Show ks: Women can gain spiritual gins DeVILBlSS j PROVO — Spiritual gifts such is the gift of prophecy do not 3y JOHN ' wclude women said Elder H Oaks of the LDS Council f twelve Apostles during an idJress at the BYU Women's Conference Oaks speaking at the conference on the campus of Brigham Young University last week said the Bible has many references to women who had or would have the gift of prophecy This includes a sermon by Peter in the book of Acts where Peter states that both sons and daughter shall prophesy He also referred to the four daughters of Phillip who were "blessed with the gift of prophecy" As well one of the two mortal witness of the divinity of the infant Jesus was the aged woman nna who when she saw the infant Jesus in the temple gave iwnks and "spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" he said In addition the "Inspired Translation" of the Old Testament contains a prophetic utterance by Eve The question of how a woman can have the gift of prophecy without holding the priesthood has confused some because the nouns "prophecy" and "prophet" the distinction between a prophet who has the spiritual gift of prophecy and the prophet who has the prophetic office "It is vital for us to honor the distinction between the prophetic gift and the prophetic office between a prophet and the proph- et" The theme of this year's conwas "Women of Faith — Building the Kingdom" During his address Oaks highlighted various spiritual gifts church members can receive "Faith is a spiritual gift" he said "So is personal revelation So is a testimony of Jesus Christ There are other spiritual gifts We know too little about spiritual gifts This is evident in our literature and our talks It is Dallin H Oaks also evident in our failure to — such as seek after and use spiritual and their variations the adjective "prophetic" and gifts" the verb "prophesy" — are used White the Spirit of Christ is in several different senses he the mean- - by which spiritual said gifts are transmitted to men and While the word "prophet" conwomen such gifts come by the jures up images of he who holds power of the Holy Ghost he the prophetic office in the said The Spirit of Christ is church the spiritual gift of given to all men and women "that they may know good from prophecy is quite different "As we read in the Book of evil" and the Holy Ghost is givRevelations 'The testimony of en "to lead earnest seekers to reJesus is the spirit of prophecy " pentance and baptism These are for preparatory gifts What we call He said it is important church members to understand spiritual gifts come next" ference The former BYU president and Utah State Supreme Court Justice said spiritual gifts come to those who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost This gift is conferred on both men and women as well as spiritual gifts Some of these spiritual gifts include faith and gift of testimony "Where it is given to some to know and to others to believe on their words those who know must be responsible to share their testimonies" he said "Only in this way can they give those who have the gift of believing on their words something to lean upon as they too move toward eternal life" Another gift he referred to was the gifts of speaking with tongues or interpreting tongues "These two gifts should always be manifest together" he said "This is because the purpose of spiritual gifts having to do with communication is to edify the people of God" adding that if a person spoke in tongues without someone to interpret there would be no edification Another spiritual gift is "faith to heal" he said "This gift has an obvious relationship to priesthood administration to the sick It has additional significance as well since both men and women can pray for and exercise faith that a loved one will f be healed" He said there is still much to ? learn about the relationship be- tween the power of the priest- - £ hood in the healing of sick and the spiritual gifts of faith to heal and faith to be healed "What is I clear is that the healing of the sick is an appropriate subject for an exercise of the power of the priesthood and it is also the ' subject of two separate gifts of the spirit" He said spiritual gifts can also ' be and "man- made counterfeits" as evident throughout religious history such as from the "enchantments" wrought by Pharoah's "sorcerers" and "magicians" and from Isaiah's warnings against "wiz-- I ards that peep and that mutter" ' and "them that have familiar spirits" He said that early in the second year of the church God re- vealed in the Doctrine and Covenants that "there are many spirits which are false spirits which have gone forth in the earth deceiving the world" Oaks said church members should seek after spiritual gifts "They can lead us to God They can shield us from the power of the adversary They can compensate for our inadequacies and repair our imperfections" '' ' peaker urges seeking companionship of God By JOHN DeVILBlSS PROVO — Out of sight out of mind should not apply to God's children on earth in reference to their former heavenly home said a Brigham Young University instructor during the school's annual Women's Conference "We are reestablishing our relationship with the Lord — the same relationship enjoved before coming to earth" said Ann N Madsen BYU instructor of ancient scripture "He invites us to come to him over and over again" Madsen speaking last week at the Women's Conference whose theme centered on faith said the companionship of the Spirit should be every person's goal "Where can we hope to find that companionship — to feel that spirit? In the temple? At Sacrament meeting? Is this enough? No surely not We can prepare a home or an apartment where he will feel comfortable" She gave six steps to help a person invite the companionship of God "Number one furnish vour home with virtue so he will feel comfortable there" she said "The Lord has committed us to stand in Holy Places" She said a person can make a home ho- bv furnishing it with uplifting books " loss it away if it gets smutty" she said "I am no longer a book finisher I'm not even a movie finisher"" it "that litis can also lurmsn a nome I or apartment she said "Purchase objects worth remembering Thmgvthar bring Jt2 Church News Ogden back memories to you about uplifting moments in your life" Orderliness can also help make a home holy she said "Clean is for Saturday nights Orderly can be for most of the time" For a more holy home Madsen said television should be used "sparingly so sparingly" adding that the remote control is an essential part of television today "There are things that you just cannot turn off fast enough to not leave the image in your mind" A home also needs good music to help make it more holy she said "Our spirits respond to certain chords and melodies and modulations in spite of ourselves We are lifted or beaten down by music" "In a virtuous home we can practice godliness" she said "We can learn godly attitudes and incorporate them into our own lives" She said in the Old Testament the high priest wore a crown on his head that read "Holiness to the Lord" adding that those same words adorn all LDS temples today "I was thinking it's like a promise to put that on a building" she said "And I wonder if we could — at least in our minds — have that kind of promise in our homes: 'Holiness to the Lord'" The popular women's speaker also told the women present to seek good women companions "I've been drawn to women who were spiritual and uplifting like a moth to a flame" she said "I have looked and found everv ear of m life a new friend of righteousness — someone whom I At 53 my know was better than I was friends are such queenly women" The second step she gave for one's relationship with God was to find him in the scriptures "I promise you that he's in there" She told a story about how when she and her husband returned from serving a church mission in New England she stopped reading the scriptures on a regular basis After six months had passed she felt like she would never adjust as a returned missionary and had lost all her spirituality That situation however reversed when she took to reading the scriptures again regularly each day To help enliven scripture study Madsen suggested that church members read another version besides the King James Version of the Bible She suggested they read occasionally from the New International Version of the Bible "I have found that that particular translation is very close to the Hebrew and Greek translations" she said "But it's also different enough that when you read it it shakes you a little bit and you have to think about what you're reading" She said the third thing to help a person find God is to "prepare yourself to feel comfortable in his presence" This can be done by repenting and forgiving — "two sides of the same coin" "Number four he will find you if you will be who you are" she said "Socrates said 'The ignorance which causes vice and immorality is not ignorance of moral principles or laws but in ignorance of full self' " "Be honest" she said "You can fool lots of people lots of the time but in this one relationship God knows you better than you know vourself You can't con him" She said men and women need to catch the vision of themselves and the powers within them "Deliberately use your agency to heighten your awareness of God Be conscious of him Try to maintain eternal perspective See through his eyes his ears" Number five "you will find him if you will call out to him" she said "Sometimes before the 'Amen' is said the an- -' swer comes" She said answers to prayers may come or through the words of a sometimes during "the quiet conversation with a friend" or sometimes in the "words of a faintly remembered patriarch whose blessing has yellowed" or sometimes while just driving in the car And finally a person can find God by simply trusting in him "We often call this faith" she said adding that the Lord chooses many metaphores to teach his children his trust "He compares himself to a shepherd responsible for all his sheep" she said: "to a father whose son is Israel whom he rescues from slavery to a potter who can-not change the substance of the clav but who wishes to shape it masterfully: to a refiner of silver who after the dross has been burned away looks for his flection in the finished work" on ij April 5 1itHjf ' |