brother thoughts

i have a deep thinking brother. in my family we all generally write a family letter once a week. this brother's letters are generally a pretty thorough thought fest. i really liked what he had to say tonight. so much so that i've decided to share those thoughts with all of you! here's what he wrote....

On a distant but connected thought: in the Doctrine and Covenants God, speaking of gifts, says to Oliver Cowdery, “this is thy gift; apply unto it.” Any gift that we have is a gift first from God (Eccl. 3:13, James 1:17, Mosiah 2:21, Moroni 10:18, D&C 46). We are supposed to give that gift to others else it is no gift at all. The moment a gift is not passed on to another is the moment it ceases to be a gift. By its strict definition a gift is no longer a gift when it is not given. I’ve been slowly studying the Doctrine and Covenants, preparing each day for a lesson to give to the seminary students. It is very clear to me that Joseph Smith had a gift for translation and revelation. God says that Oliver has the same gift (D&C 8) but that he must apply unto it. Later we learn that he did not apply unto it (D&C 9:5). He started but did not continue. It was expedient when he commenced but he feared and the time passed and it was no longer expedient. As I’ve thought about the gifts that I’ve been given, and the doubts and fears that have hindered me from “continuing” with the gift – meaning, my fear stopped me from giving my gift on to another, sharing it – then I have not made progression and was forced to wait. Thus, my new motto to self, is not to hesitate in giving my gift to others, whatever that gift may be. I will not hesitate to share knowledge, skill, time, whatever it may be, to furthering your happiness and perfection. We are that we might have joy, and as Elder Nash said in Priesthood Conference this past weekend, we cannot live contrary to our nature and expect to be happy. To have joy we must live a life of joy. This means courage, honesty, and patience will be the first thoughts of the day, and from those three virtues I will take each opportunity to share a gift and will not be afraid.