This morning I was listening to Ether 12-- one of my favorites-- when I heard something I had never noticed before. "...[A]nd be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith." This is in verse 9.
Wait, what gift? I mean, it makes sense-- faith leads to all kinds of cool things-- but what gift?
So I tapped the "go back" button and listened to this, in verse 8: "...and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen." And then the whole of verse 9: "Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith."
Right. The heavenly gift. But this left me with a new question: what is the heavenly gift? I was so curious that I had to stop washing dishes and come over to my laptop to look up where that phrase might be used in the rest of the scriptures. It turns out that there are only two other places: 4 Nephi 1:3, and Hebrews 6:4. In 4 Nephi it talks about how in the perfect, Zion society, all were made partakers of "the heavenly gift." Hebrews 6:4 talks about the heavenly gift as being something that happens to a person along with being enlightened and being made partakers of the Holy Ghost.
That makes three out of three references to The Heavenly Gift which seem to associate it closely with seeing Jesus Christ, but the one I started with specifically excludes supposing that it is the appearance itself: "But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift..."
I wondered if the heavenly gift might refer to the plan of salvation or to the atonement of Jesus Christ, but again I thought to myself: those who lived before Christ surely partook of those even without seeing Him. Of course it has to be associated somehow, but it somehow seems to be not exactly this.
I looked at Hebrews 6 again and started reading the whole chapter. When I got to a reference to hope, I paused. My two verses that I came from in Ether both referenced hope, too. I decided I should hop over to the Topical Guide listing on hope and see what I could see by looking through those. At first the going was slow, but then it started sticking out to me that hope is in "things which are not seen, which are true." It isn't like I didn't know this before, but it just seemed to jump out at me. It seemed to fit with the idea that the heavenly gift had to be associated with seeing Jesus, and yet it wasn't... exactly... actually seeing Him.
Of course, being as how we are, depending on your point of view, either in the middle of or very close to the start of the Christmas season, it did occur to me that the Heavenly Gift could simply be Jesus Christ Himself.
And as that thought wound its way through my brain again, all of a sudden I made the connection: the Heavenly Gift is any manifestation of God in the world. It's brought about by faith; it's hoped for by (Godly) hope. I excitedly began to read the lists of miracles wrought by faith in Ether 12, and it fit. Being called of God: definitely shows you God in the world. The prison of Ammonihah being shaken to the earth: shows God in the world. The Lamanites' hearts being wrought upon and changed: most certainly these show God in the world. Receiving a promise that you wouldn't taste of death: also shows God in the world.
Over in Hebrews 11, it also fits: obtaining a witness that you are righteous shows God in the world. Being warned of God, directed by God, and receiving gifts of God all show that God is in the world.
And shouldn't that be what we hope for? To see God in the world? It seems like that is a most Godly thing to hope for. It wouldn't exclude a direct visitation, but it doesn't demand it, either. In fact, hope doesn't demand anything, but that's a different post for a different day.
I began to wonder if I might gain an insight into charity by applying this new perspective. Almost as soon as I wondered it, I saw it: if we see God in the world, we have a better chance of becoming like Him, of gaining His attributes, of loving as He does.
And again, I wonder how much I was set up for this entire insight trail by posting on Facebook on the #givethanks hashtag, as President Nelson asked us to do. Giving thanks is a small and simple-- tiny, really-- way to see God in the world. I'm not sure how much faith it took for me to do that, but it didn't feel like much!
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that you, too, get to feel some manifestation of God in the world, no matter how small. In my life, these manifestations bring peace and joy.
