We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.There are a lot of scriptures that talk about the gifts of the spirit. I like the following ones: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, and D&C 46:11-26, and Moroni 10:8-18.
I think that the key to these scriptures is that they do in fact exist. And beyond that, they are there for the benefit of mankind. God loves us, and wants us to be happy.
I have seen many of these gifts myself. For example, what is the gift of tounges? It is most often found with the missionaries when they are learning a new language. It is not easy to learn a new language, but those difficult languages are learned very well, and the missionaries are able to teach others about the gospel with it. The interpretation of tounges is similar, in that sometimes there may be a person in the congregation, who may be visiting, who does not speak the same language of the rest of the congregation. The gift of interpretation of tounges is so that the person who has that gift, can translate the message that is given by the foreign speaking person, so that all in the congregation can understand.
As for prophesy, that is also a true gift of God. I remember that long before the scandal of the Catholic priests' sexual assult of minors was in the news, a new rule came out for the missionaries. They were told that they were not to pick up any child, or to hold them on their lap. At the time that the rule was given, it didn't make any sense to me. However, when the scandal started to be in the news, it made sense. That new rule was given for the protection of the missionaries. It was given so that there would not even be the appearance of evil--that is an example of revelation.
I have a testimony that the other gifts of the spirit are true as well. Prophecy, Healing, Visions, and the gifts listed in the scriptures I referenced above are all available for our benefit. Let me rephrase that a little. The gifts of God are not given so that the person who has received them can gain praise or money for the use of them. The vast majority of the gifts are for the benefit of others. We are to use the gifts of God to help our fellow man. We are to use them to help the needy, and bless the lives of those around us. Just as Jesus freely blessed and healed those around him, we should also use the gifts he has given to us to do the same.
Good thoughts.
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