Friday, September 25, 2009

1 Corinthians 12

Every person has their own unique talents, intellectual abilities, athletic prowess, things that make them unique. Just as each person has unique special qualities that help them in the world and help them enjoy life, each person has spiritual gifts that are unique to them. In the same way, the church has many callings. No talent, spiritual gift or church calling is more important than another. By appearance this may seem so, but it isn't. A beautiful car can be brought to a complete stop by the disconnection of one tiny wire. It can fail to start if it has a weak battery. The point Paul is trying to make is that all are equal in the Lord's eyes. And the church should be the kind of place where when one person hurts, all hurt with that person. If a person has success, all are excited about the success. Their should be no jealousy or envy.

With spiritual gifts, we can seek out gifts that we do not have. Paul tells us we should seek the best gifts. In the process of that seeking, we can look to those who have those gifts we do not for example and guidance. In the Doctrine and Covenants, it says "To some it is given to know that Jesus is the Christ. To others it is given to believe on their words." We should all seek to know that Jesus is the Christ, but if we do not know, we can look to and trust in the knowledge of those who do. There are many things I do not know, but for myself, I can look to prophets and apostles who do know and I trust their guidance and teaching. That's one think that makes General Conference so wonderful. These are great men. They are not liars or deceivers. We can trust in their knowledge and testimonies as we grow in our own.

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