May 12–18: “Seek Ye Earnestly the Best Gifts”

Doctrine and Covenants 46–48As Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Ziba Peterson, and Peter Whitmer Jr. left Kirtland and moved on to continue preaching the gospel, they left more than 100 new members of the Church who had plenty of zeal but little experience or direction. They had no instructional handbooks, no leadership training meetings, no broadcasts of general conference—in fact, they didn’t even have enough copies of the Book of Mormon to go around. Many of these new believers had been drawn to the restored gospel by the promise of marvelous manifestations of the Spirit, especially those described in the New Testament (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 12:1–11). But many found it hard to identify true manifestations of the Spirit. Seeing the confusion, Joseph Smith prayed for help. The Lord’s answer is valuable today, when people often deny or ignore the things of the Spirit. He reaffirmed that spiritual manifestations are real. He also clarified what they are: gifts from a loving Heavenly Father, “given for the benefit of those who love [Him] and keep all [His] commandments, and him that seeketh so to do” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:9).