Spiritual Gifts

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the April 2006 conference.

Sister Julie B. Beck's talk "An Outpouring of Blessings" touched my heart. I looked up my notes from this conference and saw that I had only written down her major theme, nothing specific. But hearing her words and reading along opened my eyes this time around.

She was addressing concerns that were just coming over the horizon in the culture. That is, women seeking equality in holding and exercising the priesthood. Sister Beck taught eternal truths that we all are equal in God's sight and He pours out His blessings equally upon His sons and daughters. 

What interested me most was her description of Spiritual Gifts. I have struggled to know what my gifts are because they are not mentioned directly as such in my patriarchal blessing. One, in her talk, stood out to me.

I know people who are given the spiritual gift of a believing spirit. When they hear the gospel, it rings true in their hearts.

My patriarchal blessing says that ". . . as soon as [I] heard the gospel, it rang true to [me] and [I] accepted it readily." I always thought that line odd because I was born into a covenant family and raised by faithful, covenant keeping parents. I have always known that the church is the true church of Jesus Christ, and that Joseph Smith was who he said he was, and did what he says he did. So I guess that answers the question of whether or not I would have accepted the gospel if I hadn't been so blessed.

I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and Happiness; for the Restoration of the Fullness of Christ's Gospel; and for modern prophets and apostles to lead and guide us as we prepare for the Second Coming of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.