About a month ago, I felt prompted to study discernment. The more I studied, the more I knew this was a gift that we ALL need in the time in which we live! And it includes so much more than I realized. So last Sunday, after ward council, when Patrick Maass asked if I would be willing to speak in sacrament meeting along with my counselors, I willingly agreed. And when he asked what topic I would like to speak on, I said discernment. And despite having studied it so much (or maybe because I had) and choosing the topic, I struggled a bit. I could easily have spoken for double the time they gave me (I had 9-10 minutes.) And I struggled a bit to think of personal experiences to incorporate into my talk...and I think that is an important part of speaking. Sometimes when I write talks, it feels like the words are basically just given to me...and that was not the case at all. I was not sure if I was sharing the things I should share or not, and I'm still not sure. But hopefully something I said was helpful to someone...it was certainly helpful to me.
Here is basically what I said, with a few minor changes as I went:
Have you ever needed to make a decision and you weren’t quite sure which option was best?
Have you ever seen, read or heard something on social media, on the news, in a conversation, or on tv and felt confused about what was right? Or wondered if what you were hearing was true?
Have you ever wanted to be better at serving others and meeting their specific needs?
Have you ever wanted to be able to see yourself more clearly, more like the Savior sees you?
If you answered yes to ANY of these questions, you need the gift of discernment. The gift of discernment is a spiritual gift. In the 1828 Webster’s dictionary (which can help us know what words meant at the time that the Book of Mormon was being translated and the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were being received) it defines discernment as: To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.
President Nelson said to “discern means to sift, separate or distringuish. The gift of spiritual discernment is a supernal gift. It allows members of the Church to see things not visible and to feel things not tangible.”
We need discernment in the world we live in today.
In Isaiah 5:20-21 we are warned, “Woe unto them that call aevil bgood, and good evil; that put cdarkness for dlight, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
I think we can see that happening all around us. There are many who call evil good, and sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between right and wrong or truth and error. We need to be able to see things more like our Savior and Father see things.
As I studied discernment I was excited to find that there is more to it than I had realized. Elder Bednar gave an incredible devotional at BYU in 2005 entitled Quick to Observe which I highly recommend. He quoted President Stephen L. Richards, a counselor to the prophet David O. McKay who said,
“I mention the gift of discernment, embodying the power to discriminate . . . between right and wrong. I believe that this gift when highly developed arises largely out of an acute sensitivity to impressions—spiritual impressions, if you will—to read under the surface as it were, to detect hidden evil, and more importantly to find the good that may be concealed. The highest type of discernment is that which perceives in others and uncovers for them their better natures, the good inherent within them. . . .
. . . Every member in the restored Church of Christ could have this gift if he willed to do so. He could not be deceived with the sophistries of the world. He could not be led astray by pseudo-prophets and subversive cults. Even the inexperienced would recognize false teachings, in a measure at least. . . . We ought to be grateful every day of our lives for this sense which keeps alive a conscience which constantly alerts us to the dangers inherent in wrongdoers and sin.”
I love that this gift can be given to ALL of us if we desire it! And that it can protect us from being led astray and allow us to detect hidden evil.
“the gift of discernment operates basically in four major ways.
First, as we “read under the surface,” discernment helps us detect hidden error and evil in others.
Second, and more important, it helps us detect hidden errors and evil in ourselves. Thus the spiritual gift of discernment is not exclusively about discerning other people and situations, but,...it is also about discerning things as they really are within us.
Third, it helps us find and bring forth the good that may be concealed in others.
And fourth, it helps us find and bring forth the good that may be concealed in us. Oh, what a blessing and a source of protection and direction is the spiritual gift of discernment!”
I love this! It can help us see not just the evil...but it can help us to see the GOOD in ourselves and others. In a podcast I listened to this week, they talked about Zion and that according to Moses 7:18 there are no poor among those in Zion. The guest on the podcast said she looked up poor in the 1828 dictionary and one of the definitions was those who feel destitute of value or worth. Perhaps one important way to create Zion is to help others feel how valued and loved they are. In a Face to Face Event with the youth, Elder Bednar said that to discern is the capacity to see the good in someone else that they haven’t yet recognized and to help them develop it!
So discernment should and can help us lift and strengthen others!!
One friend told me that discernment helps her in her friendships. Discernment helps draw her to those who try hard to follow the Savior and that they add greater light and knowledge to her life. Her desire to follow the Savior is increased by spending time with those who love Him. And discernment helps her know when someone is ready to hear a gospel principle and helps her know when and what to share to promote faith and healing in others.
Another friend says that when she hears troubling things or feels upset by the choices of another, if she takes time to process, to pray and to ponder, she can come to know what is true and how to proceed.
This week I had an experience with discernment. I got a new student and I had been warned that he would be difficult. About half way through his first day, I thought how lucky I’d been so far that he seemed really calm and intelligent. And it hit me hard that without even meeting him, I had made assumptions about how he would act. The Spirit taught me a little lesson about trying to see the good in others and to be careful because our assumptions are OFTEN wrong. I am praying that I can see this child and others how our Savior sees him/them.
I think we can see that discernment is important. SO how do we develop this gift?
The world feels loud and sometimes confusing or troublesome. This summer we traveled to El Salvador and on our flight there, we got headphones. The package they came in said, “Plug in. Tune Out.” I’ve thought about that a lot. I think it’s actually the opposite of what we need if we want to be able to discern what is true. I think we need to unplug a lot more and tune in—to the whispering of the spirit, to what our leaders are teaching, to the truths we know deep in our soul, to the words of the scriptures. I have found that after a busy day at school, it is soothing to work in a quiet classroom. I think after the busy-ness of the world, our spirits long for us to be still. To turn off the tv and the music and the constant sound bites and opinions that often fill our every waking moment and listen. I think this is the first step to developing greater ability to discernment.
In Alma 29:5 we are taught: “5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is ablameless; but he that bknoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of cconscience.”
So I think another step is to desire to have this gift and to desire good!
In the Old Testament in 1 Kings 3, we learn of Solomon. He is the son of King David and he becomes king while still very young. One night, Solomon has a dream and in the dream, the Lord asks himwhat gift he desires. Solomon responds,
“7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a alittle child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a agreat people, that cannot be bnumbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an aunderstanding bheart to judge thy people, that I may cdiscern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”
The Lord was happy that this is what Solomon asks for...an understanding heart and the ability to discern between good and bad so he can be a wise king and judge. The Lord blesses him with discernment.
Soon Solomon has the opportunity to use this gift. Two women come. They have both given birth and one of their sons has died and one still lives. Both claim that the living baby is theirs. Solomon listens to their stories and then asks for a sword to be brought. He says the baby should be divided in half and they can each take half. One mother is satisfied with this decision, and one cries out and says the other woman can have him as long as the baby isn’t harmed. Thereby Solomon knows who the true mother is because she loves her baby.
If we ask for the gift of discernment, if we pray for it, the Lord will bless us with this gift, just as he did for Solomon. And just as Solomon needed that gift to judge between the two women, we desperately need this gift.
I think we also develop the gift of discernment by living so that we have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. It requires us to LIVE the Sunday School answers...to study the scriptures, to pray, to attend church, to attend the temple (in fact...the temple teaches us A LOT about discernment and gives us some really beautiful PROMISES concerning discernment!!), to serve others, to follow the prophet. And discernment, in turn, will help us to do each of these things better. It is such a beautiful gift and there’s more that I wish I had time to share. Just this week I have seen countless examples of times and ways that this gift is one I need to navigate the complexities of the world in which we live. I want to have the gift of discernment so I can see the areas in which I need to improve. I want to have the gift of discernment so I can recognize the truth when I hear it and recognize error or evil when I see or hear it. I want to have the gift of discernment so I can help build Zion and help others see the good in themselves and feel how precious they are in the sight of God. This is a critical gift for the world in which we live and I am praying for it and striving to develop it.
***
I should also mention that Aly gave a beautiful talk on the worth of souls and Brenda gave a wonderful talk on repentance. It was a great meeting and my soul was definitely edified. I just could have spent more time talking about how to develop discernment or more time on what discernment does for us. I tried to do a little bit of what it was, why we need it and how to develop it...but felt like I could only do just a quick touch on each.
Also, our closing song was "Lead, Kindly Light" which is my very favorite, so that felt special.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Discernment can bless our lives immensely.
Discernment helps us recognize the worth of others' souls and to help them develop their gifts and strengths. Discernment also helps us see the worth of our own soul and it helps us to repent.
It's a blessing to be led to study something and see how it can help you in your life. I love that I was able to speak in sacrament meeting about something I had been prompted to study. I love that I have seen opportunities to use this gift daily in the past month or so.
The Lord is aware and mindful of us.
One of the things that I didn't have time to talk about but that I have pondered a lot...in the past and in the past few weeks is Moroni 7's teachings that whatsoever is good is from God. I think if we could just really think through that and pay attention to the fruits of different choices, we would be much better at discerning truth from error, light from darkness. If we really thought through which things brought us closer to Christ and recognized that ANYTHING that doesn't is not from God, that would help us a lot with discernment.
