Primary 134 - Edify or oikodomeo


Class, 

1Corinthians 12:14-27 says...
14 For the body is not one member, but many. 
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. 
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Everyone should strive to be part of the church in your daily efforts. Paul how each of us play a special part in the body of the church or the body of Christ. He even took it one step further and says each of us have talents or gifts given by our loving Heavenly Father to bless and edify others. Said he (Paul) in the same letter (and chapter) to the Corinthians...

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

Our gifts are for us to edify others as we said earlier. The Greek word, oikodomeo, means to build a house. Paul used it to describe how the saints built the Lord's house. How fitting that the talents and individual parts make up the church.

Collectively when have so much talent and while some said I have no talent, let us remind you what Marvin J. Ashton said...

"One of the great tragedies of life, it seems to me, is when a person classifies himself as someone who has no talents or gifts. When, in disgust or discouragement, we allow ourselves to reach depressive levels of despair because of our demeaning self-appraisal, it is a sad day for us and a sad day in the eyes of God. For us to conclude that we have no gifts when we judge ourselves by stature, intelligence, grade-point average, wealth, power, position, or external appearance is not only unfair but unreasonable. 
From D&C 46:11–12, we have this truth: “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God."

You may not see your talents because you might not dance or sing; you might not be good at sports or playing the piano but you might be a good listener or speaker, you might be witty and charming. You might ask, "What is my gift?" That question could be so loaded. Some might ask where is the list of gifts; do the scriptures cover every gift?" To that we ask, "how many colors are there in the universe?" You would say thousands. The same could be said for gifts. There is so many they are not all mentioned. 

Said Bruce R. McConkie  (1915-1985) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"These gifts are infinite in number and endless in their manifestations because God himself is infinite, eternal and endless, and because the needs of those who receive them are as numerous, varied, and different as there are people in the kingdom. All saints are commanded to seek earnestly the best gifts. Chief among them are the testimony of Jesus, a believing spirit, divine wisdom, heavenly knowledge, faith in the Lord, the working of miracles, prophecy, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits, the discerning of spirits, tongues and their interpretations, the gift of preaching, administrative ability, and the insight to discern and recognize all of the gifts of God, lest there be confusion or deception in the Church." 
(D&C 46; Moroni 10; 1 Corinthians 12.)   (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], p.270)

Guys we cannot all be the eye of the body of the church or have all the gift of tongues. That said, there is one gift however you should seek by all and that is charity. Charity is the pure love of Christ. As we go through life gifts may come and go but we hope that charity will be the one gift you hang on to. In the eternal scheme of things, you may get all all the gifts eventually but it is our responsibility it develop them. Develop charity and smile. Be kind daily.

Now the fun comments. Some of us feel like we are the pancreas of the church, unsung and unseen. If you researched what that organ can do you would see how much it (and you) sustain the church and your fellow saints. Those that feel like this mean so much to us and the whole church. You are our brothers and sisters. You are talented and if you struggle, pray to know your gifts and talents. Seek for the ones you know you can have. Look at your Patriarchal blessing for more information. If you don't have one, class, when the time is right, seek it. Also we encourage you to keep your covenants, repentant, have faith and keep the Holy Ghost close. You are amazing and one day you see your blessings in ways that were meant for you and was meant to bless others.

Again, we love you and think you are amazing. Thanks for coming to church and sharing your testimony with us.

Brother Quan and Bingham

Challenges
Think about your talents.
Read Corinthians 14-16.

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