Do you ever feel intimidated by the amount of agency you have?!
I sometimes think about how I could literally do anything I wanted to right now.
I could take off running down the street and never come back. I could lay in bed all day. I could order any food that I wanted and eat it. I could drive anywhere. I could stop doing things that I’m doing right now.
I could also call someone right now and catch up with an old friend. I could make a treat and drop it on someone’s doorstep. I could immerse myself in General Conference talks. I could make a goal and take a step to achieve it. I could clean something. I could listen to some good music.
Like… isn’t it overwhelming the amount of freedom that we have every single day?!
Obviously, I don’t have freedom from any consequences, but I can do literally anything that I want at anytime.
Which was what I thought of when I read Moroni’s warning exhortation to us in Moroni 10:8:
“Deny not the gifts of God”.
I know that there are some spiritual gifts that I’ve been given.
And I’m also very aware of my imperfections.
So… what if I asked God to give me gifts of the Spirit that will help turn my imperfections into glorious strengths?!
I have the agency to ask that.
And Elder Dallin H. Oaks encouraged us to do just that:
“We 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.”
We can ask.
We can pray and ask for more personal revelation. We can pray and ask for a stronger testimony. We can pray and ask to understand the scriptures better. We can pray and ask to behold angels in our lives. We can pray and ask to be better teachers.
And when I fall into the ever-popular, “That’s just who I am!” – I am denying gifts from God.
I am deciding that I am not good enough for a gift. Or I don’t need it.
Which, unfortunately, is a choice I totally can make with my agency.
But I don’t want to.
I want to ask. Humbly, meekly, with the intent to serve others and grow closer to the Divine.
I want to ask for the spiritual gifts that will strengthen my imperfections and bring me closer to my Savior.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
