Spiritual gift

“ The more costly is our act of love or of sacrifice, the more ethical and spiritual, and the more truly it is our own deepest self-expression, so much the more, at the same time, is this action a thing received as well as given, and that we have it to give, and that we can and do give it, is itself a pure gift of God. ”

“ But I wish to impress upon you, my brethren and sisters that there are Elders among us endowed with Spiritual gifts that may be brought into exercise through the aid of the Holy Ghost. The gifts of the Gospel must be cultivated by diligence and perseverance. ”

“ Speaking now of supernatural graces and gifts as we here understand them, I say that, in order to purge ourselves of vain joy in them, it is well here to notice two benefits which are comprised in this kind of gift — namely, temporal and spiritual. The temporal benefits are the healing of infirmities, the receiving of their sight by the blind, the raising of the dead, the casting out of devils, prophesying concerning the future so that men may take heed to themselves, and other things of the kind. ”

“ Desire spiritual gifts - Ye are very intent on getting those splendid gifts which may add to your worldly consequence, and please your carnal minds - but labor rather to get the gifts of God's Spirit, by which ye may grow in grace, and be useful to others - and particularly desire that ye may prophesy - that ye may be able to teach and instruct others in the things of their salvation. ”

“ In respect to spiritual things, therefore, it is given to every one according as he gives; in other words, according as he uses the gifts that God has bestowed on him; agreeable to the Lord's own words: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, shall they give into your bosom." When we exercise the graces of heaven, we impart unto others of our spiritual gifts; and by the very act of imparting, our souls are opened to a fuller reception of the same gifts and graces. ”

“ Since I am too poor to give you a suitable gift in reward for your most favored generosity, I invite you to spiritual lights so that you may be able to receive Divine gifts and rid yourself of your physical existence. ”

“ Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Speaking of the miraculous and extraordinary gifts of the holy Ghost, the Apostle says, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. ”

“ Nature of Spiritual Gifts.—The gifts here spoken of are essentially endowments of power and authority, through which the purposes of God are accomplished, sometimes with accompanying conditions that appear to be supernatural. ”

“ We thank Thee, O Holy Ghost, Who art at once the gift and the giver of all gifts, and we most earnestly beseech Thee to give us Thyself. No other gift but Thine own self can satisfy our souls, and having Thee alone we shall have all things. But what can we give Thee in exchange for so great benefits? O blessed Spirit, vouchsafe of Thy mercy to accept for all eternity all our thoughts, all our affections, and all ourselves. ”

“ By talents understand all the gifts of God, without which we can do nothing. These gifts are, I say—1st Of grace, both making grateful, [1] such as faith, hope, charity, virginity, and all the other virtues, as well as those of grace given gratis—such as the power of working miracles, the Apostolate, the Priesthood, the gift of tongues, prophecy, &c. 2d Natural gifts, such as a keen intellect, a sound judgment, a sound constitution, prudence, industry, learning, eloquence. 3d External goods and gifts, as honours, riches, rank, &c. ”

“ Today we ask of God the gift He has most carefully preserved within our hearts, waiting to be acknowledged. This the gift by which God leans to us and lifts us up, taking salvation's final step Himself. ”

“ It was the Holy Spirit, poured forth without stint, that entered into the spirits of men and distributed these gifts among them severally as He willed; and each member had to make use of his gift for the benefit of the whole body. ”

“ The God who seeth the heart, judges of each gift by the ability to give. And His blessed Spirit gives the upright heart the blessed consciousness that the gift on earth has found approval and acceptance in heaven. God has been careful in His Word to teach us this in every possible way. All the world's judgments of the value of gifts are reversed in heaven; the [Pg 58] love that gives liberally according to what it hath is met by the Father's love from above. Let us seek to redeem our giving from all that is commonplace and little by taking hold of the blessed assurance: it is acceptable. ”

“ Ask him for what you want most, and will it not be for the blessing of simple goodness, the love of Christ to fill your heart and pour out through all your life? No other gift can be such a benediction to you; no other can make you such a benediction to others.
I cannot tell you how my heart yearns for the young people to whom these words are addressed; how I long and pray that they may be cleansed of all hidden faults and made all glorious within, and that their garments may shine as if woven of threads of gold. ”

“ MARGARET THOMAS We need no gifts, whose thoughts and prayers maintain Through all the years a strong and stronger chain, Yet take the little gift, the visible sign Of the deep love between your heart and mine. ”

“ It is His birthday and we have come together to bring Him our gifts. We have brought "white gifts" because they are the expression of our pure, unselfish love.
The Wise Men brought gold, and we have brought our gifts of substance—money and food and clothing and things that will help to make others comfortable and happy.
The Wise Men brought frankincense, and we bring gifts of service; for each one of us desires to do some one thing all during the year that will make for good and make us worthy followers of Him.
The Wise Men brought myrrh, and we bring devotion; for we bring the gift of self. ”

“ It is this gift which comes from on high, and flows direct from the Father of Light; which converts us, and makes us new men; it is that gift by which we are as we are, if, however, we are something before God, as the Apostle says, w By the grace of God I am what I am. ”

“ This gift is with us unto the end of the world, the solace of our waiting, the assurance, by the favours which He bestows, of the hope that shall be ours, the light of our minds, the sun of our souls. This Holy Spirit we must seek and must earn, and then hold fast by faith and obedience to the commands of God. ”

“ The Christian life needs exercise; it is by practice that godliness grows. If in anything we find that our giving has not been up to this [Pg 57] Scripture model, not as liberal and joyful, not in as perfect accord with the spirit of our entire surrender to our Lord, or of His making himself poor for us, let us at once, in addition to the readiness to will, complete the doing also.
7. The Grace of God makes the gift acceptable according to what a man has. ”

“ I feel quite thankful for the comfortable circumstances we enjoy—for our blessings, spiritually and temporally, which I realize to be the free gift of our Father and God. All the wisdom, ability, and talent displayed among the children of men are the gift of God to them. ”

“ That one gift is, as the Apostle puts it in one of his eloquent epithets, 'the manifold grace of God,' which word in the original is even more rich and picturesque, because it means the 'many-variegated' grace—like some rich piece of embroidery glowing with all manner of dyes and gold. So the one gift comes to us manifold, rich in its adaptation to, and its exquisite fitness for, the needs of the moment. ”

“ For the heavenly gift which God loves to give to His elect, His beloved children, is of a fine and noble sort, and it flows freely to the soul that draws near to Him, and to whom He bends down in His infinite love. ”

“ The shining in your mind reminds the world of what it has forgotten, and the world restores the memory to you as well. From you salvation radiates with gifts beyond all measure, given and returned. To you, the giver of the gift, does God Himself give thanks. ”

“ Is not the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Divine invasion of the soul, a fact of experience, and is it not also a fact that that gift is only to be had for the asking, only given in response to earnest and persevering prayer, and that it effects in those who receive it a change of thought and feeling? ”

“ Grant to thy servants an increase of that blessed gift of grace which is wrought into the soul by thy regenerating Spirit, that so the whole creature may be resigned unto thy will, human love be subservient to that which is heavenly, and all its thoughts, hopes, and actions be directed to thy glory, with whom is its source, and from whom its blessing cometh: Two pray unto thee as one, one in heart, one in interest, one for time, one for eternity. So may it ever be, O Lord! our Maker and our guide, our protector and our friend. ”

“ There are further beauties as we gaze—a heavenly Dew is resting on the Flower, it is the Holy Spirit Himself, Who at that blest moment when He overshadowed the Branch poured out all His choicest gifts upon the Flower. As God, the seven-fold gifts were His from all eternity, and directly the Humanity was united to the Eternal Word, the divine perfections belonged to it, so that as man "He was made unto us the Wisdom of God" and could understand all mysteries. By the gift of Understanding He knew and entered into all God's plans for the Redemption of the world. ”

“ There is one course—love the Giver more than the gift; love Him that has placed passion in me more than my passions. Let passion lie at the feet of judgment, and let every attribute that God has bestowed on me be devoted to the righteous cause he has commenced upon the earth. ”

“ O thou that hast prepared us so full a remedy, and so precious a gift, sanctify these creatures to be the representative body and blood of Christ, and prepare my heart for so great a gift, and so high, and holy, and honourable a work. ”

“ These chosen souls, He inundates with celestial gifts,—revealing glimpses of His glory and beauty, transforming them into Himself, so as in a manner to divinize them, and even sometimes imparting visible external marks of their sublime spiritual exaltation. It would seem as if He desired to manifest to men in their persons, the immensity of His goodness, the infinitude of His condescension, and the magnificence of His riches. They are the specially favoured among the favoured: they form a class apart, in which God, wonderful in all His saints, is wonderful surpassingly. ”

“ The Gifts are essential to salvation, and play a most important part in the daily spiritual life, whether in correcting or reinforcing the virtues, or in giving immediate direction from the Holy Spirit. Man, it is true, does not set them into action, but it is man’s part to value them, to hold himself in readiness for them, and to hearken to their whispered enlightenment and counsel. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost are the very soul of Theology and of the Christian life. ”

“ How abundant, incomparably valuable, are Thy gifts and blessings! With grateful hearts we render thanks unto Thee for all the gifts of mercy, all the largesses of love, all the boons of wisdom, all the blessings of grace vouchsafed in the year that has passed. Humbly, gratefully reverently, worshipfully we render our thanks unto Thee, we place our living hearts at Thy sacred feet, and we dedicate our adoring souls to Thy Holy Spirit! ”

“ God's Delight in Love Gifts Is it not in order to reveal the heart of God? To show His delight in the loving offerings of His servants? The record is not tedious to Him; and it becomes marvelously interesting to us, when we get the key, and are brought into sympathy with the heart of Him who finds infinite satisfaction in each gift, of each one of His children, which is the outcome of gratitude and love. ”

“ He has bestowed upon us gifts to be developed and used throughout all eternity—the gifts of seeing, of hearing, of speech, etc—and we are endowed with every gift and qualification, though in weakness, that are the angels ”

“ And, as men came to make him these sacred offerings, they came also to believe and in the most natural way in the world that, the more costly the gift, the more likely it was to be accepted on the part of its sublime recipient. ”

“ It is, therefore, a Divine gift, a blessing which the Creator did not withdraw from his erring children, when they were driven from a paradise of innocence and loveliness into a world of desolation and strife. ”

“ The quiet footfalls of our Dream.
XXVII
The gift of body, when the soul is given,
Is naught but harmony
Of two tendernesses driven
One to the other, fervidly.
Glory in thyself thou findest sweet.
So fair in thy fresh purity,
Only to offer me
The wondrous gift complete.
I come to thee, and know
Exaltation in this gift of thine;
Always the truer, the more pure I grow
Since thy dear body gave itself to mine.
Love! oh, may it overflow
Our hearts and be the reason in our lives,
Whose maddest happiness is one that strives
Toward the madness of a trust divine. ”

“ Every good gift, which the Father who calls men hath, the Spirit is sent to impart. The words speak of the [12] gradual manner of its bestowal; all things may be given, but they are given little by little, as men can or are fit to receive them. ”

“ Not alone by its ultimate destiny, but by its immediate obligations, uses, enjoyment, and advantages, must be estimated the infinite and untold value of life. It is a great mission on which you are sent. It is the choicest gift in the bounty of heaven committed to your wise and diligent keeping, and is associated with countless benefits and priceless boons which heaven alone has power to bestow. ”