Spiritual Gifts and Encouragement

Day thirty-eight

As I was finishing saying my prayer this morning I felt like there was something more I should say.  I couldn't pinpoint what it was though.  Was I too tired?  Did I forget something?  Was He trying to tell me something and I just wasn't listening? I closed with an amen and hoped that I would figure it out during my day.  I went and taught my seminary lesson then hurried home to start my scripture study.

Today I am working on Article of Faith 7:

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

I found this quote from Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

"[Spiritual gifts] Their purpose is to enlighten, encourage, and edify the faithful so that they will inherit peace in this life and be guided toward eternal life in the world to come.  Their presence is proof of the divinity of the Lord's work."  (Mormon Doctrine, 314)

I often include in my prayers gratitude for the gifts and talents that the Lord has blessed me with, and for the chances he gives me to use them for His work.  I have prayed many times to have spiritual gifts given to me so that I might be enlightened and edified, but I don't think I've ever thought about how spiritual gifts encourage me. 

I think of encouragement as urging someone onward when they feel like giving up. But after studying, I am beginning to see it more as an act of inspiring with courage, spirit, or confidence. Why have I not recognized the encouragement in spiritual gifts before? That's a good question. As a wife, mother, and  friend I find myself encouraging others everyday, it makes sense that my Father would want to encourage me also.     

Moroni 10:8 says this about spiritual gifts: "...and they are given by the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them." 

I am basically an optimistic person, but as I look back on the hard times in my life, I see that I have definitely profited from encouragement. Where did I think the optimism came from?  I guess I considered it a personality trait.  It is clear to me now that it comes from spiritual gifts given to me from a loving father.

That's when it hit me, I sometimes forget to see Heavenly Father as a father.  That's why my prayer felt like I should be saying something more, because He wants to hear more, even the small stuff that doesn't seem very important.  Just like I want to hear from my children, he wants to hear from his.

Wow two lessons in one study session!  I am very grateful for the quiet, loving way in which my Father in Heaven encourages me through spiritual gifts.  I am also grateful for the reminders he gives me of how much he loves me.  And I look forward to talking to him about it, daughter to father.