[Freedom]

This is an interesting topic, because it seems like in the LC, they like to steer clear of gifts in general. Of course, there is one "gift" (prophecy) that they are obsessed with. Since I have been in the LC my whole life, I don't know how the LC views on gifts compares to non-charismatic churches.

In general, I think this is a touchy subject that people like to steer clear of because of the misuse by people who purport to perform "supernatural" healing and miracles.

What I do know is that God works in mysterious ways. It is undeniable that supernatural events can occur and do occur in all of our lives. Even though I am still in the LC, I never cease to be amazed in the ways that God works.

It is hard to think of any specific examples, but I do know that I have had different dreams where I knew at some point afterwards that it was God speaking to me.

In the LC, because of the devaluation of the gifts, I don't expect to have any extraordinary experiences. What is completely unbalanced about the LC is that they rarely talk about gifts, but all the sudden when it comes to prophecy, it's a whole different story. They even devote a whole meeting to it (prophesying meeting).

The implication in the which WL made is that there is only one gift and everyone has the same gift, that being the gift of prophecy. Everyone is expected to "prophecy" in a meeting each week so that is a huge implication right there. They don't have a "healing" meeting or a "speaking in tongues" meeting (I'm not saying that they should) so it seem quite ironic that they have become so obsessed with a certain gift.

Sadly to say, because of this imbalance, I don't think many in the LC including myself have any awareness of what gift they may have. I am aware of different ways I am viewed as "useful" to the LC, but does that really mean I have a certain gift?

I think the end effect is that many LC members feel discouraged concerning their usefulness to God. Even though everyone is told the are "function" by prophesying each week, it is really only of benefit to those who actually have that gift.

Sometimes I am pressured to prophecy and I know that I have nothing to say. So basically I make something up that serves no other purpose than to satisfy those who are pressuring me. Afterward when people say something like "I really enjoyed your sharing today", I think to myself and realize what a hypocrite I was and how hypocritical the LC is. How could anyone enjoy something I made up on the spot that I could care less about?

In summary, I can definitely say that I believe in supernatural occurrences. I can think of several people in the LC who have share things with me now and then, however I think as an unspoken rule in the LC, we know to keep such things to ourselves.