How absolute a divinely Granted Gift of Discernment?

[_KevinSim]

I have read posts on this forum that were critical of the LDS Church's claim that LDS leaders have the gift of discernment. If anybody has a right to criticize that claim, it's me.

My first mission president told me in early April 1981 that it would be my turn to be a senior companion in two months, namely the beginning of June. May he brought me down from Talca, in the northern part of the Chile Concepcion Mission, to the mission office in Concepcion, where I became the mission commissary, and therefore spent my days in the office.

I have Asperger Syndrome. Neither my mission president nor I myself knew that at the time, but the symptoms were pretty obvious throughout the whole month of May. The beginning of May my mission president decided that, instead of making me a senior companion to a junior companion (which I had assumed his statement in April meant), he was going to send me to Hualpen and make me what he called a "senior proselyter," which he said meant that both me and Elder Bailey, my companion, would be senior companions; we would have equal authority.

Elder Bailey had been in the Hualpen ward the month before, so he knew the people we were currently teaching. My first evening with him we went to see the Lavin Family to teach them a discussion. When we got there the Lavin Family was just sitting down to watch a two-hour television movie. I said, "No problem; we'll just go out in the nearby neighborhood and knock on doors for two hours, and then come back and teach the Lavin Family the discussion."

Elder Bailey said no, we would stay there and watch the movie with the Lavins. I wasn't quite sure what to do with that statement. Watching television was against mission rules. But I quickly realized that I didn't want to fight with Elder Bailey, so I went along, and we watched the movie.

That kind of colored the whole month of June. Elder Bailey had been in the ward the month before, he thought quicker on his feet than I did, he wanted to lead, and I didn't want to fight him. So even though we theoretically had equal authority, he actually led that month and I followed him.

But not blindly. Halfway through the month Elder Bailey essentially set up a date with one of the teenage girls we had met. There was some recreational activity he wanted to do, and he told her he wanted her to do it with him; that sounds like a date to me.

Soon thereafter Elder Bailey got sick and couldn't go out. I found a local member that was willing to go with me, I found the teenage girl in question, I told her Elder Bailey had not been serious about wanting to go on a date with her, and then I returned to our place and told Elder Bailey what I had done. He wasn't very happy with me, but what could he say? Television may have been against mission rules, but going on a date with a girl was extremely against the rules.

The end of the month came, and Elder Bailey got moved to Laja, where he would be the senior companion to Elder Cifuentes, who was a brand new missionary. I would stay in Hualpen and become junior companion to Elder Angulo.

I had let Elder Bailey lead that whole month of June, but I hadn't tried to set up any dates with girls. Elder Bailey had tried to set up a date with a girl. And yet he got promoted and I got demoted. It quickly became apparent to me that my mission president had made his decisions based on the appearance of what had happened with Elder Bailey and me that month, and not on an actual knowledge of Elder Bailey's and my suitability to lead.

So a cynical person would conclude that my mission president had had no ability at all to discern between my and Elder Bailey's potential to lead righteously. It certainly bothered me enough at the time that the promotion went to the missionary who hadn't followed the rules. But currently I have come to the conclusion that the gift of discernment is not an absolute thing, where an LDS leader sees all the bad characteristics one particular person in his jurisdiction has. Rather, God just gives the leader enough discernment to accomplish what God wants accomplished. So it's possible to fool LDS leaders some of the time, but not in a matter that's vital to the success of God's overall plan for humanity.

So, basically, of all people I have the right to complain about my mission president's lack of discernment on a matter that really messed up my life, but I have chosen to not complain, because I'm not convinced God needed me to be a senior companion that month of July.

[_Tobin]

The gift of discernment is the ability to see the truth when it isn't apparent. If one has the gift of the discernment, as the prophets of old, they first must be able to and have seen God since God is the truth and not immediately visible. Those that do then have this gift, and with knowledge and familiarity with the Lord (become one with the Lord and the truth), they then can turn their attention to revealing other things. Those that have not seen the Lord do NOT have this gift and are fooling themselves.

One sure sign that someone has this gift is the truths they reveal are actually TRUE. The truth is self-evident and apparent to people who examine the issue. If what they reveal from the Lord is not true, clearly they do not have this gift from the Lord.

[_MrStakhanovite]

So, basically, of all people I have the right to complain about my mission president's lack of discernment on a matter that really messed up my life, but I have chosen to not complain, because I'm not convinced God needed me to be a senior companion that month of July.

Kevin, I think you should rethink this whole post. Your example is…petty, to say the least.

[Guest]

The gift of discernment is the ability to see the truth when it isn't apparent. If one has the gift of the discernment, as the prophets of old, they first must be able to and have seen God since God is the truth and not immediately visible. Those that do then have this gift, and with knowledge and familiarity with the Lord (become one with the Lord and the truth), they then can turn their attention to revealing other things. Those that have not seen the Lord do NOT have this gift and are fooling themselves.

One sure sign that someone has this gift is the truths they reveal are actually TRUE. The truth is self-evident and apparent to people who examine the issue. If what they reveal from the Lord is not true, clearly they do not have this gift from the Lord.

Too Bad Joseph Smith didn't have the gift of discernment. Them maybe he would have know the truth about the papyri. If GBH had discernment the church would not have given all that money to Mark Hoffman

[_Tobin]

Too Bad Joseph Smith didn't have the gift of discernment. Them maybe we would have know the truth about the papyri. If GBH had discernment the church would not have given all that money to Mark Hoffman

The gift of discernment does not make human beings God nor does it make them perfect. It can only work when we humble ourselves before the Lord and we don't let our failings, false assumptions, and biases get in the way.

[_KevinSim]

Kevin, I think you should rethink this whole post. Your example is…petty, to say the least.

You may be right. After I got it all down in written form and submitted, I started having similar thoughts myself.