some clues. The section 20, the articles and covenants of the church gave them some direction as well. So follow the directions you've been given. And at the end of the verse as you are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit and that's such a beautiful contrary to prove in a way you get the iron rod the fixed and the leona the flexible that fixed portion the iron rod will you do it according to the book the way it's written but the leona the more flexible is well follow the spirit it's kind of letter of the law and spirit of the law there on the one hand and adaptability on the or another way to see it is rules and exceptions to the rules. Now, we don't want to make everything an exception and there's no rule to to be an exception from. So, I'm grateful for the order and the structure that we have, especially when we start when we're trying to run a meeting that we haven't run before and it's kind of like uh I don't know what to do. In fact, I'm old enough to have been a missionary before the preach my gospel days and you want to talk about iron rod fixed set in stone. Those were the discussions and there were six of them and you had to go in the right order and you followed along perfectly and this is the question you ask and this is where you testify and just how the way it was. Now as a Greeny that was such a blessing. I was so grateful for that fixed iron rod because even if I barely understood Spanish, I could at least read along from the discussion or I'd supposed to ask a question and I'll read it and then I'll be totally confused when they answer it, but that's okay. I'll just move on to the next paragraph. It wasn't very tailor made to the to the needs of the investigator, but it sure helped somebody who didn't know what he was doing at the beginning. So, I went by the book. I did everything as it was written. But as time went on, oh, I longed for the flexibility that preach my gospel allows today's missionaries. So much flexibility and adaptability based on the needs of the person that you're actually teaching. As I've taught mission prep classes at the institute, I've joked that in my day, we became really, really good suit salesmen. Whereas this generation has to become incredible tailor. In my day, it was almost a one-sizefits-all or well, you look like a 42 long. Well, take something off the rack and see if this fits you. Whereas in our day, here's a bolt of cloth. Here's the gospel before me. Do I know how to sew well enough to be able to take measurements from an individual investigator? And then craft them something based on patterns, but still something that meets the individual specifications of the person that I'm trying to fit. As we live our lives in the gospel and as we try to lead the church in whatever situation or calling we might be in, we need to strike some kind of a balance between those two. If you're the free spirit, good. But don't lose a complete hold on the way things are written and and should be structured. And if you're a go by the book kind of a person, wonderful. No one's going to get lost in your ward. But you might try to allow for some adaptability based on the way the Holy Ghost guides and directs you. We can usually tell when we're too far on one extreme. Okay? So, as we try to prove these contraries and strike a balance, try to find that that sweet spot between iron rod and Leona where you can follow the spirit and the guidance that you've been given. If you can combine the two, you're going to have amazing church meetings. Now, that may have been on the saints minds. How are we supposed to do this? But what was really driving them was not just the what of church meetings, but rather the who. Specifically, who's allowed to come. You see, speaking of going by the book, they'd already seen in several other places that church meetings should be open to all comers. When Jesus came among the Nephites in 35:18, he said, "Behold, ye shall meet together oft and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when you shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not." When Oliver Cowry was tasked with writing kind of a preliminary articles and covenants of the church, sort of the rough draft of what eventually turned into section 20 of the Doctrine of Covenants. Since Oliver was basing everything that he was writing out of the Book of Mormon, his instructions were very close to what we find there, what Jesus taught. So Oliver wrote, "And the church shall meet together oft for prayer and supplication, casting out none from your places of worship, but rather invite them to come." So if they were going by the book, then that's what they should have done in these early this first year's worth of church meetings. Let anybody want who wants to come to church. But that's not quite how things were developing. Now, I don't know if they thought that they were following the spirit here or what spirit was motivating this, but it got to a point where the church meetings started to be more closed off to outsiders. Now, on the one hand, maybe they're justified in thinking that they should be because they faced all this opposition, kind of an us versus them mentality. Or maybe it was the fact that so many of the first generation of church members came from Puritan backgrounds. Their ancestors had been Puritans. And among the Puritans, there was this this this concept of what they called a closed community of visible saints. And the idea was we don't want any wolves in sheep's clothing to infiltr infiltrate the flock. And so we're going to in a way test prospective members. See, so much of early Puritanism was Calvinistic to the point of this predestination where have you been saved already? Are you among God's elect? because if you're not, we don't want you in our in our congregation. And so the elders of the church in in some ways would kind of test or critique people's testimonies, at least their their spiritual experiences. Give us some evidence that you are among God's elect. Can you imagine if the bishop brick did that? Had like scorecards that they'd hold up at the at the end of every testimony and fast and testimony meeting. Perfect 10 or four or just turn off the microphone or lower the the stand. I'm glad that we don't do that. But that's how they did it in the in the early days in Puritan America. And like I said, that that old habit was creeping into LDS church meetings as well. In his record, John Whitmer wrote, "In the beginning of the church, while yet in her infancy, the disciples used to exclude unbelievers, which caused some to marvel and converse about this matter because of the things that were written in the Book of Mormon." Therefore, the Lord dained to speak on this subject that his people might come to understanding. It's amazing to me that as young as the church was, there were church members familiar enough with the Book of Mormon that they were kind of raising their eyebrows at the way things were going. Are we doing this right? I'm not sure. I wonder if Oliver Cowy was one of them. Like, um, I wrote the this preliminary articles and covenants of the church and we're not doing it the way I thought that we should. At least we're not doing it the way the Book of Mormon suggests. makes you wonder how much do we do by tradition. That's kind of the way it's always been or by our own kind of personality that we want to we want to keep it just to us like we saw back in verse two that the the way it's written versus spirit but how good am I at discerning what's truly coming from the spirit. Is that God's spirit or my own that's driving that? And so I'm just impressed that these early saints took it to the Lord. Are we doing this right? And I love that the Lord basically says, "No, not quite." And you can just picture the saints going, "What? I mean, the church is almost a year old. We've been doing it wrong." Yeah. Well, when were you going to get around to telling us? Great question. When were you going to get around to asking me? The the restraint of God is an incredible thing. and how much he allows us to to try and wrestle and struggle and make mistakes until we figure it out. Or better yet, until we ask him if we've figured it out yet. It's one of the things I absolutely love about President Nelson's approach, the changes that have been made and so on, some big, some small, but honestly, it feels like he's the corner of the 12 and the First Presidency is just going through the church handbook of instructions paragraph by paragraph and asking the Lord, "Anything you want to fix here?" It's almost like Joseph Smith's approach to the to the Joseph Smith translation. Just reading the King James version like uh how we doing here? Any additions, any ch subtractions, any changes necessary? And to see President Nelson taking a similar approach. Are we doing this right? Or are there any changes that we need to make? See, there's a phrase back in Acts chapter 17 where Paul is teaching the Athenians at Mars Hill. This is the people that are too superstitious. They have an altar to the unknown god, right? Along with altars to everything else. This is home of the Greek pantheon. And one of the things that Paul wants to do is cry repentance against the idolatry of the day. But the way he puts it is amazing. If we know the story of Enoch in the book of Pearl great price in the book of Moses where where he talks about God weeping and how much that shocked him that he would see a weeping God. Well, what Paul teaches is that we also have a winking God. He said, "The times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." I love the concept of a winking God that he sees us making mistakes. In the Athenians case, it was worshiping these false gods, these idols. And you picture him just going, "Oh, kids." and just kind of winking, turning a blind eye. We sometimes say to go, "Well, hopefully they'll outgrow it." Right now, this is just childishness. But give it a certain amount of time. God isn't just going to turn a blind eye on it perpetually. That's where Paul comes in. He winked at it up to this point, but he expects us from now on to repent and change things. for this first year of church existence. It seems that God was winking at their meetings going, "You haven't you're not quite getting it right yet." Well, that's okay. I'll be patient. You're learning hopefully. Or another example, fast forward and you see when the Lord first reveals baptisms for the dead and the saints are stoked about this. So, they're running into the Mississippi. This is a Nauvoo. and they're baptizing each other left and right and and men as proxies for men and women and women for women and men and no recorders and just kind of willy-nilly. And you get to section 124 and 127 and 128 and it's like the Lord says, "Whoa." Uh, love the enthusiasm, kids. So excited that you're excited about this doctrine, but you're not quite doing it right. There needs to be a baptismal font. It needs to be in the temple beneath where the living are want to assemble. There needs to be a recorder. It needs to be men for men and women for women. But like I said, I I don't want to rain on anybody's parade. I don't want to squaltch your enthusiasm for this. So, I'll wink at what you're doing for the next little while to give you time to get the temple built and a baptismal font installed. I'll accept what you're doing during this winking stage. But the time will come where both of my eyes are wide open and I will expect you to do better than you're doing. Honestly, that concept of a winking God has helped me navigate some of the messy periods of church history. some of the mistakes that have been made and not just in early 19th century church history, but mistakes that you or I make right now as we do our best to run the church somewhere between what's the way it's written and what we think are the prompings of the Holy Ghost and trying to parse out what are my own propensities and what's my tradition and what am I doing wrong that I'm not even aware of. The saints in this day and in ours were doing the best they could. It just wasn't as good as God wanted it yet. But God in his patience is allowing us to grow up in him. And the more we're willing to ask God if we're doing it right, the more he can finally say, "Oh, I'm so glad that you asked because now I can stop winking and I can start answering and you can do better than you've done." In this particular case when it came to who's allowed to attend our meetings, look at how clearly and repeatedly the Lord answers it. Verse three, nevertheless, you are commanded never to cast anyone out from your public meetings which are held before the Lord. So that one I I said it right in third Nephi. Oliver had it right in his version of the articles and covenants of the church. Visitors welcome. We see those signs on the outside of our chapels. I think it came because of section 46. Don't cast anyone out. In verse four, ye are also commanded not to cast anyone who belongth to the church out of your sacrament meetings. Nevertheless, if any have trespassed, let him not partake until he makes reconciliation. So, the question didn't just refer to non-members. They also wondered about the non-worthy. And the Lord's response, well, don't stop them from coming to church. Yes, protect the sanctity of the sacrament. We saw that in the Book of Mormon and earlier in the Doctrine of Covenants as well. So there may be a time where a member doesn't partake of the sacrament until they make reconciliation as they repent of their sins and feels the Lord's forgiveness as they renew those covenants as far as the way we live our life and therefore can can honestly and sincerely participate in the the ritual reenactment of those covenants. But as far as coming to church, by all means, if anything will help them make that reconciliation that will aid them in their repentance, it's coming to church and being with other church members that are striving for their reconciliation as well. So verse three, let non-members come. Verse four, let struggling members come. Verse five, again I say unto you, ye shall not cast any out of your sacrament meetings who are earnestly seeking the kingdom. I speak concerning those who are not of the church. So great description of investigators there. Those who are earnestly seeking the kingdom. Of course, doors should be open to them. And that doesn't just apply to sacrament meetings. It also applies in verse six to what they called confirmation meetings. Remember, we saw that back in section 20 that the elders should have a sufficient time after a person's baptism to make sure they understand the gospel before they are confirmed as members of the church. So when they felt that they were ready that that space between baptism and confirmation then there would be another meeting where those members would be confirmed. And again verse 6 lets them know doors should be open. So verse 3456 clarifies to the saints we're not doing it the old Puritan way. This will not be a closed community. This will be an open invitation to all of God's children to come. Now, on the one hand, we're probably reading this going, "That was even an issue. We're so far removed from our Puritan ancestry that it a closed community of visible saints doesn't sound very tempting to us." But then again, like I said, if we see those signs, the visitors welcome signs on the outside of our chapels. I sometimes wonder, is that to reassure non-members that are poking their head in the door, or is that to remind members that we need to be more of a welcoming community than we tend to be? It was always a tragedy as a missionary to work so hard in hopes of an investigator actually showing up to church. And when they did and you were so elated, how long did the elation last? it. So much of it depended on how the members treated the investigators when they came or how they reached out to the less active that finally poked their head back in the door or a new member moving in. Are visitors welcome? Do we make sure they know they are? Do we reach out in such a way that they feel that they are welcome with us? whether or not they're members, whether or not they're worthy, whether or not they're earnestly seeking the kingdom, are we a welcoming people, I do think there's room for improvement in that area. Honestly, if you've ever come into a place where you're the stranger and someone has welcomed you and introduced themselves and introduced you to some other people and by the end of the meeting you feel you got a few names in your head and you've shaken a few hands and wait I I I heard something from one of my institute students that amazed me as we were talking about CO 19 and and the pandemic and the closing down of church and and Zoom church and everything else that we've been dealing with for the past year. and she talked about it being a chance to reboot and that when we come back to church, the day hopefully isn't far off where we'll be able to return the whole ward under one chapel roof again. Not no need for social distancing and and behind masks and so on to see the full face of someone that we're worshiping with. Think about will it be the same as before or will we be more welcoming? Will we be more open to be guided and directed by the Holy Spirit in our meetings? Having been closed off from the world for so long, will we end up being a little more open to it when we all return? I hope so. If not, what a waste of a pandemic and a chance to reboot the system and try something a little different, a little better. Maybe it wasn't just the first year of church existence that the Lord was winking at, waiting for them to do a little bit better than they had. Maybe he's been winking at us for a long time, too. Well, the revelation goes on in verse 7. In some ways, he goes back to this idea of how are you supposed to conduct the meetings? How much of it is it by the book iron rod? How much of it is Leona flexibility? Follow the spirit. If you're leaning in the direction of exceptions versus rules, or better yet, spirit of the law versus letter of the law, notice the caveats he gives you in verse 7. It's a beautiful list. But ye are commanded in all things to here's the first thing. Ask of God who giveth liberally. I mean, God did inspire the instructions in the book, but I don't think he confines himself to it. If you're wondering, can we change this? Can we try something a little different for this meeting? Well, ask the Lord. It's his meeting after all. It's his church. And that which the Spirit testifies unto you, even so, I would that you should do. So, double check your sources. Is this coming from the Holy Ghost? Then he continues, "Even so I would that you should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving." See what the Lord's doing as he extends this list. I sometimes worry that when that we we take advantage of the Lord's flexibility. We see that he winks and so we hope that he'll just close both eyes and let us do things the way we want to. Well, there is flexibility. There is spirit of the law. But I've noticed that spirit of the law typically doesn't trample all over letter of the law. It often purifies and sanctifies what might be merely a letter of the law kind of towing the line. This is a hard thing to keep in proper balance. And so I love the list as he extends it. Don't just, oh, he gave us flexibility. Let's run this direction. No, ask God first. He does give liberally, but he also gives answers. and direction and and perhaps caution of like I'm not sure if that's right. Let's discuss this as a whole ward council, shall we? And we'll see how everybody feels about this. Whatever it is we're thinking of doing, can the spirit ratify that this is a good idea? Can we do it in holiness of heart or are we just trying to be cutting edge in some way? Can we still do it while walking uprightly before God? Can we do it considering the ends of our salvation? this thing that we're thinking of doing. Do the ends justify this alteration in means. Is it still the same end, namely our salvation? If so, then do it. Do it with prayer. Do it with thanksgiving. Do it with this balance between Iron Rod and Leona. We just want to do our very best to do things the way the Lord would have us do them because unfortunately there are some other possibilities. the way verse 7 ends that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits or doctrines of devils or the commandments of men for some are of men and others of devils. I mean there's the three possibilities. Are we being inspired by God? It's truly his spirit behind these things. Or opposite extreme, are we being seduced by evil spirits and doctrines of devils? This was a concern among I mean guys, the church is less than one year old. Old habits die hard. I remember on my mission getting a ride to church from our newly converted elders corum president that still had a statue of the Virgin Mary on his dashboard. I thought that's okay. He's He'd been Catholic way longer than he'd been a Latter-day Saint. And give it time. We can wink at that. We're grateful for Mary, too. We just don't go statues. And so many of these members so excited to have the gospel. In fact, we'll see more of this next week with section 49 and 50. There are so many other doctrines out there. People coming into this community of saints from all kinds of different backgrounds and and trailing old ideas with them. especially this period, the second great awakening, all this kind of religious revivalism and sometimes some spiritual excesses. We'll see more of it, like I said, when we get to section 50. But it's already on the saints mind, especially those that are gathering to Kirtland, Ohio. And opening yourself to spiritual manifestations from God also does open you to some spiritual manifestations that may be from an opposite source seduced by evil spirits or doctrines of devils and then somewhere in between just commandments of men got a worldly philosophy. Maybe that was this idea of the the Puritan closed community of visible saints. That's just what they came up with thinking this is the way we ought to do things. So whether it's God or humans or the devil, you see the difference between positive and neutral and negative, between inspired and uninspired and downright evil. Or as we we'll see later with the degrees of glory, there is a celestial approach, a terrestrial approach, and a tstial approach. Which voices are we listening to? Where are we getting our directions from? In verse 8, he says, "Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived." And then he pivots to what we think of as the topic of section 46. "And that ye may not be deceived, seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given." I love that the Lord takes advantage of their question about church meetings to be able to teach something that he really wants them to understand, the nature of spiritual gifts. This was a secondary discussion even though in our mind it forms the the main purpose behind this revelation and it's to help us avoid deception. We can tell the difference between celestial terrestrial and celestial between positive and neutral and negative between God and man and devils with the help of spiritual gifts if we seek them. If we seek earnestly the best gifts. Now, Paul said something similar in the 1 Corinthians 12 version of God's teachings on spiritual gifts. Paul says a similar thing, but here the Lord says, "Seek ye earnestly the best gifts." And Paul said, "Cove earnestly the best gifts." I love that Paul makes that shift. Not don't just seek them, covet them. Now, picture Moses going, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Tenth Commandment. Thou shalt not covet." And Paul's like, "I know. I know, Moses." But that was that was coveting for your own sake. Coveting what belongs to other people because you want it for yourself. But to covet earnestly the best gifts to want them that badly. I love that Paul's giving us permission to break one of the ten commandments. Now you don't get to pick which one. It has to be number 10. And you don't get to pick what you're coveting. But as long as you are coveting the best gifts, then go for it. Especially with that last caveat from section 46:8, always remembering for what they are given. Because if you remember their purpose, then you'll never end up coveting things in the wrong way. Remember Moses warned against covetousness because it becomes selfish. but coveting gifts, spiritual gifts, as long as you always remember the purpose that God would give them to you, then it'll never end up being selfish. Because what is the purpose for which they are given? Look at verse 9. And in case you miss verse 9, he'll repeat it over and over in this section. He will help you always remember for what they are given. Verse 9 is the most complete version of it. For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments. And if that's too high of a bar to clear, 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. It's a powerful verse. So seek earnestly the best gifts. covet earnestly them. But keep in mind why they're given. And why are they given? For people's benefit. If you love me, if you're seeking me, then spiritual gifts will go a long way to help you find me and help you serve me. It'll be in service to other people. I love how he he ends that. You're not doing this to seek a sign. You're not doing it to consume it upon your own lusts. That's what Moses was cautioning them against in with that tenth commandment. That's wanting other people's things so it can be self-satisfying, but not spiritual gifts. We sing about this. In fact, it's it's a great hymn, more holiness, give me. Read that hymn. And it's the most covetous hymn you'll ever sing in the hymbook because every every verse begins with more, more, but it's never a more about me. It's more used would I be. That's the the sentiment behind spiritual gifts. If you remember that, that's what they're for. Heavenly Father, I just want to be more useful and I will be. If I could develop these gifts of the spirit as long as I can keep that in mind, the more used would I be, then coveting spiritual gifts will never become self-serving. I won't be consuming it upon my own lust. Your spiritual gifts will help everyone who loves me and obeys me. and not only them, it'll help everyone who's trying. So, please keep that in mind. And like I said, he'll repeat that over and over in this short section to make sure it stays in your mind. Always remembering for what they are given. Well, verse 9 was a long one. Then verse 12, that all may be profited. Verse 16, they are given to every man to profit with all. Verse 18, that all may be taught. Verse 26, for the benefit of the children of God. Verse 29, that every member may be profited. Is that enough reminders for us? Seek earnestly the best gifts. Covet them all you want. Why? Because they're meant to be put back into the Lord's storehouse. We'll see that clearly taught in section 82 in a couple of weeks. It's beautiful the way he conveys this truth. More used would I be. as long as you're singing that phrase every time you're seeking another spiritual gift. And no wonder the Lord will want to bless you with it. This is remember we've been studying law of consecration and consecrating our spiritual gifts. It's simply a matter of I want to be able to contribute more than I currently am. I love that. Now in verse 10, he continues again. Verily I say unto you, I would that you should always remember and always retain in your minds what those gifts are that are given unto the church. I mean, if you're going to be seeking and coveting earnestly the best gifts, you you ought to know what's on the wish list. That's why they're listed here in section 46, listed in Moroni 10, listed in 1 Corinthians 12. And please don't think that these lists are all inclusive. There are so many other lists that we need to add as well. In this revelation, he starts the list in verse 13. 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. Compare that to verse 14. To others it is given to believe on their words that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful. We'll start seeing that the Lord pairs up spiritual gifts often and verse 13 and 14 are the first pair. They're all going to come from the Holy Ghost. But for some, the spirit helps them know absolute knowledge that Jesus Christ is the son of God. They know who he is. They know what he did for them. Crucified for the sins of the world. For others, their blessing, their spiritual gift is belief. And believing on the words of those who know for themselves. Reminds me of section five early on when Martin Harris just wants to know for himself. And the Lord's like, Martin, don't short circuit what faith can do and what horizontal believing in the testimony of others who know can do to connect you to them and also connect you to God. That their witness will inspire in you a desire to gain similar knowledge for yourself. So, we're not trying to become perpetually dependent upon the middleman, but we're not trying to eliminate him either. I'm trying to get horizontal and vertical out of all of this. Again, section 5 is an amazing place to study that, but I love 13 and 14 here of knowledge is a spiritual gift and belief is too. So often we put the them on separate tiers, different rungs on the ladder that oh, those who only believe, oh, mere belief, that's secondass citizenship. You got to know. And sometimes in fast and testimony meeting, the only word we're ever allowed to use is know. The Lord is carving out sacred space for that that beautiful verb believe. And for those who quote unquote only believe, oh, if you will simply continue faithful within that belief, you also will obtain eternal life. It's kind of like what he did back in verse 9. those that love me and keep my commandments. Oh, but since that's a tall order, how about all of those who are trying their best? I'll take the whole group. Remember how this revelation began? Everyone's welcome, members, non-members, uh the worthy, the unworthy. If you're if you're trying whatever spirit moved you to poke your head in the door in the first place, that was a good spirit and you're responding to it. So, of course, we want to respond in kind. Come and worship with us. Come and and and grow with us. There's not a secondass status here. All are promised eternal life. Simply continue along the path. I mean, the scriptures are full of examples side by side of this. Those who know and those who believe on their words. Think about how the Book of Mormon begins. Nephi knows. He knows for himself. He goes straight to the source and asks Heavenly Father, "Do we really have to leave Jerusalem? Is dad making this up or is it coming from God?" Oh, coming from God. I'm on. I'm with it. What's he do? He goes and explains things to Sam. And Sam believes on Nephi's words. He doesn't have the same direct line spiritual experiences that his brother has, but that's sufficient for him. And Sam was an amazing disciple of Jesus Christ. Think about Joseph Smith and his brother Hyram. It's amazing to me that Joseph's partner in so many spiritual experiences was Oliver Calgary or Sydney Rigdon. I mean, even Martin Harris got to be one of the three witnesses and Hyram didn't. Joseph knew and Hyram believed on his words. Or like when we talked about those witnesses and Mary Whitmer got to know for herself and see the gold plates by the hand of the angel Moroni and Emma believing on the words of others. I sometimes wonder of the two which requires greater faith since faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things. No wonder those who only believe will receive eternal life if they continue faithful because it's their faith that's driving them. Oh honestly faith belief is such a beautiful spiritual gift. If you are struggling in yours, if you don't feel like you can say I know like you perhaps you once did or perhaps you've never been able to say that word and claim it as your own, then boldly declare your belief and recognize it as a gift of God. For so it is one that will bring you to eternal life if you continue faithful. It's a precious gift. Don't look for the receipt to see if you can take it back and exchange it for something better. Now, another pair in verse 15 and 16. And these ones never seem to make our our short list of spiritual gifts. These are some underappreciated or at least misunderstood spiritual gifts. Verse 15. 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. Now what kind of a spiritual gift is that? The differences of administration. Well, think about how this revelation began, right? As they're talking about how are we supposed to run church meetings? I mean, are we going by the book? Are we going by the the prompings of the Holy Ghost? There are all kinds of different ways to administer things. There are differences of administration. I mean, any of you who are old enough to have lived through multiple presidents of the church can sense that or different bishops or different state presidents. It's amazing to see some that are more by the book and some more flexible, some more focused on the youth or others on the adults. Some on perfecting the saints and others on proclaiming the gospel or redeeming the dead. So many different approaches. My I had one mission president for the first half of my mission, one year, and another mission president for the second half. And you want to talk about differences of administration. You I don't think you could have gotten two more opposite personality types to lead our mission. And yet it was amazing to see the Lord working through both of them. And and for those with the spiritual gift to see the difference in realizing that God was behind both. Maybe that's part of what he's hinting at also, that it's not just the ones that are actually doing the administering, but for those of us who are receiving that administration, can we be wise enough to recognize the differences and know that God is behind them both? I I mean, notice how he finishes the verse. It's the same Lord. It can be pleasing unto him. Both can be done according to the Lord's will. After all, the Lord suits his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men. It's not that God has changed, but the conditions that his children find themselves in has. And whether that's a difference because of time or a difference because of geography, it's amazing to see wise leaders differing the way they administer programs in different parts of the world. Or even what might seem like randomness from an outside perspective. Well, why is he treating that person in that way and that person in a different way? They both committed the same sin. Why is the results different? Or why decide this in this case and something different in a different case? Well, exactly. because it's a different case and to be okay with differences of administration is key. Verse 16, there's another misunderstood one again. It is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God. And then that reminder that the manifestations of the spirit may be given to every man to profit with all. Again, every spiritual gift is meant for the benefit of all. But that idea of diversities of operations, it's similar to the differences of administration. But if difference of administration is, you know, how do we cater to the different situations that we find people in? How do we tailor the way we administer different programs to different needs on the ground? Well, diversities of operations is that idea we saw again earlier in the revelation of well, is this of God or is this deception from the devil? Is it just a commandment or philosophy of men? What spirit is in operation here? And can I discern the difference between them to know the diversities of operations? That's an amazing spiritual gift. If you've ever been with someone that can really just discern what spirit is moving a person. Actually, it reminds me of this interesting scene in the New Testament where Jesus has just been rejected by a certain Samaritan village and James and John, the sons of thunder, are so livid that they want to call down fire from heaven like Elijah did and just burn this Samaritan village to a crisp. And Jesus is like, "What? Are you serious? Let's just go somewhere else for the night. It It's fine. But what Jesus says to them is really fascinating. He says, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." What spirit is driving this? Is this anger or is this righteous indignation? Because those two sometimes look a lot alike. Is this godly sorrow or the sorrowing of the damned? Remember, even Mormon had a hard time discerning what what spirit was in operation among his people until it became brutally obvious. But you see what he's getting at here? Again, 15 and 16, nobody seems to put on their wish list. But if either one of those appears in your patriarchal blessing, for example, what amazing spiritual gifts those are, especially for those who are called to administer things or for all the rest of us who are called to endure various administrations. I hope that we can be open to those differences and to those diversities. All of these are evidences of the Lord's willingness to suit his mercies to our individual circumstances. Now 17 and 18 also seem to form a pair. Again, verily I say unto you, to some is given by the spirit of God, the word of wisdom, to another is given the word of knowledge. And why? That all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge. Again, it's not about you, the teacher. It's about them, the learner. In fact, speaking of teaching and learning, in the Moroni version of this, it's not just the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge. It's the gift of teaching the word of knowledge and teaching the word of wisdom. But it's a beautiful difference to consider whether it's teaching or learning. Wisdom and knowledge. I've always considered knowledge more of the book smarts and wisdom more of the street smarts. I always think of my own parents with those two gifts. And my mom's gift of knowledge coupled with my dad's gift of wisdom. See, mom was the the book smart. Mom, they I mean, they both are good in both. Okay, love you, mom and dad. But mom always seemed to be if I had a a scriptural question, I'd usually go to mom. She knew the she knew chapter and verse. But if I had a a question more of, well, how does the spirit work on this? Then I'd go to dad. He was more of the street smarts. I remember when my mission farewell when we used to do those and the whole family would be involved and my parents both gave talks at my at my farewell and mom had this stack of papers with everything written out. It was this eloquent address every word punctuation mark just where it needed to be. Beautiful talk and dad I think he brought up like a 3x5 card that was probably blank to be honest and just kind of get up and just teach by the spirit. Now, they both were excellent and both are so good at following the spirit. They both have spiritual gifts, but it's just interesting to see some who have the ability to teach knowledge and have such great knowledge themselves and others where it's wisdom. I get different pieces of advice from my mom and dad and I'm so glad to be able to draw upon both of them. Right? Sadly, I think too often we're more focused on the gift that we don't have of that pair and we think, "Oh, I'm so lacking in in scriptural understanding. I can't remember chapter and verse." Well, I have a feeling you've probably been blessed with wisdom. And vice versa, that we've got to get past this hierarchy of spiritual gifts, like one is better than the other. No, they're all meant to bless everyone around us. There are times I need iron rod knowledge. who who knows by the book. And there are other times I need Leah Hona wisdom. I'm grateful to have parents, to have siblings, to have friends, to have members of my own family that have gifts in both of those kinds of areas. In verse 19 and 20, here's another pair. Again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed, and to others it is given to have faith to heal. Now, remember back in section 42 where we talked about the sick who don't have faith to be healed, but they do believe in the church and so bear with them and nourish them as best that you can. Bear with their infirmities. Interesting that back in that context, it's well, you don't have faith to be healed. That's okay. We'll help as best as we can. Others do have that gift. And man, when both of those two when those two parties can find each other, when someone uh in need of healing has the faith to be healed and they can find someone to bless them who has the faith to heal, well, get ready for a miracle, right? I had a colleague years ago who suffered from a chronic illness but truly developed within himself the spiritual gift. I mean that was one he coveted so that he could be more used and more useful. He knew with better health he could be a better servant of God. And he prayed for it. He developed the faith to be healed. And he discerned within another colleague an incredible gift of faith to heal and asked him for a blessing. He'd received multiple blessings before and for whatever reason, whether it was timing or the Lord's will at the time or suiting his mercies according to conditions or whether it was simply a a need for both sides to have an increase of faith. But when this friend's faith to be healed met with this other friend's faith to heal and some serious preparation on his part, it wasn't just, can you give me a blessing? Oh, sure. Let's do it right now. It was can you give me a month to prepare myself? But when faith to be healed found faith to heal and hands were laid upon head a miracle took place and a chronic illness disappeared to the point that the person with the faith to be healed knew that this was not some temporary reprieve but a change of his condition. a true spiritual gift at work. Two spiritual gifts at work, I should say. To me, it's even interesting to consider other spiritual gifts and think, is there a second half somewhere? Is there a pair that we could be forming? For me, as a teacher, it's always been interesting to recognize one of my weaknesses. Like I said, obviously, it's our lack of spiritual gifts that that haunts us more. It becomes more obvious. And one of my weaknesses as a teacher is I do not have a gift of asking questions. I've never been good at that. My wife's amazing at it. She can ask and I've had other colleagues as well. They can just ask such an amazing thoughtprovoking soulstretching question that that the lesson almost takes care of itself after they're able to ask that question. And I'm just not good at that. One of the things that the Lord has blessed me with is a gift for answers. Now, the the tragedy here and my you're probably thinking, "Oh, I'd rather way rather have answers than questions." I don't know because to be perfectly honest, so often the answer is waiting on a question to draw it forth. The Doctrine of Covenants is an amazing example of that. God has all the answers, but until the saints gain this gift of questioning and know what to ask the Lord, then the answer comes. I felt that often as a young temple goer when I'd go to the temple and just ponder the endowment and and try to understand scripture and put it all together and there'd be times I'd be sitting in the celestial room with friends and they'd lean over and go what do you think this means or why do you think we do that and all of a sudden I'd be like that is the best question ever and all of a sudden like this verse would come to my mind and some other thought would trigger and this and that and it all comes I'm like Oh, and I'd share some things and the people in that we were talking with would be like, "That's amazing. That answer is so incredible." I'm like, "No, no, no. The answer would never have come without your question." I feel that way with my students so often in class. It's not me asking them questions because I'm not good at it, but it's them asking me questions that are inspiring. And I just think I I find myself teaching things I hadn't known before all because of their question. It's one of the reasons I love doing Q&A with my classes or at fire sides or things like that because I I know that answers will be forthcoming based on one of the gifts God has given me. If others can supply the questions based on gifts that God has given them. Even as a missionary when general authorities would come and they're like, "Okay, let's do Q&A. what do you want to know about? And I just sit there kind of dumbfounded like, uh, I don't know. I I just couldn't think of any good questions. I was a little jealous of of companions and fellow missionaries that could just they could ask amazing things. So, like I said, look around for pairs of gifts. Often a gift that you might be lacking is simply the other half of a gift that you already have and the one that makes you a little more dependent on others for the gift that you lack. And that's a good thing since as we're seeing in this revelation gifts are meant for everyone that all may learn that all may be profited that all may be benefited. And believe me, I benefit from my student spiritual gifts. I pray that they benefit from mine. Another set comes in, this is a trio in 21, 22, and 23. To some is given the working of miracles, to others it is given to prophesy, and to others the discerning of spirits. I love that list. Miracles. It seems like the the the doers and then prophecy, the speakers, the teachers, the explainers, and then discernment, the listeners, the hearers, the feelers, the understanders. It's interesting to see the spectrum between extroverts and introverts. The ones that'll just step out and lead and make things happen. Others, the quiet kind of quiet organizers behind the scenes. The ones that have spiritual power to work miracles right here and now. Others that can see things in the future that just are beyond mortal sight and can point people in that incredible direction moving forward. And those that discern, just have a spiritual sense about them and can feel what another person is feeling, understand what's going on in their mind, their heart, can truly listen in such a way that someone wants to open up to them. I remember years ago reading about the working relationship between Elder Neil Maxwell and Elder Don H. Oaks. At the time, Elder Oaks was President Oaks, president of BYU, and Elder Maxwell was church commissioner of education. And hearing how the two of them worked together was amazing because they were very different as far as their spiritual gifts, but those gifts complemented each other beautifully. Elder Maxwell had this big picture kind of an understanding. He was better with the the overarching strategic goals of education in the church. Whereas Elder Oaks was such a stickler for detail that he was better at the tactical approach. In fact, Elder Oaks used to joke and says, "Well, the only reason Elder Maxwell has a clean desk is he takes all of his stuff and just shoves it onto mine." It's like he'd see the big picture and this is how it's supposed to work all in all. And then, well, I've got to get down into the details and see how we're actually going to make that happen at BYU. He said that Elder Maxwell would just fly through books and just get the big picture of things and Elder Oaks would read much more slowly and meticulously but find details that Elder Maxwell had missed. So whether your gift is miracles or prophecy or discernment out in front behind the scenes, doing saying, understanding, whatever it might be, those are gifts of God given by the spirit meant to bless all. In 24 and 25, another obvious pair, it is given to some to speak with tongues and to other is given the interpretation of tongues. Any missionary who has to learn a foreign language prays for both of those gifts. But I hope we also see their fulfillment not just in terms of actual languages, but a gift to understand and a gift to be understood. Maybe it goes ties back in with knowledge and wisdom and to be able to teach knowledge or to teach wisdom. Can you explain things in such a way that you'll be understood? Brigham Young. Young said that was one of Joseph Smith's spiritual gifts. So he could take heaven and bring it down to earth in a way that it would make sense for people. There's a gift of tongues. Others where you can just understand what somebody is trying to say even if they're if it's not coming out quite as well as they would have hoped. I hope you all have the gift of interpretation of tongues whenever I mess up or just it's not coming out the way I envision. Now can these spiritual gifts also be taken in the in the literal version of speaking in an unknown tongue? The technical name for that is glossalia. Fun word to say. And yes, we believe in that too. We don't seem to see it manifested as often in our day, but Brigham Young spoke in tongues. Some other church, early church members did as well as long and along with interpretation of tonesues with someone being able to explain what was just said in that unknown language. But even there when Paul talks about the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues in first Corinthians, he almost warns the saints then don't seek after that if it's just to have some kind of shock and awe. Look at me since that's not what spiritual gifts are for, right? Always remembering for what they are given. Paul says, I would far rather prophesy since that is actually helping somebody understand something than just to speak in a language that nobody understands. Again, that's why tongues and interpretation need to coincide here. But to borrow from Paul's emphasis on understanding, I do love to see 18, 19, 20-year-old young men and young women developing, praying for, seeking, earnestly coveting the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues to see how quickly they learn a foreign language at the MTC and in the field. It is a true miracle that in many ways is also another beautiful illustration of another pair of paired gifts, namely the gift of faith and the gift of work. When I taught at the MTC Spanish and I'd have missionaries, almost every prayer, please bless us with the gift of tongues. And there were times since I'd been working with them and I could see how much they practiced and how much progress they were making and how seriously they took their the need to to speak only that language. There would be times after one of those prayers, I'd say, elders and sisters, I'm proud of you for praying for the gift of tongues. But I think you need to pray for the gift of work. There's a lot of effort that could go in that I'm not quite seeing. How much are you studying? How much are you practicing with one another? Yes, exercise your faith in the gift of tongues. But if you prayed just as hard for the gift of work, I think the Lord would meet you somewhere in the middle. I actually remember one missionary who had the gift of work but didn't have the gift of tongues and he struggled. Everyone else in the district was was so much further along in Spanish than he was. And I was doing my best as his teacher and I could tell he was doing his best as a student and he just was struggling to the point that I really worried what how's he going to make it in the mission field. Well, I don't know how far we were in his two months MTC time, but it seemed like almost overnight he just picked up speed. Things were clicking for him. He caught up and surpassed the rest of the district to the point that I was like, "Is there like a Spanish steroid out there? What What happened to you?" Back in those days, we would interview our missionaries every so often to just get a sense. How's everything going? Is there anything I can help you with with, you know, learning how to be a missionary? And I remember sitting down with this elder and and kind of bewildered, dumbfounded, impressed, saying, "Elder, what what happened to you?" Uh, I mean, I don't want to make you feel bad, but I was really worried about your ability to to master Spanish, and you've caught fire. How did it happen? And this sweet elder who had the gift of humility to to an incredible degree, not trying to show off or anything, simply said, "Brother Halverson, I I don't feel bad that you that you were worried about me, cuz I was worried about myself, too. It was obvious that I wasn't getting it." And yet, I didn't know what more I could do, cuz every spare second I was making flashcards and I was quizzing myself and practicing with my companion. I I was doing everything that I could and I and it wasn't working and I knew that. And so I started to pray and said, "Heavenly Father, I can't get it. I can't do Spanish, but I know I have to be able to learn it because the people that I'm going to go serve need to for me to be able to speak to them. They need for me to be able to understand them." And he said, "I'm using every spare minute, but there's not enough minutes in the day. And so I'll tell you what, will you teach me Spanish at night when I'm sleeping? Now, when he said that, I remember like poker face, poker face, don't look surprised. Don't reveal or betray your own lack of faith. Like, huh? Teach you Spanish in your sleep. Uh, how does that work? But this sweet, simple, childlike 19-year-old saying, "I use every hour I've got. It's still not enough. I need help. So, Heavenly Father, please help me so that when I wake up in the morning, the things I studied the day before will actually stick. That I'll have the energy to pursue it again this next day, and things will start to make sense for me." And it was amazing to see in this sweet missionary, this humble testimony that when I wake up in the morning, I'm better at Spanish than when I fell asleep the night before. Vocabulary words are starting to stick in my head. Conjugating verbs are it's it's starting to make sense for me. His faith was such a blessing to me. To this day, I think the only missionary I've ever heard of who learned Spanish in his sleep. Not only in his sleep obviously, but the the gift of faith, the gift of work, the gift of tongues, the gift of interpretation of tongues. And why wouldn't the Lord give that to him? In verse 26, all these gifts come from God for the benefit of the children of God. Remember, seek them all you want, but always keep in mind for what purpose they are given. That was this missionary to its. And if we are seeking them for the benefit of others, of course, why wouldn't God want to give them to us? It's no longer a gamble on his part. We're not going to waste it on ourselves. We're not going to kink the hose. We're going to let it flow. And of course, God will send living water right through it. Now, for the rest of this revelation, he's going to give them a few more details to work through on these gifts of the spirit. In verse 27, 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, they 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. That's going to be part of that gift of discernment that so often seems almost like standard issue for bishops and keyholders in the church. On the one hand, as it says here, it's meant to see who's truly exercising a gift of God versus someone who's exercising something else. Remember those possibilities, God, man, devil. There are those who try to consume things upon their lusts, seek things for certain signs, or seek to be a sign unto others. Look at these gifts that I have that may not be gifts from God. That is a spiritual gift worth coveting as a priesthood leader. But also the discernment of other people's spiritual gifts. Can you that what a blessing that is when a bishop is trying to choose counselors or decide on relief society president or young or young women's president primary and so on in the in the giving of callings. Verse 27 is such a blessing. And sometimes it's to discern where spiritual gifts are already present. And that person can use those gifts in his or her calling. And sometimes that's discerning where a spiritual gift is lacking, but in a way that it can be developed through a specific calling that the person needs to serve in. Then in verse 28, it shall come to pass that he that askketh in spirit shall receive in spirit. And what does that look like? Jump ahead to verse 30. He that askketh in the spirit askketh according to the will of God. Wherefore it is done even as he askketh. Of course it's going to be done. It's what God wants to give you. That's an interesting thing about seeking and coveting spiritual gifts to ask heavenly father what is it that you want to give me? What spiritual gift would I need to be able to be more useful to me? Because if I'm asking in that way, according to his will, open to his spirit, then of course I'm going to receive the gift that I'm asking for. Verse 31, he continues, "Again, I say unto you, all things must be done in the name of Christ, whatsoever you do in the spirit." So that's another part of seeking and coveting these gifts. Am I asking it in the name of Christ? which means I want to use this gift in his name to do his work in his way among his children. Verse 32, you must give thanks unto God in the spirit for whatsoever blessing you are blessed with. So if we've been asking in the spirit, then we should be giving thanks in the spirit as well. I remember that hitting me once after I had fasted and prayed for a blessing and it came. And I remember praying once and feeling like, wait a minute, I didn't just pray when I needed this blessing. I fasted, too. And since the blessing came, I don't think it it's fitting that I just pray in gratitude. If I needed the blessing so desperately that fasting and prayer went into its request, then I think it's only fitting that fasting and prayer should be part of my gratitude to God. And so I fasted to thank him for honoring the fasting that I had done in asking for the blessing. All I'm I just love verse 32. To give thanks unto God in the spirit as he's been saying that to go ask God in the spirit is our gratitude on the same level as our desire. I think it's meant to be. And then finally verse 33. And you must practice virtue and holiness before me continually. Even so, amen. To practice. Practice makes perfect. No wonder we need to practice continually. We got a long ways to go before we are perfect in our virtue and perfect in our holiness. But if we are willing to practice virtue and holiness, no wonder the gift is safe with us, we are remembering the purpose for which they've been given. Now, I skipped verse 29 and earlier in the section, I skipped verse 11. But see how these two verses go together. In verse 29, unto some it may be given to have all those gifts that there may be a head in order that every member may be profited thereby. So another reminder, it's still to profit every member. It's not about that person. Even if there is one called to be a head that is given all of the gifts. I don't know exactly who that applies to. If it's presidents of the church or and no one else or not even them, I I have no idea. I know Jesus exercised every gift, but I'd be hardressed to think of anyone else. But with the scarcity of those kinds of people in mind, now go back to verse 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. As I read this revelation, verse 11 is the glue that binds together the first part about who can come to church to the second part about gifts of the spirit. Because as we see in verse 11, two main points, nobody has all the gifts except like I said in verse 29, the rare head who's given all of them. But number two, everybody has at least one. Now take those two together and own them that I don't have all the spiritual gifts but everyone has spiritual gifts to offer. And now does the first part of this revelation make sense? Now do you see one other reason why we have the visitors welcome sign outside of our chapels? Why do we want non-members to come? Because they have spiritual gifts that we don't have. Why do we want the unworthy to come? because they have spiritual gifts as well. Why do we want investigators, those who are earnestly seeking the kingdom to come? Because they'll bring their gifts with them. And the moment I I close the doors to someone, I've closed the doors to their spiritual gifts. And they might just have the other half of the gift that I have. They might just have the gift meant to profit all of us. that might go the longest way to profit me. I love that these are that this is one coherent revelation. He could have given us two separate ones. We've seen short revelations in the Doctrine of Covenants already. He could have given here's a little quick revelation about let everyone come to church, visitors welcome. And now week later, here's another revelation about spiritual gifts. But to tie them together, to me, it's almost sad that the second half has so overshadowed the first half that we miss the reason he brought in that second half to begin with. You've got to be more welcoming as my people. Because my children matter to me, no matter who they are, no matter what they're like, no matter how they're living, I've given them gifts because I love them. I have suited my mercies to their conditions. Remember what he said back in section 38. If you are not one, you are not mine. Because until you are one, you will never have all of my spiritual gifts. Think about that the next time you meet with a less active member of the church and see in them a possessor of great spiritual gifts. Gifts that could be used for the benefit of all. Can you imagine that kind of an invitation instead of some sort of a a thinly veiled guilt trip like why haven't you been coming to church? But an honest expression of admiration for the gifts that you recognize in someone and an honest admission of their absence in yourself or in the church that we need you. That we need people who are different. that we need people who are struggling. That we need people who only believe and can't yet say they know. That we need our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. That we need people of other faiths to associate with whether or not they come into the church as members, but to bless the big C church and help diffuse God's love and light to all of his children across the world. We need each other. And we need each other's spiritual gifts. I guess it's another example of that beautiful principle of exclusivity in pursuit of inclusivity or inequality in pursuit of equality. Not everyone starts out with the robes as described in section 38's little parable. It's up to us to come together as a family and make sure that the Lord's robes of righteousness cover us all. That's where spiritual gifts come in. So seek them earnestly, covet them, and remember the purpose for which they are given. Now with that as backdrop, section 47 actually comes into a beautiful view. It's a short little revelation given to John Whitmer. But in a way, if we let 46 continue and of overshadow a little bit, I think it does have something to do with a spiritual gift that John Whitmer had and a spiritual gift that he still was in need of developing somewhat because in this revelation, he is called to serve in an area he doesn't completely feel adequate to serve in. You see, in a nutshell, he's called to be church historian. Here back in section 20, the saints were told that you're going to need somebody keeping records to be able to see membership records and certificates so that people can exercise priesthood in other branches of the church and so on. In section 21, it becomes a little more clear that there must be a record kept in the church. Up to this point, Oliver Cowry has been doing that. He was an excellent scribe for Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon, started in the JST, but he had to go on this Lammonite mission. And so somebody's going to need to fill those shoes. And who was that someone? It was John Whitmer. Now, when it came to being a scribe and a recorder, just kind of keeping track of membership records and things, that's fine. I can do that. But church historian, like keeping track of what's going on, big picture kinds of things and putting it together and into a history of the church, that's way above my pay grade. And so he wanted to make sure that this assignment was more than just an assignment. You see, at at first, he'd been asked to do that. He's been appointed by a group of of elders of the church. But then he went to Joseph Smith and said, "If you really want me to do this, I feel totally inadequate. A bunch of sustaining hands from a group of elders isn't enough. I need to get a revelation from God that this is really what he wants me to do." Perhaps he was thinking of the truth that uh President Monson made famous that whom the Lord calls, he qualifies. Well, I don't feel qualified. I'll need to be qualified, which means I need to know that my calling came from God. As John had said to Joseph, "I would rather not do it, but I observe that the will of the Lord be done, and if he desires it, I desire that he would manifest it through Joseph the seir." And as a result, he said, the revelation came in consequence of not feeling reconciled to write at the request of Joseph without a commandment. It's almost like if I I know if this calling comes from God, then I'll know I can lay claim to spiritual gifts that will again I I need the standard issue blessings that come with a calling on this scale. And it did come. Later historians still look back at John Whitmer's history as as an impressive feat. Now the revelation he requested did come. Very simple and straightforward. Verse one, behold, it is expedient in me. It's not just a bunch of elders that think this is a good idea. This is God feeling its expedience. Expedient in me that my servant John should write and keep a regular history and assist you, my servant Joseph, in transcribing all things which shall be given you until he is called to further duties. So with that last line, we realize that some callings, including some spiritual gifts that are attached to those callings, do have an end date. I think it was section 28 with Martin, no excuse, with Oliver Cy that a similar thing was said. You'll have certain gifts that go along with you as long as you're serving in this Lamonite mission. So until you are called to other duties, this is what I want you to do. In verse two, again, verily I say unto you that he can also lift up his voice in meetings whenever it shall be expedient. So this isn't the only thing you can do. I don't think callings are meant to confine us to only do the thing that is asked of us within that calling. I mean, yes, there are, unfortunately, there are ways we can overstep our bounds, and we need to be careful with that. But I do love that he thought, yes, you're a historian. You're a recorder. You're a scribe, but that doesn't mean you're just supposed to sit in the corner and take notes and you're not allowed to contribute anything else. I think sadly too often we think of the bishop Rick as three people when technically it's five with the bishop and his two counselors and a ward clerk and an executive secretary. And in the bishop bricks that I've served in, the best ones are when the executive secretary and the ward clerk feel fully able to contribute to lift up their voice in the meetings. I hope counselors and secretaries in any presidency feel that way. I hope members of the ward council feel that way that whatever calling you have, lift up your voice. You're part of the the recipient group of these scattered revelations that the Lord is giving. You're part of the council. So counsel with your counsel. I mean, if we're supposed to be seeking gifts we don't already have, there is this sense the Lord wants us to expand outside the parameters of what we thought this is this is where I'm confined. No, you have responsibility here within this calling. But your contribution can extend far beyond it. In verse three, another word about the history he's supposed to take. Again I say unto you that it shall be appointed unto him to keep the church record and history continually. For Oliver Calry I have appointed to another office. I love the two words he uses to describe this history. In verse three the word was continually. In verse one the word was regular. So keep it regularly. Keep it continually. As a historian myself all my all my degrees are in history. I am so grateful for good historians who kept it regularly, who kept it continually. The future is at the mercy of the past in terms of what is preserved. And a good history makes such a difference. Sadly, often we are at the mercy of things that we're missing. And I just wish we had more information about such and such a time period or such an a decision or an event. And by keeping it regularly and continually, it's amazing what we can understand about our past in church history. Both the presence of its divinity and its humanity. It's actually given me great comfort as I grapple with my own combination of divinity and humanity in the way I serve and the way I live. It's actually opened my eyes to understand better early New Testament Christianity or the workings of God and his people throughout the Old Testament because we see so much in our history, both the good, the bad, and the ugly. Times where God was winking, times that God was asking us to repent, times that we were following the spirit and times we were succumbing to the philosophies of men. All of that throughout our history kept regularly and continually. I mean, read the book Saints. It's amazing. Study the history of the church. Study the doctrine and covenants and all the the background behind these revelations and you'll see divine and human fingerprints all over it which help me better understand God's work in my own life and God's work in the Bible as well. I'm so grateful for good historians. Finally, in verse four, wherefore it shall be given him in as much as he is faithful by the comforter to write these things. Even so, amen. I'm sure every church historian is grateful that the Holy Ghost can be part of their work. I'm sure that's true of all of us, whatever we happen to be doing in the kingdom. Keeping records of things might not seem like the same amount of spiritual uh need as you would have for prophesying or performing miracles. Is this more of a clerical calling? Is this more of a temporal role? You think about Edward Partridge with his temporal role as bishop of the church. the clerical scribing that John Whitmer is going to be involved in now. And yet, what did we learn back in section 29? Everything is spiritual unto me, the Lord says, even temporal, even clerical things. So if you're a ward clerk or a clerk over finances or membership records or any of the above, if you're a secretary in a quorum or a class or a presidency of any kind, please understand that the comforter can be in fact wants to be a part of your service. As you are faithful, the spirit can help you accomplish whatever is asked of you in your calling. After all, I guess the ultimate spiritual gift is the gift of the spirit himself. We then conclude this week's material with section 48, a brief revelation. Again, speaking of temporal things that are also spiritual things, uh, Bishop Partridge, poor Bishop Partridge. Um, okay, this is great and I love all these spiritual gifts, but I'm really wondering about I I need some set direction. I love the idea of being guided and directed by the Holy Ghost, but I would love to have a few more in the book kind of instructions on how am I supposed to settle all these saints that are moving into Ohio. I'm glad that we're gathering, but somebody's got to figure out a place to put roofs on over everybody's head. How do I do that? According to the history behind this revelation, Edward Partridge was quote anxious to know something end quote about how do I settle all the people that are coming? So the saints asked Joseph to ask the Lord what preparations we shall make for our brethren from the east and when and how. Others started wondering about the new Jerusalem. That's been brought up in several revelations. Section 45 described it it powerfully. So is that what we're building here in Ohio? And section 48 came as an answer to all of that. In verse one, it is necessary that you should remain for the present time in your places of abode as it shall be suitable to your circumstances. So again, he's trying to meet individual needs, suitable to your circumstances. Kind of like we saw back in section 46, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men. But notice the phrase for the present time. Uh-oh. Does that mean this isn't permanent? Yes. That's exactly what it means. We'll see some more of that in two weeks when we get to section 51 in verse two. And in as much as you have lands, you shall impart it to the eastern brethren. So where are they all going to live? Well, if you got space, they're going to live with you. Open your your homes in part of your lands. We are trying to live the law of consecration after all. So let's be one so that we can be gods. Verse three, in as much as ye have not lands, so if there isn't space for everyone, then let them buy for the present time in those regions roundabout, as seemth them good, for it must needs be necessary that they have places to live for the present time. So there's that flexibility. They can live as seemth them good. Remember, he he allowed for that on the on the back end. How are you going to leave your homes in New York and Pennsylvania? Yeah, sell it, rent it, leave it whenever you want. Over here, when you get here, well, as seemth you good. Remember Sydney Riggn was told something along those lines. Just live as seemth you good. As long as you're keeping the commandments. But also two more times, for the present time. For the present time. I doubt those phrases meant much to them, but man, now looking back in retrospect, the Lord was dropping some serious hints. You're not going to be in Ohio that long. Temporary gathering place at best. Verse four. It must needs be necessary that you save all the money that you can and that you obtain all that you can in righteousness that in time you may be enabled to purchase land for an inheritance, even the city. And the city he's talking about is New Jerusalem. Verse 5 says, "The place is not yet to be revealed, but after your brethren come from the east, there are to be certain men appointed, and to them it shall be given to know the place, or to them it shall be revealed." They would receive that revelation soon enough, specifying very clearly the location of the new Jerusalem. But in the meantime, what are they supposed to be doing? Go back to verse four. You saw that phrase, in time you'll be enabled to purchase land. Again, there's this timetable. You're you're only going to be here for a while. Eventually, you'll be moving on and someday you'll know where you need to to to settle. But I also love the phrase in verse four, save all the money you can. Obtain it in righteousness so that someday you'll be able to purchase the land for the inheritance. That is a great piece of advice as far as economics. Not just in the church, but in our individual lives. The church does an incredible job of saving all the money that it can and obtaining its money in righteousness. Do we? And you can ask yourself that on either end. Do we save money or is it just spend it as quickly as it comes in? In fact, spend it before it comes in. And are we obtaining money in righteousness or in other ways? Because if we're not saving money, then we won't be enabled to purchase lands for the Lord's inheritance. And if we're not doing it in righteousness, we probably wouldn't want to seek the Lord's inheritance in the first place. I actually love the advice that John Wesley gave. John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism, summed up his e economic views in these three statements. Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can. That's about as good a description of the law of consecration as you could ask for. Also, if you're if you're gaining, earning all that you can, there's that capitalistic side of things. if you're saving all you can as is described here in section 48:4 because you don't know exactly when the time will come where you need what you've saved but then also that give all you can that's the communalistic side of the law of consecration that we collectively have sufficient for our collective needs the saints are basically told to do all three things here and the church is doing all three things to this day earning saving and giving and doing it all in the Lord's way. The revelation then ends in verse six. And they, this group that would be appointed to receive the revelation to find out where does the Lord want us to build the new Jerusalem. They shall be appointed to purchase the lands. That's going to need all the money you've been saving to make a commencement to lay the foundation of the city, the city of New Jerusalem. And then shall ye begin to be gathered with your families, every man according to his family, according to his circumstances. Individual needs, individual circumstances. We've seen a lot of that today. And as is appointed to him by the presidency and the bishop of the church. So supervision and leadership according to the laws and commandments which ye have received going by the book the iron rod and which ye shall hereafter receive even so amen which includes both more iron rod revelation as well as more leona inspiration from the Holy Ghost line upon line precept upon precept they're going to know and we'll see that develop in the next few weeks of the doctrine in covenants as the their view of the new Jerusalem becomes more more clearly comes into view. But in the meantime, even as we start sensing, they probably don't sense it yet, but we do start sensing that Ohio will be a temporary resting place or a practice gathering spot. How are we going to do here? Are we going to gain and save and give as we should? Because if we can't figure it out in Ohio, it's only going to be harder in Missouri where things will take place on a much grander scale. And if we can't figure it out there, then how are we going to do it with a global church with halves and have nots scattered all over the world trying to live the law of consecration on a global scale. Earning, saving, giving as the Lord would have us do. Oh, those are going to take some spiritual gifts, too. Diversities of operations, differences of administration, miracles and prophecy and discernment, tongues and interpretation of tongues, knowledge, wisdom. We'll need it all to build Zion the way the Lord would have us build it. So, my friends, may we seek earnestly the best gifts. May we grow in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man as Jesus did. Can we develop gifts in all of those areas mentally and physically and spiritually and socially? All those gifts would be helpful along with all the ones that never seem to make the scriptural lists. They're there. I love this the famous quote from Elder Marvin J. Ashton as he gave a talk on spiritual gifts years ago and listed some of the less well-known ones. He referred to them as the less conspicuous gifts. The gift of asking. Oh, that's the one I treasure from my students. The gift of listening. My wife has that one to such a beautiful degree. The gift of hearing and using a still small voice. The gift of being able to weep. The gift of avoiding contention. The gift of being agreeable. The gift of avoiding vain repetition. The gift of seeking that which is righteous. The gift of not passing judgment. The gift of looking to God for guidance. The gift of being a disciple. The gift of caring for others. The gift of being able to ponder. The gift of offering prayer. The gift of bearing a mighty testimony. Or the gift of receiving really receiving the Holy Ghost. I almost want to pause the video and and stay on that frame to see that list because even as I read it, names and faces were popping into my head of amazing friends and family members that that exemplify those spiritual gifts and have blessed my life as a result, whether they were born with those gifts or sought them earnestly throughout their lives, remembering always the purpose for which they were given. given. It's working because I am benefiting from their spiritual gifts. I hope that I can return the favor and develop whatever gifts I lack so that I can be more useful to God and more of a blessing to my brothers and sisters. That's what George Cuchanan taught years ago. Amazing statement. He said, "How many of you are seeking for these gifts that God has promised to bestow? How many of you when you bow down before your heavenly father in your family circle or in your secret place contend for these gifts to be bestowed upon you? Contend. That's a strong word. That's even stronger than covet. Don't just seek. Don't just covet. Contend for them. How many of you ask the father in the name of Jesus to manifest himself to you through these powers and these gifts? Remember, ask in the spirit, you'll receive in the spirit. Or President Cannon said, "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've done this?" George Buchanan means business here. You're just going to flop back and forth like a door on its hinges thinking you've made it because you're a member of the church. No, you've got to seek gifts. He goes on,"I say to you in the name of the Lord as one of his servants that you have need to repent of this. You have need to repent of your hardness of heart or your indifference and of your carelessness. There is not that diligence. There is not that faith. There is not that seeking for the power of God that there should be among a people who have received the precious promises we have." Wow. calling us to repent not for anything we've been doing wrong, but rather for what we haven't been doing right, for being content or complacent with the level of spiritual gifts we currently have. I I'm amazed by this statement again. We need each other and we need more of each other. We need spiritual gifts that we don't yet have. And so as George Cuchanan says in concluding this amazing statement, if any of us are imperfect, and that's all of us, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I'm full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. If I'm an angry man, it's my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It's my duty to seek for charity, which env. So with all the gifts of the gospel, they are intended for this purpose. If a man lacks 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. I hope we don't feel called out by that quote, but rather feel inspired by the call to repentance that George Cuchanan gives us to be better than we are for the church's sake, for the world's sake. I love how Paul ends his discussion or ends isn't even the right word. how he expands his instructions about spiritual gifts because at the end of 1 Corinthians 12 when he pleads with us to seek earnestly the best gifts, he then ends that chapter on a on a cliffhanger. He says, "And yet show I unto you a more excellent way." And the chapter ends. Now, I don't think he was writing in chapters. It was one long letter to the Corinthians. But unfortunately, the chapter ends for us. And if you're anything like most people, that's usually when you end your scripture study. You get to the end of the chapter and you close the book and then you wake up the next day and you forget what you read the night before and now it's on on to the next chapter. But what is the next chapter in 1 Corinthians? Chapter 13, which is all about charity, the gift that George Qanon kept referring to. As you are seeking earnestly the best gifts as you're coveting them for the benefit of those around you, what is the more excellent way? It's charity. It's the pure love of Christ. He who is the ultimate good gift wants us to be like him. And in those areas where you know that you're falling short, pray to God in the name of his son to make you a little bit more like him. To fill in those gaps of between gifts with the great gift of charity. It's the one that never faileth. [Music]