Section 163:9
A Sacred Covenant

Discernment Activity

The Doctrine and Covenants 163:9 text invites us to respond to the abundant generosity of a compassionately giving God. Paul Davis says “God is generosity” and reminds us of the continuous flow of God’s generosity. Our task as receivers is to decide what to do with what we receive. Our discernment prayer asks us to pay attention to the flow of God’s generosity and become aware of the ways we can share generously.

1. In a quiet place, sit with eyes closed, and prepare for prayerful listening.

2. Greet God and ask to be made aware of the unending ways God gives “for the sake of creation.”

3. Place your hands in your lap in the shape of a container or bowl.

4. Breathe calmly and begin to experience your breath as a gift of God’s grace.

5. Each time you take in a breath, receive one of the gifts that God constantly pours into your life and collect it in the bowl of your hands.

6. Each time you become aware of another gift of God’s generosity, breathe in and silently offer the following prayer:
   “God, I gratefully receive the gift of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.” (Then name what you are receiving.)

7. Examples of gifts to give thanks for: God, I gratefully receive the gift of: light, air, my work, my family, food, the earth, friends, beauty, water, Jesus, etc.

8. Continue breathing in and naming God’s generous gifts for two to five minutes.

9. Now move your hands from the center of your lap in a gesture that offers others the generous gifts you have collected in the “bowl.”

10. Hold your hands out and up a bit from the center of your body but still in a comfortable posture.

11. In this new prayer position, focus more on breathing out and generously sharing God’s gifts and compassion.

12. Listen to what God is saying. What images and invitations come to you about compassionately sharing?

13. Each time you breathe out, name one way you sense God calling you to be generous or share what you have received. Name these by repeating the following prayer each time you breathe out: “God, I generously share _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.”(Then name what you feel called to share and with whom.)

14. Examples of things to share: God, I generously share my voice with my congregation, my money with the homeless, my time with Habitat for Humanity, the vegetables and fruit I grow with my neighbors, healing touch with the elderly people in my life, and care of the earth with all who call it home.

15. Close your prayer by thanking God and asking for help to share in the ways you have felt led to be generous.

—Discernment activity by Carolyn Brock

For Further Reflection and Discussion

1. Paul Davis says that when “we talk of the generosity of God, the word fails us, as words do.” Do you think this a difficult task? Why? Share some ways you and others have experienced God’s generosity.

2. Although giving and receiving are two sides of the same act, why do so many people find it harder to receive than give?

3. What difference does it make to see God at work somehow, mysteriously, in the acts of giving and receiving?

4. Read aloud the passage from Asante Africa about the significance of the offering in West African worship. Compare that to the offering in your home congregation. How do you respond to Father Joseph Healey’s comment, “I would give twenty years of my life for a thirty-second bicycle ride through the mind of an African”?

5. The author concludes his commentary on Doctrine and Covenants 163:9 by writing that he sometimes allows himself to “hope that Community of Christ will become for the genuine spirit of generosity in the world what the Mennonites and Quakers have been for peace.” Imagine what that would mean for your own congregation or mission center. Where would you begin?