God's gift of the Holy Spirit

[johnnybelcaro]

I am a curious convert who joined the church 15 years ago because of all the answers the church has given to me.  I finally took the great advice of all the talks I've heard, and have begun to pray and study the scriptures in order to receive revelation.  I guess it has worked as I have opened the door to many more questions.  I decided to narrow the field of my studies to the Holy Spirit.  Starting with the New Testament I quickly found, on the Day of Pentecost, God gave all those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Gift of the Holy Spirit on a permanent basis, to help teach, guide, council, protect and love each believer.
As a powerful part of this Gift, the apostles, as well as other believers in the area, began to speak in unknown languages, called speaking in tongues, which they had never learned.  This was evidence that the Gift had been received.  In the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians there are several fascinating benefits of speaking in this spirit language.  I am aware our church explains this gift was given to help missionaries learn a new language of an investigator they want to teach, but I believe there is much more to be understood here.
As I continue to read the scriptures, I am thinking that speaking in tongues may also be an important key for the holy spirit within each of us, to communicate with the Father on our behalf, and to instruct us on the mysteries of the other 8 gifts included in the Gift of the Holy Spirit God gave us all on the Day of Pentecost.  I know speaking in tongues appears bizarre and illogical, but so was telling the Israelites to just look at a bronze serpent on a pole to keep from dying from a snake bite.  
Are there any of you reading this post who have had thoughts along these lines?  I would really like to find someone in our faith who would like to explore this Gift from God with me.  
 

[pam]

Welcome to the forums Johnny

 

[johnnybelcaro]

  On 2/6/2025 at 12:58 AM, pam said:

Welcome to the forums Johnny

 

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thank you 

[Ironhold]

  On 2/5/2025 at 11:10 PM, johnnybelcaro said:

I am a curious convert who joined the church 15 years ago because of all the answers the church has given to me.  I finally took the great advice of all the talks I've heard, and have begun to pray and study the scriptures in order to receive revelation.  I guess it has worked as I have opened the door to many more questions.  I decided to narrow the field of my studies to the Holy Spirit.  Starting with the New Testament I quickly found, on the Day of Pentecost, God gave all those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Gift of the Holy Spirit on a permanent basis, to help teach, guide, council, protect and love each believer.
As a powerful part of this Gift, the apostles, as well as other believers in the area, began to speak in unknown languages, called speaking in tongues, which they had never learned.  This was evidence that the Gift had been received.  In the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians there are several fascinating benefits of speaking in this spirit language.  I am aware our church explains this gift was given to help missionaries learn a new language of an investigator they want to teach, but I believe there is much more to be understood here.
As I continue to read the scriptures, I am thinking that speaking in tongues may also be an important key for the holy spirit within each of us, to communicate with the Father on our behalf, and to instruct us on the mysteries of the other 8 gifts included in the Gift of the Holy Spirit God gave us all on the Day of Pentecost.  I know speaking in tongues appears bizarre and illogical, but so was telling the Israelites to just look at a bronze serpent on a pole to keep from dying from a snake bite.  
Are there any of you reading this post who have had thoughts along these lines?  I would really like to find someone in our faith who would like to explore this Gift from God with me.  
 

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If one takes the gift of tongues more broadly, one can see that, in real life, there are people who have a knack for quickly picking up foreign languages. These individuals are often able to find work as translators or even in diplomatic fields, helping folks across the world to better communicate with each other. 

[Just_A_Guy]

Welcome aboard!

As you likely know, glossolalia was practiced in the early LDS Church (the first known instance involved Brigham Young, and those with him were skeptical about it until Joseph Smith himself expressed approval).  It occurred intermittently through the late territorial period, with Eliza Snow being a noted practitioner.  JS taught that a true manifestation of the gift would always be accompanied by another person present being given the gift of interpretation.

I think that as the world has tilted more towards rationalism, and in conjunction with D&C 50 (and the circumstances that underlay that revelation), European and American Saints have gotten more suspicious of those sorts of “charismatic” spiritual gifts—both because we are culturally groomed to find them unseemly, and because they are so easily counterfeited by the adversary.  (And even if you think you’re experiencing the gift, it takes a lot to put yourself publicly “out there” and have faith that someone else will get the interpretation and that you won’t end up looking like a complete kook).

We expect not to receive these sorts of manifestations—and so, we don’t.

[mikbone]

May I suggest having children?

So much glossolalia going on there.

Toddlers are my favorite.  The insights are refreshing.

[Carborendum]

  On 2/7/2025 at 1:33 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

We expect not to receive these sorts of manifestations—and so, we don’t.

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As it is with all things miraculous.

[Carborendum]

  On 2/6/2025 at 4:55 PM, Ironhold said:

If one takes the gift of tongues more broadly, one can see that, in real life, there are people who have a knack for quickly picking up foreign languages. These individuals are often able to find work as translators or even in diplomatic fields, helping folks across the world to better communicate with each other. 

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I've often found myself being the "translator" between my FIL and the rest of the family.  He has a vocabulary that is difficult to match.  And he frequently insists on using archaic definitions of words. 

Because of this, miscommunications spark arguments.  I then step in to translate.  The argument usually dies pretty quickly.

[NeuroTypical]

I no longer have the link (or maybe audiocassette if that's where I heard it), but Hugh Nibley had things to say about the gift of speaking in tongues.  Going off of memory here, but I think he proposed a test to determine if valid or not.   There had to be information/truth communicated, and someone hearing would be given the ability to hear that information/truth. 

Apparently there was quite a bit of this during the dedication of the Kirtland temple.  4 members scattered about the congregation rising at the same time and singing a hymn in 4 part harmony in a language nobody spoke?  Does that ring a bell with anyone?

[CV75]

  On 2/5/2025 at 11:10 PM, johnnybelcaro said:

I am a curious convert who joined the church 15 years ago because of all the answers the church has given to me.  I finally took the great advice of all the talks I've heard, and have begun to pray and study the scriptures in order to receive revelation.  I guess it has worked as I have opened the door to many more questions.  I decided to narrow the field of my studies to the Holy Spirit.  Starting with the New Testament I quickly found, on the Day of Pentecost, God gave all those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Gift of the Holy Spirit on a permanent basis, to help teach, guide, council, protect and love each believer.
As a powerful part of this Gift, the apostles, as well as other believers in the area, began to speak in unknown languages, called speaking in tongues, which they had never learned.  This was evidence that the Gift had been received.  In the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians there are several fascinating benefits of speaking in this spirit language.  I am aware our church explains this gift was given to help missionaries learn a new language of an investigator they want to teach, but I believe there is much more to be understood here.
As I continue to read the scriptures, I am thinking that speaking in tongues may also be an important key for the holy spirit within each of us, to communicate with the Father on our behalf, and to instruct us on the mysteries of the other 8 gifts included in the Gift of the Holy Spirit God gave us all on the Day of Pentecost.  I know speaking in tongues appears bizarre and illogical, but so was telling the Israelites to just look at a bronze serpent on a pole to keep from dying from a snake bite.  
Are there any of you reading this post who have had thoughts along these lines?  I would really like to find someone in our faith who would like to explore this Gift from God with me.  
 

Expand  

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/pentecost?lang=eng

Pentecost

• See also Law of Moses

As part of the law of Moses, the Feast of Pentecost or Firstfruits was held fifty days after the Feast of the Passover (Lev. 23:16). Pentecost was to celebrate the harvest, and in the Old Testament it is called the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. It is this feast that was being celebrated when the Apostles in Jerusalem were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues (Acts 2; D&C 109:36–37).

I think the following distinctions are important in studying this topic: to be filled with the Holy Ghost, to receive a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost, to have the Gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed by the laying on of hands, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, and apostolic witnesses enabled by virtue of the Holy Ghost are different things.

Another distinction is that the various spiritual gifts (there are more than eight) come with the light of Christ which is given to all of God's children, and the various gifts of the Spirit come with the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

All these distinctive aspects of the Holy Ghost and spiritual gifts existed before and after the events in Acts 2. In this case, the apostles had the gift of the Holy Ghost already; it was a manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost, not a bestowal of the Gift or gifts upon them. This was a particular manifestation of the power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost to help the servants of God testify and minister to many people of many languages.

As far as private practice and experience, that is exactly what it is. More public worship and testifying practices change over time and cultures, which is why sometimes an interpreter is required.

 

 

[Vort]

  On 2/7/2025 at 3:07 PM, NeuroTypical said:

Apparently there was quite a bit of this during the dedication of the Kirtland temple.  4 members scattered about the congregation rising at the same time and singing a hymn in 4 part harmony in a language nobody spoke?  Does that ring a bell with anyone?

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I seem to remember Madsen telling that story.

[johnnybelcaro]

I really appreciate your thoughts on this.  I would like to kindly share some of my findings:

  On 2/7/2025 at 1:33 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

JS taught that a true manifestation of the gift would always be accompanied by another person present being given the gift of interpretation

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JS was correct on this regarding the gift of interpretation of tongues, however, manifesting the gift of tongues was to be done alone, in private for the purpose of communing with the spirit within and with God.  Speaking in this spirit language was for the education, edification, and comfort for the believer.  

  On 2/7/2025 at 1:33 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

Saints have gotten more suspicious of those sorts of “charismatic” spiritual gifts—both because we are culturally groomed to find them unseemly, and because they are so easily counterfeited by the adversary.

Expand  

I sadly agree with this statement.  After the apostles died, the early church began drifting away from what God had given them for similar reasons, resulting in the great apostasy.  I am grateful we haven't "gotten suspicious of", and "become groomed to find unseemly" many of the other original Church of Jesus Christ's doctrines.  What is so sad to me is, I believe that abandoning or redefining some of these Gifts of the Holy Spirit, have retarded our ability to get closer to the Holy Spirit and the Father.  These are the blessings and benefits I have found so far by speaking in the spirit language:

1.     Paul recommends it and it leads to prophesizing.  1 Cor 14:5, 13, 37. 
2.    To edify us.  1 Cor 14:4; Jude 20
3.    To speak to God divine secrets we may not even know. 1 Cor 14:2
4.    To speak the wonderful works of God. Acts 2:11
5.    To magnify God. Acts 10:46  
6.    To pray perfectly.  Romans 8:26,27
7.    To give thanks well. 1 Cor 14:17
8.    To have the Spirit bearing witness along with our spirit. Romans 8:16
9.    To know that you are a joint heir with Christ. Romans 8:17
10.To strengthen you with might in your inner man.  Eph 3:16;     2 Cor 4:16
11.Rest to the soul. Isaiah 28:11,12;  1 Cor 14:21

I am sure Satan loves that we discontinued receiving all these benefits because we are afraid that speaking in tongues is from him.  

I asked ChatGPT what Hugh Nibley had to say about speaking in tongues and it said, that he said it should be treated as an authentic, sacred experience rather than a phenomena to be tested or scrutinized under human judgment.  For him, these gifts were a sign of divine interaction and should manifest in ways that build up the church and faith, rather than for show or pride.  He saw them as tools for edification and the spread of the gospel.
 

  On 2/7/2025 at 1:33 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

We expect not to receive these sorts of manifestations—and so, we don’t.

Expand  

You are so very right.

Thanks for the idea exchange.

[Carborendum]

Speaking of tongues... (see what I did there?)

When indexing, sometimes a document is written partially in English and partially in another language.  Most of the time that I've come across it, it is a language I know well enough to have a go.  And it tends to turn out OK.  

My wife was working on indexing when she came across such a document that was bad enough that she could not read it.  Believing it to be German, she called me over to see if I could translate.  I'm not fluent, but I'm familiar enough that I can translate simple things.

It was not German.  I somehow recognized it as Afrikaans. I don't speak Afrikaans.  I have never studied Afrikaans.  And it was different enough from German that I can't read it with any level of dependability.  Yet, I was impressed to move forward.  

As I read, I didn't actually "translate."  I simply knew what it said.  To be clear, there is a different part of the brain that is reserved for one's first language(s) and another part for foreign languages.  When reading the Afrikaans, I was not drawing on my familiarity with German.  It was as plain to me as my first language.  I knew what it said.

The only problem I had was proper nouns -- so I did the best I could with those.

We completed the document.  As soon as we submitted it, I could not remember a single word of Afrikaans that I had just "translated".

Edited February 10 by Carborendum

[Carborendum]

Here's another story from my life:

Around the midpoint of my mission, there was a shortage of Spanish-speaking missionaries.  Long story, short, the Mission Pres asked me to learn Spanish.  I'm a quick learner, but something happened fairly early on in the process.

I was studying, memorizing, practicing, etc.  I spoke broken Spanish -- absolutely not fluent for about three or four months.  But during that time, we had a discussion that was absolutely clear and fluent.  I spoke and I listened.  We had a discussion that seemed as comfortable as the English lessons we'd had during the first half of my mission.

After the discussion was over, we were saying our goodbyes and I realized I had difficulty understanding them because their accents were from a country that is not as clear as Mexican or Guatemalan (which was what I was used to).  Not only had I lost my fluency in Spanish as I spoke it, but I also couldn't understand their odd accent -- that wasn't a problem during the discussion.

That only happened once.  It took another couple of months before I was actually fluent.

Edited February 10 by Carborendum

[Traveler]

During my travels I try to pick up enough of the native language to get by.  While working in Japan I expressed to my translator my difficulty with that language (European languages are not so difficult – with the exception of Greek which has inspired the phrase – “It is all Greek to me”).  My translator responded with, “It is not at all difficult, even the little children here speak the language without difficulty.

When I was working in Tiawan, I was only given and translator at work.  I was determined to attend Church and fasted and prayed for the spirit and divine assistance for my church experience.  I found the church services very familiar with the exception of the songs.  Chinese uses different tones to change the meaning of word – which makes singing standard Hymns rather strange.  Since I know the sacrament prayers by heart, I thought I could pick up something from that.  I could not understand a single word.

I attended Sunday school.  Though the teachers held up familiar pictures, I could not grasp any thought.  After Sunday school the teacher approached me (obviously I was a visitor) and attempted to speak to me about the lesson.  I pleaded if he could speak any English – lucky he could and with an obvious accent he asked if I enjoyed the lesson.  I carefully responded that I did not understand anything, even a single word.  I asked what the lesson was about.  He responded that it was about “The Gift of Tongues.” 

The entire ward suddenly came to my aid and surrounded me with their friendship and love.  The story of my lack of tongues became a rather humorous story.  My time there was incredible despite the language barrier.   I was even invited to speak and a missionary (son of a famous LDS celebrity) translated for me.  I returned just over a year to help with some work and was remembered and welcomed back to the ward.  I think that the Chinese are the kindest people on the planet.

The other lesson for me is that G-d is very capable of accomplishing his will despite our expectations. 

 

The Traveler

[johnnybelcaro]

  On 2/7/2025 at 4:50 PM, CV75 said:

I think the following distinctions are important in studying this topic: to be filled with the Holy Ghost, to receive a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost, to have the Gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed by the laying on of hands, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, and apostolic witnesses enabled by virtue of the Holy Ghost are different things.

Expand  

Hello CV75--Thank you for presenting your opinions.  I would like to discuss them.  I understand all of these topics you mentioned refer to the Gift of the Holy Spirit, which was permanently given to all believers by God on the Day of Pentecost.  I would be interested to understand how you feel they might be different from each other.  Some additional names for this incredible Gift are:

"Power from on high."   Luke 24:49                                                                                                                                                                                "Promise of my Father."   Luke 24:49
"...mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations"  Coloss 1:26,  

"mystery, which was kept secret since the world began"  Rom 16:25-26, Eph 3:5&9, I Cor 2:1-10

  On 2/7/2025 at 4:50 PM, CV75 said:

Another distinction is that the various spiritual gifts (there are more than eight) come with the light of Christ which is given to all of God's children, and the various gifts of the Spirit come with the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Expand  

I understand that there were 9 sub-gifts within in this grand Gift of the Holy Spirit, arriving on Pentecost, that were all supernatural and were considered "Manifestation Gifts", because the assistance of the spirit within us is required to manifest or operate them.  These are found in 1 Corinthians 12.

There is another group of 5 gifts found in Ephesians 4:8-12 that are considered "Ministering Gifts" that were given to the church.   These gifts are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  Nothing supernatural here.

A third group of gifts are "Serving Gifts", found in Romans 12:6-8 and include prophesy, teaching, leadership, exhortation, ministration, mercy and giving.  These are not supernatural but are more like personality traits or talents, found in both believers and non-believers. Nothing supernatural.

Some gifts have the same name so it is important to know from which group the gift, under discussion, belongs.

  On 2/7/2025 at 4:50 PM, CV75 said:

All these distinctive aspects of the Holy Ghost and spiritual gifts existed before and after the events in Acts 2. In this case, the apostles had the gift of the Holy Ghost already; it was a manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost, not a bestowal of the Gift or gifts upon them. This was a particular manifestation of the power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost to help the servants of God testify and minister to many people of many languages.

Expand  

I understand that, prior to Pentecost, with the exception of speaking in Tongues, all of these "Manifestation Gifts" did exist, and were manifested by various people at various times in the Old and New Testament times on a temporary basis.   I don't find any place in the scriptures where Jesus performed miracles before He received the Holy Spirit, but after He did, it appears He was was unlimited in His ability to perform all miracles. I would be very interested to know where to find, prior to Pentecost, that the apostles already had the full Gift of the Holy Ghost that was given by God on Pentecost on a permanent basis.  I am aware of the apostles having temporary experiences with some of the powerful gifts of the Holy Ghost, that was given to them by Jesus but this was only for some of the gifts, and not on a permanent basis.  There is no doubt in my mind that on the Day of Pentecost, the 9 Manifestation Gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to all believers in Christ, on a permanent basis for the first time in the history of mankind. Whether or not these gifts were then and are now manifested, was/is dependent on the recipient's belief/faith that he/she has been given the power, that he/she elects to manifest the power, and the spirit's desire for the manifestation to take place. 

  On 2/7/2025 at 4:50 PM, CV75 said:

As far as private practice and experience, that is exactly what it is. More public worship and testifying practices change over time and cultures, which is why sometimes an interpreter is required.

Expand  

I would love to know why and when this beautiful, precious Gift that our heavenly Father gave to all of us believers on Pentecost has been changed in the least degree.  Where do we find that God said this gift may be altered, redefined or ignored, depending on changes in worship and testifying practices over time and cultures?  A lot of people used this thinking to cause the Great Apostasy.  I would love to hear the details about when, how and why our church leaders abandoned practicing, encouraging and teaching the self nurturing benefit of communicating with  our spirit within and to God. using the spirit language. 

I appreciate exchanging ideas and words with you, and only want to come to know what is True.  

[johnnybelcaro]

  On 2/10/2025 at 3:21 PM, Carborendum said:

Speaking of tongues... (see what I did there?)

When indexing, sometimes a document is written partially in English and partially in another language.  Most of the time that I've come across it, it is a language I know well enough to have a go.  And it tends to turn out OK.  

My wife was working on indexing when she came across such a document that was bad enough that she could not read it.  Believing it to be German, she called me over to see if I could translate.  I'm not fluent, but I'm familiar enough that I can translate simple things.

It was not German.  I somehow recognized it as Afrikaans. I don't speak Afrikaans.  I have never studied Afrikaans.  And it was different enough from German that I can't read it with any level of dependability.  Yet, I was impressed to move forward.  

As I read, I didn't actually "translate."  I simply knew what it said.  To be clear, there is a different part of the brain that is reserved for one's first language(s) and another part for foreign languages.  When reading the Afrikaans, I was not drawing on my familiarity with German.  It was as plain to me as my first language.  I knew what it said.

The only problem I had was proper nouns -- so I did the best I could with those.

We completed the document.  As soon as we submitted it, I could not remember a single word of Afrikaans that I had just "translated".

Expand  

It sounds to me like you may have temporarily received the Gift of Knowledge, i.e. supernatural knowledge you had no way of knowing but by the spirit within you. Thanks for sharing this experience.  

[Ironhold]

As I've noted before, I'm high-functioning autistic. 

One of the issues I face is that when I'm stressed or exhausted, the language centers in my brain will malfunction. 

Best-case scenario is that I'll forget words and have to struggle to recall them. 

Worst-case scenario is that the muscles governing my mouth, throat, and tongue will physically seize, leaving me unable to speak. I've had to go a few rounds with my parents over this, because they don't understand the kind of stress it takes to make this happen and so just assume I'm being dramatic when this happens. 

There are days where it's a near miracle for me to be able to go without having any issues for more than a few hours at a time, especially if I'm trying to communicate important information to people under stressful situations. 

[johnnybelcaro]

  On 2/10/2025 at 11:06 PM, Ironhold said:

As I've noted before, I'm high-functioning autistic. 

One of the issues I face is that when I'm stressed or exhausted, the language centers in my brain will malfunction. 

Best-case scenario is that I'll forget words and have to struggle to recall them. 

Worst-case scenario is that the muscles governing my mouth, throat, and tongue will physically seize, leaving me unable to speak. I've had to go a few rounds with my parents over this, because they don't understand the kind of stress it takes to make this happen and so just assume I'm being dramatic when this happens. 

There are days where it's a near miracle for me to be able to go without having any issues for more than a few hours at a time, especially if I'm trying to communicate important information to people under stressful situations. 

Expand  

Hi Ironhold.  I am so sorry you are having to live with this.  It must be very hard to never know when your muscles will misbehave.  Do you have some friends who are patient and understanding?  You must have so much to say that you cannot get said.  Are you seeing a doctor who has some hope for treatments or medication?  I am totally drug free but I have heard some doctors have had some success with cannabis to help relax muscles?  If you need another friend to chat with I plan to visit this website more.

You are one of God's best.  John

[CV75]

  On 2/10/2025 at 5:40 PM, johnnybelcaro said:

Hello CV75--Thank you for presenting your opinions.  I would like to discuss them.  I understand all of these topics you mentioned refer to the Gift of the Holy Spirit, which was permanently given to all believers by God on the Day of Pentecost.  I would be interested to understand how you feel they might be different from each other.  Some additional names for this incredible Gift are:

"Power from on high."   Luke 24:49                                                                                                                                                                                "Promise of my Father."   Luke 24:49
"...mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations"  Coloss 1:26,  

"mystery, which was kept secret since the world began"  Rom 16:25-26, Eph 3:5&9, I Cor 2:1-10

I understand that there were 9 sub-gifts within in this grand Gift of the Holy Spirit, arriving on Pentecost, that were all supernatural and were considered "Manifestation Gifts", because the assistance of the spirit within us is required to manifest or operate them.  These are found in 1 Corinthians 12.

There is another group of 5 gifts found in Ephesians 4:8-12 that are considered "Ministering Gifts" that were given to the church.   These gifts are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  Nothing supernatural here.

A third group of gifts are "Serving Gifts", found in Romans 12:6-8 and include prophesy, teaching, leadership, exhortation, ministration, mercy and giving.  These are not supernatural but are more like personality traits or talents, found in both believers and non-believers. Nothing supernatural.

Some gifts have the same name so it is important to know from which group the gift, under discussion, belongs.

I understand that, prior to Pentecost, with the exception of speaking in Tongues, all of these "Manifestation Gifts" did exist, and were manifested by various people at various times in the Old and New Testament times on a temporary basis.   I don't find any place in the scriptures where Jesus performed miracles before He received the Holy Spirit, but after He did, it appears He was was unlimited in His ability to perform all miracles. I would be very interested to know where to find, prior to Pentecost, that the apostles already had the full Gift of the Holy Ghost that was given by God on Pentecost on a permanent basis.  I am aware of the apostles having temporary experiences with some of the powerful gifts of the Holy Ghost, that was given to them by Jesus but this was only for some of the gifts, and not on a permanent basis.  There is no doubt in my mind that on the Day of Pentecost, the 9 Manifestation Gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to all believers in Christ, on a permanent basis for the first time in the history of mankind. Whether or not these gifts were then and are now manifested, was/is dependent on the recipient's belief/faith that he/she has been given the power, that he/she elects to manifest the power, and the spirit's desire for the manifestation to take place. 

I would love to know why and when this beautiful, precious Gift that our heavenly Father gave to all of us believers on Pentecost has been changed in the least degree.  Where do we find that God said this gift may be altered, redefined or ignored, depending on changes in worship and testifying practices over time and cultures?  A lot of people used this thinking to cause the Great Apostasy.  I would love to hear the details about when, how and why our church leaders abandoned practicing, encouraging and teaching the self nurturing benefit of communicating with  our spirit within and to God. using the spirit language. 

I appreciate exchanging ideas and words with you, and only want to come to know what is True.  

Expand  

As you indicated, I shared my opinion. It is reasonable to believe the Gift of the Holy Ghost was bestowed upon the Apostles and others on the day of Pentecost, and that is a fine working model as far as I am concerned. This is what our Church teaches.

Informing my opinion is the idea that: a) the Apostles they had already possessed the priesthood authority to bestow the Gift of the Holy Ghost; b) they (and likely other followers) had received the laying on of hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost during the Lord's 40 day ministry prior His ascension; c) the Day of Pentecost was the receiving step of the ordinance (as in the words of the ordinance, "Receive the Holy Ghost.") as a Council or Quorum.

Because the bestowal of the Gift of the Holy Ghost requires proper authority, it cannot be gotten when such authority is lost. A faithful person can only transmit the Gift of the Holy Ghost when the priesthood order at the presiding level is intact, otherwise they can at best live out their days with the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When the priesthood order was disrupted, this gift could no longer be bestowed. Faith in Christ continued throughout the generations, but the Lord had to restore the fulness of the gospel (including the priesthood authority to baptize and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost) through Joseph Smith.

ETA (forgot the last question!): the gift of tongues has not changed, only its application as suited for the intersection between circumstances and God's purposes.

Edited February 11 by CV75

[prisonchaplain]

I am Pentecostal, but not LDS. There are some aspects of LDS faith practice that track with Pentecostal or Charismatic expression. One example is seeking a burning in the bosom to verify certain truths. While some Anti-Mormons mock this practice, there is something appealing about submitting to God's Spirit--seeking his holy yes. Likewise, what I've been told is sometimes referred to as Adamic language or tongues, does have similarities to unknown languages. Discernment is always essential, but it is spiritually wise to reject anti-supernaturalism and to embrace a spiritual humility that says, "God, what do you have for me?"