Mosiah 18:26

As I was reading the Book of Mormon recently, I read this verse, again, but this time the Spirit opened my eyes and heart. And I wanted to record what happened, so I decided to share here.

Mosiah 18:26
"And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God."

The rewards of laboring in the Spirit for the Savior are gifts of the Spirit from God-

1) Receive the grace of God
That beautiful enabling power given by Him who gave His all that we may come home to Him. He who gave us life, blessing us that we may be enabled to do His work-whatever that may be. Enabling spiritual awakening, deeper understanding, more obedience to His word. We must receive this divine gift, willingly, not just waiting for it to appear. We must live worthy of it, humbly ask for it & continue to receive it- over and over in the shifting scenes of our mortality.

2) Wax strong in the Spirit
These Book of Mormon people were very accustomed to hard physical work, laboring was part of their everyday lives, and they did it well. So learning to labor in the Spirit was something they could immediately, and personally, relate to! And they knew laboring brought strength physically, so as they learned to labor spiritually-the blessing of waxing strong in the Spirit was an immediate and recognizable blessing.

3) Having the knowledge of God
Can we know the mind and will of God?
Absolutely, only in and through the power of the Spirit of the Holy Ghost- the ultimate teacher-can we gain knowledge of God. As we learn to live with the Spirit our knowledge of God expands and we become more like Him. As we serve as He wants us to serve, as we learn what He wants us to learn, and as we accept His tutelage under the Spirit of the Holy Ghost we gain the knowledge of God.

4) Then...
we might teach with the power and authority from God. We become His mouthpiece, His instrument, and through these gifts of the Spirit we become more like Him and bless the lives of others in this mortal realm.

I have watched in awed respect others serving the Lord spiritually, and constantly amazed at the deep reserve of spiritual strength they seem to have. I know service takes an exacting toll on our lives, however some seem to just diligently keep on the covenant path. I wish I was more like them. When this new understanding was given to me, I began to see service through new eyes. And I began to believe these gifts could be achieved...by anyone willing to follow this sacred pattern. What a beautiful blessing this was to me...lifting me, inspiring me, encouraging my baby steps towards God, filling my parched soul with life-giving water.

Oh how I love the Lord!