Let’s look at two things this week, signs and gifts (as 2 parts to 1 thing), and bearing testimony. Evidently these were problematic in the early days of the church.
Before I could write anything about signs and gifts from God I had to settle in my own mind the differences between them, as well as how they overlap in their function. This is why I am talking about them together.
Signs
In general terms, signs come from God to prove who He is and what He can do. Often signs are given to those who don’t believe in God or know about God to give them something to believe in. Consider it a kick start to personal faith. If God gives a sign to a genuinely intentioned non-believer it is with developing faith in mind. Think of all the people who heard the apostle Paul preach on the day of Pentecost. He spoke in one language, yet all present heard him preach in their own language. And there were people there from all over the Mediterranean, all of them speaking a different language.
When someone demands a sign from God about something, but they have no intention of believing in God or obeying His commandments, that is just personal curiosity. God refers to such desires as wanting signs to “consume it upon their lusts.” A lust is a desire or interest for something. These people want to be impressed, but have no intention of changing because of whatever they see or experience. They have decided ahead of time that they have no interest in believing what the religious person is peddling.
In the Book of Mormon (Alma 30) Korihor demands a sign, but when one is finally given it is to his own detriment (struck deaf and dumb). When he asked that it be removed the prophet told him that was up to God, and when it wasn’t removed the prophet said it was because Korihor would have gone back to his old wicked ways. The sign didn’t serve to convert him. It impressed him, surprised him, but didn’t convert him. He was left unchanged inside, even though he had just undergone a life-changing event at his own insistence. This shows us that there are those who are simply not interested in ever being obedient to God. All they want is to have their curiosities satisfied in a purely carnal or mortal way. Spirituality was never considered an issue for serious consideration in the discussion.
Signs are also given to the faithful as a reward for their faith and diligence in keeping God’s commandments. These are signs God anxiously desires to bestow upon His faithful children. These signs are meant to strengthen faith that already exists. They are rewards for righteous living. Some signs come as answers to prayers, like when a body of Saints fast and pray for much needed rain and the Lord opens the heavens and fulfills their request. Some signs are given without the faithful specifically asking for a sign to be given. The faithful offer prayers to accomplish something needful, and the Lord opens doors no one anticipated could be opened to make it happen.
Signs and miracles can be mixed up and be difficult to distinguish. Signs are most often given to the unbeliever as a show of God’s power, to help convert them. In the case of the day of Pentecost, the gift of tongues was used to demonstrate this sign. Miracles follow those who already believe and are converted and faithful. But even believers get the occasional sign, like when the sign of the Savior’s approaching birth was foretold, both the believers and the unbelievers were given the same signs of Christ’s birth. Often these signs are in fulfillment of prophecy. Such signs are meant to convert the nonbeliever and strengthen the testimony of the believer. Signs are far less common than miracles. Miracles are often private experiences, since God uses them to reward individual faith. What may be unimpressive to you may be a miracle in my life. Miracles can be considered by some to be happy coincidences, but I’m convinced that with God there is no such thing as a coincidence.
Here is a talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles – Miracles. Wonderful talk. Be sure to read it. Many of the signs of God’s power (demonstrations of His power) are called miracles, for we can’t explain them, nor can we replicate them at will.
Gifts
Here is the 2021 version of this topic that addresses spiritual gifts – D&C Lesson 15 – The Best Gifts. I encourage you to read it.
Spiritual gifts fall into two main categories – for the unbeliever and for the believer. The gift of tongues is used to help in missionary work to convert the unbeliever. It rarely is seen among the believers, since its main purpose is to help convert unbelievers to the gospel of Christ. Gifts are given with the intention of aiding the children of God to return to His presence. Each spiritual gift is designed to bless the lives of many people, not just the possessor of the gift. The most common way we see the gift of tongues used today is in the rapid way our missionaries are able to learn their host language so they can share the gospel effectively.
We need to remember that each gift is only usable to bless someone else’s life. Most of our blessings in life come because someone used one of their gifts to bless others. The gift of faith strengthens those around us who see us exercising faith in ways that may be difficult for them to use their faith. It may feel “normal” to us to use our faith in that way. It is normal only because our faith is stronger and more resilient than the other person’s faith.
If I have the faith to be healed then I have to be injured or sick in order to use that gift. I would say that it stinks to be me, but it is that very faith that healed me that strengthened the faith of those who learned of my circumstances and were helped to be more faithful to their own covenants. Having a particular gift isn’t always a bed of roses. It is however, always a blessing.
All of us have at least one gift. Most, I am convinced, have multiple gifts in various stages of development. Most of us have some amount of compassion, patience, faith, ability to learn, ability to teach, etc. There are thousands of things that qualify as gifts. Which of those attributes we strengthen are the ones we use as gifts to bless the lives of others.
Gifts are not meant to be just for our benefit. In the article linked above I mention that having a gift and only wanting to use it on yourself is like having a pocket full of money, but nowhere to spend it. Without the ability to bless the life of someone else the gift does us little good. If I am going to develop my gift of patience I need someone or something on which to practice my patience. I need to exercise that virtue in many circumstances and under many conditions. Gifts are not something we buy complete and wrapped in a package to be opened upon arriving home from the gift store. Gifts must be prayed over, found, and developed over the course of years of effort.
Did you know we have some say in what gifts we use? Even if I am “gifted” or naturally excel in a particular area, if I don’t use it for the welfare of others it wont ever develop properly. In order to really magnify our gifts we must actively pursue their use and growth, and that is all up to us as to where we put our efforts. I can choose to learn to speak well in public for the benefit of myself and others, but I need to put in the work of learning how to avoid bad speaking habits and adopting good habits of public speaking. Only with years of practice and taking advantage of opportunities to speak in public can I make progress in that effort. That may not be a great example, since to most people public speaking is on the list of favorite things to experience along with death and taxes. But the principle still holds true.
Testimony
This is the first topic of this week’s lessons. I found that it made me very uncomfortable. It took some time and reflection to figure out where my discomfort lay.
My testimony is comprised of the things I know to be true. Any witness I’ve had from the Spirit of the truthfulness of something in the gospel falls under this category. Testimonies are funny things. If I receive a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, as an example, that is a great thing. But what I do with that witness thereafter makes all the difference in whether that testimony is strengthened or weakened, whether it grows or diminishes.
Most spiritual things are counter intuitive. We really can’t explain how they work, they just do. Such is the case with testimonies of truth. If I receive a witness of something, but then don’t talk about it, share it, actively stand up for it, or confess that I have had the experience then it begins to dissipate and weaken in its intensity. Over time this inactivity with that truth causes me to begin to doubt its truthfulness and eventually even its existence.
On the other hand, telling someone else about my experience, my feelings, or what I believe to be true, causes the initial experience I had with the Spirit to become more cemented in my soul. I begin to see the truth about which I first received my witness in new ways, new light, and to feel it more deeply than I did before. It has something to do with committing myself to accept and use that knowledge I received from the Spirit. The more I use what I have been given, the more deeply I feel and believe in that knowledge. I also begin to see how it connects to other truths and how the Lord blesses me in ways I never imagined before.
The truth about spiritual witnesses is simply this – use strengthens, inactivity weakens.
Sharing testimonies
I suppose it is natural to fear talking about things that cannot be proven with scientific studies and encyclopedic facts, i.e. well researched and proven things. But these are not able to be done with things from the spiritual realm, for all things spiritual lay outside of the mortal experience. Spirituality is a gift from God and cannot be experienced through anything mortal. Sometimes this makes us look to others like Henny Penny who went about yelling that the sky was falling, because an acorn fell from a tree and hit her on the head. People thought she was silly and daft.
As uncomfortable as it can be to share our testimonies with others, doing so is essential for our own spiritual wellbeing. We simply must do it to stay spiritually healthy. But how can we share our spiritual life with someone who doesn’t understand it in a way that is neither threatening to us or to them? This is where the comments we hear in General Conference come into play. We are told to share in normal and natural ways.
My discomfort in the idea of sharing my testimony came from the idea of having to testify of something’s truthfulness, as though I was in court and standing before a judge, and my public reputation was on the line. This isn’t what the Brethren are talking about when we are told to share what we have come to know for ourselves.
When you go to a movie you really like it is natural for you to share to your friends how much enjoyment you received from the experience. They haven’t had that experience, and your enthusiasm and description of the event encourages them to want to go see the movie for themselves. This is how testimonies are shared. We need to learn how to share our experience with the same candidness we would if telling someone of a wonderful event we attended. What was it that caused us to ask questions we couldn’t get answers to on the Internet? How did our story unfold? What has been our experience and our joys or difficulties since then? Are we pleased with the outcome? Not all spiritual experiences are stress free.
Sometimes we must struggle to obtain answers to prayers or to come to feel at peace about something that has bothered us for many years. Sharing these experiences and the comfort the Spirit has given us, or the hope we have found in the scriptures, or the relief we have experienced from listening to the words of our prophet, all these things can give strength and encouragement to someone who is privately searching for answers themselves. We don’t have to be formal, stiff, or unnatural in our telling, just honest and comfortable. That is an important point – be comfortable in your knowledge and in sharing your experience. Don’t apologize for the blessings God has given you, be joyful.
This brings up an important point. Spiritual things require peace and quiet. In this day and age peace and quiet are often difficult to find, but if we want to talk of important things, life will be so difficult to talk about if we don’t seek out opportunities to do so in a quiet environment. Satan has pushed noise and confusion upon society for a good reason. They prevent us from opportunities to experience inner peace and to reflect on our thoughts. The time and the opportunity to do these two things is so important.
Many of our friends aren’t aware that what we have experienced in our spiritual life even exists in the “real world.” We must find ways to entice them to think about the opportunities available to them to find the answers you have found. Quiet comments, thoughtful gestures on our part, peaceful home environments that might be very different from what they are experiencing in their home can have a lasting impact on them.
Remember, we all talk about how Satan entices us to do evil, but we forget sometimes that God also entices us to do good. We must be presented with the alternative in order to do the choosing. The way we show our love for those around us is to demonstrate and entice them to experience the good we have experienced in our own life. They need to see that lasting joy is actually possible and available to them. And we don’t have to be preachy to offer them this wonderful experience. Just be good to them and love them.
By being comfortable with our own foray into spirituality we are able to be comfortable about sharing our opportunities for happiness through covenants and the priesthood power with others. This should take the scary aspect away from our need to share the gospel.
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Thank you fir this insightful article. It makes it so plain and easy to understand.