Deny Not The Gifts of God

As I have searched Moroni 10 and scriptural links to Moroni 10, I am impressed with the vision Moroni had with respect to the idea that perhaps in our day we would 'deny the gifts of God.' Why else would he be so bold as to 'exhort' us to not deny the gifts and power of God, and to do so with so much fervor? He was so concerned that he emphasized his exhortations over and over again. But as with many Book of Mormon prophet writers, he was right on, since we have not heeded his warning and do in fact, for the most part, deny the gifts of God. 

Let's look at what he says: 

"I would exhort you that 

ye deny not the power of God; 

for he worketh by power, 

according to the faith 

of the children of men....  

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 they are given by the 

manifestations of the Spirit of God 

unto men, to profit them" 

(Moroni 10:7-8 emphasis added).  

Moroni then enumerates several of the Gifts of the Spirit, and then writes: 

"And all these gifts 

come by the Spirit of Christ...

and I would exhort you, 

my beloved brethren, 

that ye remember 

that every good gift 

cometh of Christ. 

 

And I would exhort you, 

my beloved brethren, 

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" 

(Moroni 10:18-19 emphasis added).

Moroni's heartfelt plea is further emphasized in verse 25 where he says, "that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief" (Moroni 10:25 emphasis added).

We can link 'unbelief' to another scripture speaking of us in D&C 84:54-55, where the Lord tells Joseph that our "minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because (we) have treated lightly the things (we) have received--which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation" (emphasis added).

So is Moroni's exhortation directed at us?

Based on my experience as an active church member for all of my life, and as one who has served as, and worked with many other leaders at ward and stake levels, I can say that for the most part we have and do "deny the gifts of God.'

Not once have I ever been asked by a Bishop, Elders Quorum President, High Priest Group Leader or Stake President if I have any Gifts of the Spirit, and I believe that to be true of most people. Nor did I ever inquire of any of my ward members when I was a Bishop, and this is true of many former sitting bishops whom I have asked.

As I was taught more by the Lord about His gifts of the spirit I tried to bring up spiritual gifts in meetings, ward councils and high councils, in an attempt to call attention to Moroni's exhortation to not deny the Gifts of God, but which fell on deaf ears.

I do not say this to be critical but to simply point out the fact that Moroni's concerns concerning us were well founded and prophetic, at least based on my experience. Spiritual gifts as real gifts are not even on our radar.

I was even told once that we should not talk to others of our spiritual gifts, and could never understand this since these gifts are given to 'profit' all of us, and as a result we should know of and share our gifts with this caution: "Make not thy gift known unto any save it be those who are of thy faith. Trifle not with sacred things" (D&C 6:10 emphasis added). Also Paul says, speaking of spiritual gifts, "seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church" (1 Corinthians 14:12 emphasis added). 

"For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift" (D&C 88:33). And I would add that what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon others, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto others, neither rejoices in Him who is the giver of the gift.

My experience with lessons on the Gifts of the Spirit have always consisted of 'talking about' but never really understanding how denying the Gifts of God is also denying the power of God, and directly correlates to our lack of faith and our unbelief. Other than occasionally identifying a few of the gifts in Moroni 10, D&C 46 and 1 Corinthians 12 in lessons, I have never been instructed in family or church on the importance of spiritual gifts in our pursuit to do good.

Before I continue, let me write something about what 'good' is and how it is tied to the use of the Gifts of the Spirit. Moroni also teaches us that "in Christ there should come every good thing" and "all things which are good cometh of Christ" (Moroni 7:22;24 emphasis added). He also tells us that only by faith can we lay hold upon every good thing (Moroni 7:25). So if we are to be the means of doing 'good' we can only do 'good' through Christ. Our own goodness just does not cut it and no amount of human goodness amounts to doing the type of 'good' Moroni is writing of.

No one has ever taught me, as far as I can remember, except Moroni and other Book of Mormon prophet writers, that we can only do 'good' through the gifts and power of God. 

And how does He define good? 

"For behold, my brethern, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. ...I will show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ.... But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil..." (Moroni 7:15-17).

Moroni warns us that if the gifts of God are done way among us because of unbelief,

"there shall be none 

that doeth good among you, 

no not one" 

(Moroni 10:25 emphasis added).

None! Not one!

This connection between good and the gifts of God is of critical importance, and lays at our feet the warning given to us by Moroni, and begs the question: how much 'good' are we really doing if we are not doing good through the power and gifts of God?  According to Moroni, NONE. To me this is staggering.

And he makes this crystal clear when he says:  

"For if there be one 

among you

that doeth good, 

he shall work 

by the power 

and gifts of God" 

(Moroni 10:25 emphasis added).

Doing good = work by power and gifts of God.

For emphasis Moroni warns that 

"I speak it according 

to the words of Christ 

and I lie not" 

(Moroni 10:26).

And he doesn't leave it at that!  He says: 

"I exhort you 

to remember these things; 

for the time speedily cometh 

that ye shall know that I lie not, 

for ye shall see me 

at the bar of God; 

and the Lord God 

will say unto you:  

Did I not declare 

my words unto you, 

which were written by this man...

I declare these things unto 

the fulfilling of the prophesies" 

(Moroni 10:27-28 emphasis added)?

Is Moroni prophesying that we will deny the power and gifts of God? The answer is yes.  We don't have to look far (ourselves) to see that we have denied the gifts and power of God, and continue to do so. Maybe we don't deny all the gifts, such as the gift of healing, but we do deny most of them and do not seek out those who have gifts, so that the gifts of God can be used to benefit the whole. I am sure the Church uses people with the gift of tongues to translate Books of Mormon and other Church publications. But how about you?

Let me illustrate by asking you the following questions. 

Who do you know in your family, your ward, your stake, or beyond, that has the gift to teach God's wisdom or to teach the word of God? 

Do you know anyone who has the gift of healing, the gift of great faith, or the gift of prophecy? 

And if you do have you ever asked them to use their gifts for your benefit? Your family's benefit? Your class's benefit? Your ward's benefit? Your stake's benefit?

Is there more of an emphasis on talents than on the gifts of God? 

Have you ever sought out someone with a gift of the spirit, for example, to be someone with the gift of knowledge that can teach you and your family? 

How can you do 'good' if you do not know what 'good' means and do not work by the power and gifts of God?

I know many who have gifts of the Spirit, and I have benefited from God's gifts to them because I have desired the benefit and He has led me to them.

My plea to whomever reads this, is to become aware of Moroni's exhortation, seek out gifts and encourage others to ask for gifts. Rejoice in the gifts and He who is the giver of the gifts. This is especially critical concerning the gifts of wisdom and knowledge and the gift to teach wisdom and/or knowledge; or the gift of prophecy, and others, or what I call the forgotten gifts. By doing so we can tap into His power and do what He defines as good.

I would like to illustrate one way that we deny the power and gifts of God while being deluded into thinking that we are doing good. We seek to counsel in our own ways and rely on human wisdom and talents to solve problems. We seek 'not the Lord's counsel," and we ignore God's word and the power it has in getting people in the way and keeping them there (D&C 1:19; 56:14; 2 Nephi 31).

Think about a typical ward council meeting where the Bishopric, quorum and auxiliary leaders gather to counsel. Someone may be assigned a 'spiritual thought' and then an agenda is followed where ward issues are discussed. More often than not (in fact in my experience with ward councils--never) the welfare of the soul is not considered. The welfare of the person is, but the solutions are a result of handbooks, traditions, talents, and members of the council conversing among themselves.

We deny the power of God in these councils because we ignore those with gifts of the spirit. We treat lightly the word of God which as Alma says, if used (and if used by someone with the gift of knowledge) will do more good than anything else. As a result no good is done even though we pretend it is.

It does not need to be this way and shouldn't be. The sword of truth (the word of God) should be foremost in our councils, and if it isn't then we may help a few members with some problems, but we won't save their souls. See Ten Reasons Why for an example of what happens when we don't use His words.

We must remember that our work is to teach repentance? Why? So that all may obtain the mercy of God (Alma 42:31). And we must use those with the gifts of the spirit. Otherwise we deny the gifts and power of God and will not do good.