The Gifts of The Spirit

In the New Testament, we follow our Savior Jesus Christ and read of His miraculous power to heal. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the devils are cast out, and even the dead are raised.

Later Jesus gives this remarkable power to his apostles. They go on to perform the same miracles that Jesus performed.

Some might ask, does this power really exist on the earth today?

Latter-Day Saints would answer YES.

When the Lord restored His church on the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith, He also restored the keys and power the priesthood. In addition to this, He restored the gift of the Holy Ghost. One of the blessings of the Gift of the Holy Ghost is the ability to receive what is called "The Gifts of the Spirit."

In the Book of Mormon it says:

Moroni 10: 8-19

8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.
9 For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;
10 And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
11 And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;
13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;
14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
16 And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.
17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.
18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.
19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men.

Also we have this as a revelation given to the Prophet Smith:

11 For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.
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.
14 To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful.
15 And again, to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men.
16 And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal.
17 And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom.
18 To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge.
19 And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed;
20 And to others it is given to have faith to heal.
21 And again, to some is given the working of miracles;
22 And to others it is given to prophesy;
23 And to others the discerning of spirits.
24 And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues;
25 And to another is given the interpretation of tongues.
26 And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God.
27 And unto the bishop of the church, and unto such as God shall appoint and ordain to watch over the church and to be elders unto the church, are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God.
28 And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit;
29 That 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.
30 He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh.
31 And again, I say unto you, all things must be done in the name of Christ, whatsoever you do in the Spirit;

You may of course be familiar with the similar verses in the New Testament. The difference is that in each of these versions there are specific insights that we don't find in the New Testament account. We learn that there is an order to these gifts and that not everyone has access to all of the gifts at the same time, except for the Bishop, that there may be a head.

Having said that, we also learn that every person who is baptized a member of Christ's church is given at least one gift of the Spirit, and can seek after the other gifts.

These gifts are to be used in wisdom and order. They are also used with quiet dignity. It's important to understand that these gifts are not what converts a person to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but rather they are a blessing given to the person who already believes that confirms their faith.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I can honestly say that I have personally seen many of these gifts in action within the church.

These gifts are richly used by the church today, including prophecy, revelation, healing, tongues, and so forth.

I have seen these gifts manifested in both the home I grew up in, and in my own home. I have seen people healed of sickness, I have seen thoughts discerned, and prophecy fulfilled.

Each of these gifts has a purpose. The end goal of these gifts is simply to bring people to Christ and to make them holy and sanctified.

The only thing that inhibits the use of these gifts in unbelief. I testify that these gifts are working in the church today, I also testify that it is a sign of the true church of Jesus Christ when you find these gifts in it.

Would you like access to the gifts of the Spirit? I invite you to come and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ by one who holds the proper authority to do so.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

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