God’s Diversity of Gifts
Filed under: Doctrine & Covenants, Finding joy within the gospel, Gospel Principles, Practices & Precepts, LDS Practices, Men & Priesthood, Priesthood, Priesthood, Self-Worth, Service, Uncategorized, Women
Mormon scriptures teach that every person God creates is given gifts, talents, traits, and experiences from Him, to be used to help others, as well as to bless our own lives. They are His gifts to us. What we choose to do with them is our 
gift to God. It does no good, for instance, to be given a gift to teach powerful spiritual messages if we refuse to learn about Jesus or turn down an opportunity to teach Sunday School.
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. (See Doctrine and Covenants 46: 11-12.)
Everyone, male and female, can receive spiritual gifts. The scriptures list many of these gifts, and it can be interesting, as we read, to highlight each gift mentioned. The gifts bless the holder of the gifts if he uses them wisely, but they can also be used to bless others. A person who has the gift of faith can use it to find the truth among conflicting and confusing choices. This gift can be used to help that person become a member of the Savior’s church. It comes to her through the Spirit of Christ. After receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, her faith grows even more. She might then choose to use that gift to pray for others or to share her faith with those who were not given as strong a gift as she received.
We’re taught that it is appropriate to pray for certain gifts, if we are prepared to use them wisely in the service of others, rather than to glorify ourselves. A person who is invited to teach a class, but lacks the gift to teach can begin to pray for it. While praying, of course, she must do what she can to improve her teaching skills, but God will step in and honor righteous requests if they are part of His plan for us. A prayer to become the greatest teacher in the world is not likely to be honored, because this is a prideful request, but a prayer to have the ability to teach the class one has agreed to teach will be honored.
The diversity of the human race is one of God’s best ideas. If we all had the same talents, gifts, and assignments, most things wouldn’t get done. The world needs writers, but it doesn’t need everyone to be a writer. It needs gardeners, but everyone doesn’t need a talent for gardening. Because each of us has different talents and passions, everything that needs doing gets done. If we each had all the talents possible in equal proportion, we might find ourselves spread too thin, and most things wouldn’t get accomplished. We’d all be doing whatever was easiest or created the most wealth, given human nature.
In the same way, God divided up certain tasks and assigned them to specific genders. Only women were given the ability to give birth. This doesn’t mean God loves men less; it only means that doesn’t happen to be one of the tasks assigned to them. Only men hold the priesthood, but that does not say women aren’t worthy or capable of holding it. Priesthood is an office, not a gender, but assigning it to men keeps it focused, just as assigning childbirth only to women keeps that aspect of life focused.
Within the Mormon Church, there are a great many tasks to be completed, because we have a lay religion and very complex programs. Everyone is asked to take on his or her share of the work. Tasks are assigned in various ways that make the church run more smoothly. Some are assigned by age: Only a twelve or thirteen year old girl may serve as a youth leader in the Beehive Program. (Beehives are girls of that age in the Young Women’s program for teenagers.) Others are assigned by gender: Only women can serve as Primary or Relief Society Presidents. (These are, respectively, the organizations for children and women.) Some tasks are open to anyone who is an adult: Anyone may teach the children or the literacy classes, even though only women can lead those programs. Some tasks are assigned by office: Only a person who holds the office of a high priest can serve as a bishop (the leader of a congregation.) It might appear that the rule is that only men can be bishops, but actually, the rule is that only high priests can be bishops. A good and worthy man who does not hold the office of high priest in the priesthood cannot be a bishop, no matter how qualified he is otherwise.
While it’s true that only men are to hold the Mormon priesthood (as we see from even a casual study of the Bible), this does not limit a woman from serving God, anymore than not being able to be the Primary president limits a man’s ability to serve God. There are many ways to serve, and God does not love the priesthood holders more than the Primary president—or the door greeter. We don’t get bonus points for serving in certain kinds of positions. God asks us to serve wherever He needs us, and if we do this well, we are blessed for our attitude and willingness to serve, not for the specific task accomplished.
Men holding the priesthood receive no special blessings over the women. It isn’t about power or blessings, or God’s love. It is, rather, about our trust in God and His plan. If we have a testimony that the Savior is at the head of the church, and that He sees with a vision greater than our own, we won’t waste valuable mortality hours fretting over what gifts or offices we don’t have. Instead, we’ll work hard to develop those God has asked us to take on. As with every other aspect of the gospel, it really comes down to a testimony. How much do you trust God?
When I was first investigating the church, the priesthood issue concerned me. As a teenager raised in the 1970s, I thought women’s lib was what I was supposed to be living, even though I was known for my love of taking care of children. In other words, my nature was fairly traditional, if you leave out housework. The missionaries, when asked about priesthood at the first lesson, told me they’d be happy to discuss it with me, but I needed more background and training in prayer first. They asked me to learn to pray, and to continue to study, and then we’d discuss it. By the time I was able to understand the answers, I no longer needed to ask the question. I had learned to get my own answers through prayer and I had come to see how much God valued the woman’s place in His kingdom. I understood that being told I had to turn into a man was degrading to women and insulting to God, who created gender. It was no longer a problem for me. I had become proud of the person God created in me.
Over the years, I’ve longed for certain gifts. Some I’ve been able to receive, such as an improved ability to teach. Others were not my calling, such as a desire to sing. Over the years, as I’ve grown and matured, I’ve stopped wasting time fretting over what I don’t have, and have begun to be thankful for what I do have. God gave me a most interesting gift box of traits, talents, and experiences. I would be ungrateful and unworthy of those gifts if I wasted my life whining they weren’t good enough.
Ideas for Safe Halloween Celebrations
Folks with questions about Mormons might be curious to know what Mormons think of Halloween. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as Mormons) always love opportunities to share fun times with their families. How members celebrate Halloween varies with the individual, just as it would among members of any religion. Many families in the United States dress up, take their kids trick-or-treating, participate in costume parades, and other fun activities.
Personally, I am saddened by the emphasis that the American society places on the wicked and the violent things on Halloween. President James E. Faust, a member of the First Presidency of the Church until his death in August of this year has said: “No good can come from getting close to evil. Like playing with fire, it is too easy to get burned: ‘The knowledge of sin tempteth to its commission.’ … The only safe course is to keep well distanced from him and any of his wicked activities or nefarious practices. The mischief of devil worship, sorcery, casting spells, witchcraft, voodooism, black magic, and all other forms of demonism should be avoided like the plague” (Ensign, Nov. 1987, 33).
Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was perhaps even more adamant when he said: Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles warned of such activities when he told young men and women, “A warning: there is a dark side to spiritual things. In a moment of curiosity or reckless bravado some teenagers have been tempted to toy with Satan worship. Don’t you ever do that! Don’t associate with those who do! You have no idea of the danger! Leave it alone! And there are other foolish games and activities that are on that dark side. Leave them alone!” (Ensign, May 1989, 54).
So what can people do on Halloween if they wish to steer clear of the celebration of evil? Fortunately, there are still plenty of fun and wholesome activities available. Besides the traditional trick-or-treating, here are a few other ideas from my own experience:
- When I was in junior high, my family gave an annual Halloween party. My sisters and I each invited friends, and everyone wore costumes, and we played some party games and had a ball together. It was something my parents wanted to do to ensure that we and our friends stayed safe and had a good time. One of my most vivid memories of one of our parties was when I handed a blindfolded friend a bowl of cold spaghetti. She put her hands in it; when I told her they were intestines she threw the whole bowl in the air and we had cooked spaghetti all over our living room carpet.
- Instead of trick-or-treating, for a few years we baked cookies and delivered them to friends on Halloween-dressed in our Halloween costumes, of course. Our reverse trick-or-treating was always a welcome surprise to these people. (A nice bonus was that they always gave us some Halloween candy in return.)
- Our ward (local Church congregation) has been putting on an annual “trunk-or-treat” that has been successful. We gather for games and chili in the Church parking lot. Children wear their Halloween costumes. Meanwhile, parents and older children decorate the trunks of their cars and bring out their candy. Then, the children go trick-or-treating to people’s cars. This provides a safe place for the children to trick-or-treat, and is an enjoyable time for the adults to socialize as well.
Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!
What Is General Conference?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds general conference twice a year, usually in April and in October. It is held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, near Church headquarters, and broadcast throughout the world via satellite, cable, radio, and the Internet. During the conference, Church leaders address members about relevant topics that will help them in their lives and inspire them to continue to work, serve, and improve themselves. The broadcasts are open and available to anyone who wishes to view them.
Latter-day Saints sustain the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles as “prophets, seers, and revelators.” We also believe that other general leaders such as those in the Quorums of the Seventy and the General Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary presidencies have been called of God to their positions, and one way the Lord speaks to us is through our Church leaders. In fact, we believe that what we are taught in General Conference should be regarded as scripture to us.
Such spiritual occasions also allow the Holy Ghost to whisper to us and tell us in our hearts the things that are most important for us personally to learn from these proceedings. Many inspirational talks have been given at General Conferences over the years. General Conference archives are available online at www.lds.org and may be perused by anyone.
Conference lasts for two days, a Saturday and a Sunday. It is usually held on the first Sundays of the months of April and October and the Saturdays that precede them. Two general sessions are held each day, one running from 10:00 AM till 12:00 PM Mountain Time both days, and one running from 2:00 PM till 4:00 PM Mountain Time both days. There is also a session for priesthood holders on Saturday evening.
The practice of holding General Conference began under Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the restored Church. At that time, the Church had only 26 members. Today there are over 13 million members worldwide. The Conference Center can hold over 20,000 people; nevertheless, because of high demand to view the proceedings there, tickets are needed for attendance. They are free and can be obtained through your local Church leadership.
Many other Latter-day Saints view the proceedings live through television, radio, or Internet streams in their homes. Still others gather to their local church buildings to watch the sessions of Conference via satellite. Those living in areas where this is not practical may watch the proceedings on a delayed basis. The talks are also available after Conference online at www.lds.org, and are printed in the Ensign and the Liahona (official Church magazines) later on. This allows people to study the words of the Church leaders on an ongoing basis.