Gifts of God

Divine attributes are given by the Spirit. They are miracles because they change us, heal us, and bring us closer to God. Moroni tells us, "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 there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them." (Moroni 10:8)

There are many gifts. Several scriptures give lists, not exhaustive, but rather as examples:
"to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;
And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;
And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;
And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues."
Moroni 10:9-16

Moroni then explains that these gifts are given to people through the Lord, Jesus Christ. "And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will. And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ." (Moroni 10:17-18) Notice that they come according to His will, not our own. Also, that every gift that is good comes from Him so any gift not of Him is not good.

We can pretend to have good gifts, but unless our hearts are changed by Christ, the gift is not real, and has no value. It's like giving your son a picture of an X-Box for his birthday -- he won't appreciate it! He would want the real thing. I possessed two-dimensional gifts. I pretended to have every good gift because I believed in the saying, "fake it 'til you make it." I tried to "be good;" I tried to do everything right, but everything went wrong. I thought I was intelligent, wise, and able, until He showed me the truth.

I have tried to be grateful, but never new gratitude until I learned about the my need for redemption through Jesus Christ.
I have tried to be faithful, but couldn't trust in Him until I understood His love for me.
I tried to be patient, but I was just gritting my teeth until I learned that He was in control.
I tried to love, but I was just going through the motions until He softened my heart.
I tried to be kind, but I was really being selfish until I understood His grace.
I tried to have charity but I was hypocritical until I knew His mercy.
I tried to be humble, but remained only deaf, dumb, and blind until He showed me my weakness.
I tried to be strong, but my weakness would surface until I trusted in Him.
I tried to be honest, but couldn't understand knowledge until I learned that everything revolved around Him.
I tried to be virtuous, but I had no power until I leaned on Him.
I tried to do good, but did not know what good was until I came to Him.
I tried to serve God, but didn't have guidance until He gave a remission of sins.

There is nothing good without the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no talent, no virtue, no hope, no love, no goodness of any sort unless it comes through Him. We can't fake it; we can't be virtuous; we can't have anything good without Him. He must be the center of our lives or else we will abide a peripheral existence. The closer we are to Him, the more power we have in any and all ways. He is the source of light, and the farther away we move, the darker we get -- exponentially! He is the source of heat, and the farther away we are the colder we get. He is the trunk, and we are the leaves, if our branch is severed we will die. We cannot do anything good without Him.

However, when we bind ourselves to Him in a covenant relationship we can be filled with light, warmth, and life. We can have goodness and virtue by transmitting His light. He gives gifts that we may share goodness with those around us, and bring them to Him as well. We do not pretend to gifts, nor do we earn them; they are given "in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will." (D&C 88:68)

Then what can we do to obtain them? Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me." (Matthew 11:29) We are also commanded to seek gifts, "seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given; For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts." (D&C 46:8-9) So, learn about Him, trust in Him, be obedient, ask, and wait.