Spiritual Gifts
The Gift of Tongues and Interpretation-The gift of tongues constituted one of the first miraculous manifestations of the Holy Ghost unto the apostles of old. It was included by the Savior among the special signs appointed to follow the believer: "In my name," said He, "they shall speak with new tongues." The early fulfilment of this promise in the case of the apostles themselves was realized at the succeeding Pentecost, when they were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in strange tongues. When the door of the Gospel was first opened to the Gentiles, the converts rejoiced in the Holy Ghost which had fallen upon them and which gave them utterance in tongues. This gift with others manifested itself among certain disciples at Ephesus on the occasion of their receiving the Holy Ghost. In the present dispensation, this gift, again promised to the saints, is not infrequently manifest. Its chief employment is in the function of praise rather than that of instruction and preaching; and this is agreeable to Paul’s teaching: "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God." An unusual manifestation of the gift was witnessed on the occasion of the Pentecostal conversion of the Jews, already referred to, when the apostles addressing the multitude were understood by all the diversified company, each listener hearing in his own tongue. This special gift was here associated with higher endowments of power; the occasion was one of instruction, admonition, and prophecy. The gift of interpretation may be possessed by the one speaking in tongues, though more commonly the separate powers are manifested by different persons.
The Gift of Healing was exercised extensively in the times of the Savior and the apostles; indeed, healing constituted by far the greater part of the recorded miracles wrought in that period. By authoritative ministrations the eyes of the blind were opened, the dumb were made to speak, the deaf to hear, the lame to leap for joy; afflicted mortals, bowed with infirmity, were lifted erect and enjoyed the vigor of youth; the palsied were made well; lepers were cleansed, impotence was banished, and fevers were assuaged. In the present day, the dispensation of the fulness of times, this power is possessed in the Church and its manifestation is of frequent occurrence among the Latter-day Saints. Thousands of recipients can testify to the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise, that if His servants lay hands on the sick they shall recover.
The usual method of administering to the afflicted is by the imposition of hands of those who possess the requisite authority of the Priesthood, this being agreeable to the Savior’s instructions in former days and according to divine revelation in the present day. This part of the ordinance is usually preceded by an anointing with oil previously consecrated. The Latter-day Saints profess to abide by the counsel of James of old: "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
Though the authority to administer to the sick belongs to the elders of the Church in general, some possess this power in an unusual degree, having received it as an especial endowment of the Spirit. Another gift, allied to this, is that of having faith to be healed, which is manifested in varying degrees. Not always are the administrations of the elders followed by immediate healings; the afflicted may be permitted to suffer in body, perhaps for the accomplishment of good purposes, and in the time appointed all must experience bodily death. But let the counsels of God be observed in administering to the afflicted; then if they recover, they live unto the Lord; and the assuring promise is added that those who die under such conditions die unto the Lord.
Visions and Dreams have constituted a means of communication between God and men in every dispensation of the Priesthood. In general, visions are manifested to the waking senses whilst dreams are given during sleep. In the vision, however, the senses may be so affected as to render the person practically unconscious, at least oblivious to ordinary occurrences, while he is able to discern the heavenly manifestation. In the earlier dispensations, the Lord frequently communicated through dreams and visions, oftentimes revealing to prophets the events of the future even to the latest generations. Consider the case of Enoch, unto whom the Lord spoke face to face, showing him the course of the human family unto and beyond the second coming of the Savior. The brother of Jared because of his righteousness was so blessed of God as to be shown all the inhabitants of the earth, both those who had previously existed and those who were to follow. Unto Moses the will of God was made known with the visual manifestation of fire. Lehi received through dreams his instructions to leave Jerusalem; and on many subsequent occasions the Lord communicated with this patriarch of the western world by dreams and visions. The Old Testament prophets were generally so favored; e.g., Jacob the father of all Israel, Job the patient sufferer, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Habakkuk, Zechariah.
The dispensation of Christ and the apostles was marked by similar manifestations. The birth of John the Baptist was foretold to his father while officiating in priestly functions. Joseph, betrothed to the Virgin, received through an angel’s visit tidings of the Christ yet to be born; and on subsequent occasions he received warnings and instructions in dreams concerning the welfare of the Holy Child. The wise men from the East, returning from their pilgrimage of worship, were warned in dreams of Herod’s treacherous designs. Saul of Tarsus was shown in a vision the messenger whom God was about to send to him to minister in the ordinances of the Priesthood; and other visions followed. Peter was prepared for the ministry to the Gentiles through a vision; and John was so favored of God in this respect that the book of Revelation is occupied by the record.
Most of the visions and dreams recorded in scripture have been given through the ministering Priesthood; but there are exceptional instances of such manifestations unto some, who, at the time, had not entered the fold. Such, for example, was the case with Saul and Cornelius; but in these instances the divine manifestations were immediately preliminary to conversion. Dreams with special import were given to Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and others; but it required a higher power than their own to interpret them, and Joseph and Daniel were called to officiate. The dream given to the Midianite soldier, and its interpretation by his fellow, betokening the victory of Gideon, were true manifestations, as also the dream of Pilate’s wife in which she learned of the innocence of the accused Christ.
The Gift of Prophecy distinguishes its possessor as a prophet-literally, one who speaks for another, specifically, one who speaks for God. It is distinguished by Paul as one of the most desirable of spiritual endowments, and its preeminence over the gift of tongues he discusses at length. To prophesy is to receive and declare the word of God, and the statement of His will to the people. The function of prediction, often regarded as the sole essential of prophecy, is but one among many characteristics of this divinely given power. The prophet may have as much concern with the past as with the present or the future; he may use his gift in teaching through the experience of preceding events as in foretelling occurrences. The prophets of God are entrusted with His confidences, being privileged to learn of His will and designs. The statement appears that the Lord will do nothing except He reveal His secret purposes unto His servants, the prophets. These oracles stand as mediators between God and mortals, pleading for or against the people.
No special ordination in the Priesthood is essential to man’s receiving the gift of prophecy; bearers of the Melchizedek Priesthood, Adam, Noah, Moses, and a multitude of others were prophets, but not more truly so than others who were specifically called to the Aaronic order, as exemplified in the instance of John the Baptist. The ministrations of Miriam and Deborah show that this gift may be possessed by women also. In the time of Samuel the prophets were organized into a special order, to aid their purposes of study and improvement.
In the current dispensation this gift is enjoyed in a fulness equal to that of any preceding time. The Lord’s will concerning present duties is made known through the mouths of prophets, and events of great import have been foretold. The fact of the present existence and vitality of the Church is an undeniable testimony of the actuality of latter-day prophecy. The Church today constitutes a body of witnesses, numbering hundreds of thousands, to the effect of this, one of the great gifts of God.
Revelation is the communication or disclosure of the will of God directly to man. Under circumstances best suiting the divine purposes, through the dreams of sleep or in waking visions of the mind, by voices without visional appearance or by actual manifestations of the Holy Presence before the eye, God makes known His designs, and instructs His revelators. Under the influence of inspiration, or its more potent manifestation, revelation, man’s mind is enlightened and his energies are quickened to the accomplishment of wonders in the work of human progress; touched with a spark from the heavenly altar, the revelator preserves the sacred fire within his soul and imparts it to others as he may be instructed to do; he is the channel through which the will of God is conveyed. The words of him who speaks by revelation in its highest degree are not his own; they are the words of God Himself; the mortal mouthpiece is but the trusted conveyer of these heavenly messages. With the authoritative "Thus saith the Lord," the revelator delivers the burden committed to his care.
The Lord observes the principle of order and fitness in giving revelation to His servants. Though it is the privilege of any person to live so as to merit this gift in the affairs of his special calling, only those appointed and ordained to the offices of presidency are to be revelators to the people at large. Concerning the President of the Church, who at the time of the revelation here referred to was the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord has said to the elders of the Church: "And this ye shall know assuredly, that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me. * * * And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me."
The Testimony of Miracles-The Savior’s promise in a former day as in the present dispensation is definite, to the effect that specified gifts of the Spirit are to follow the believer as signs of divine acknowledgment. The possession of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential features of the Church of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, we are not justified in regarding the evidence of miracles as proof of authority from heaven; on the other hand, the scriptures aver that spiritual powers of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue so to do, to the deceiving of many who lack discernment. If miracles be accepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to the ordained plan for Israel’s deliverance, have as good a claim to our respect as has Moses. John the Revelator saw in vision a wicked power working miracles, and thereby deceiving many, doing great wonders, even bringing fire from heaven. Again, he saw unclean spirits, whom he knew to be "the spirits of devils, working miracles."
Consider in connection with this the prediction made by the Lord: "There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." The invalidity of miracles as proof of divinely appointed ministry is declared in an utterance of Jesus Christ regarding the events of the great judgment: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." The Jews to whom these teachings were addressed knew that wonders could be wrought by evil powers, for they charged Christ with working miracles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils.
If the working of miracles were exclusively a characteristic of the Holy Priesthood, we would look for the testimony of wondrous manifestations in connection with the work of every prophet and authorized minister of the Lord; yet we fail to find record of miracles in the case of Zechariah, Malachi, and certain other prophets; while of John the Baptist, whom Christ declared to be more than a prophet, it was plainly said that he did no miracle; nevertheless, in rejecting John’s doctrine the unbelievers were ignoring the counsel of God against their own souls. To be valid as a testimony of truth, miracles must be wrought in the name of Jesus Christ, and to His honor in furtherance of the plan of salvation. As stated, they are not given to satisfy the curious and the lustful, nor as a means of gaining notoriety for him through whom they are accomplished. These gifts of the true Spirit are manifested in support of the message from heaven, in corroboration of the words spoken by authority, and to the blessing of individuals.
Imitations of Spiritual Gifts-The instances already cited of miraculous achievements by powers other than of God, and the scriptural predictions concerning such deceptive manifestations in the last days, ought to be an effective warning against spurious imitations of the Holy Spirit. Satan has shown himself to be an accomplished strategist and a skilful imitator; the most deplorable of his victories are due to his simulation of good, whereby the undiscerning have been led captive. Let no one be deluded with the thought that any act, the immediate result of which appears to be benign, is necessarily productive of permanent good. It may serve the dark purposes of Satan to play upon the human sense of goodness, even to the extent of healing the body and apparently of thwarting death.
The restoration of the Priesthood to earth in this age of the world was followed by a phenomenal growth of the vagaries of spiritualism, whereby many were led to put their trust in Satan’s counterfeit of God’s eternal power. The development of the healing gift in the Church today is imitated in a degree comparable to that with which the magicians simulated the miracles of Moses, by the varied faith cures and their numerous modifications. For those to whom miraculous signs are all-sufficient, the imitation will answer as well as would the real; but the soul who regards the miracle in its true nature as but one element of the system of Christ, possessing value as a positive criterion only as it is associated with the numerous other characteristics of the Church, will not be deceived.
Spiritual Gifts in the Church Today-The Latter-day Saints claim to possess within the Church all the sign-gifts promised as the heritage of the believer. They point to the unimpeached testimonies of thousands who have been blessed with direct and personal manifestations of heavenly power; to the once blind, deaf, dumb, halt, and weak in body, who have been freed from their infirmities through their faith and by the ministrations of the Holy Priesthood; to a multitude who have voiced their testimony in tongues with which they were naturally unfamiliar, or who have demonstrated their possession of the gift by a phenomenal mastery of foreign languages when such was necessary to the discharge of their duties as preachers of the word of God; to many who have enjoyed personal communion with heavenly beings; to others who have prophesied in words that have found speedy vindication in literal fulfilment; and to the Church itself, whose growth has been guided by the voice of God, made known through the gift of revelation.