In 1 Corinthians 12:31, we are told to “covet earnestly the best [spiritual] gifts.” The Greek word in this passage translated as “covet” is ζηλοῦτε (pronounced zay-loh-tay). The word does not carry the meaning of being jealous as in other uses of the word “covet,” but, as NET Bible puts it, to “be eager” for the best spiritual gifts. One may recognize the similarity between ζηλοῦτε and the modern English “zeal” or “zealot.” If Paul were asking us to be jealous of others’ gifts, he would have used, as he did in Romans 13:9, the word ἐπιθυμέω (pronounced ehp-ee-thoo-may-oh).

This encouragement to seek the best spiritual gifts is echoed in Doctrine & Covenants 46:8–9.

President George Q. Cannon, First Counselor in the First Presidency, explained in 1894:

Every man and woman in the Church of Christ can have the gifts of the Spirit of God divided to them according to their faith and as God wills. … How many of you … are seeking for these gifts that God has promised to bestow? How many of you, when you bow before your Heavenly Father in your family circle or in your secret places, contend for these gifts to be bestowed upon you? How many of you ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to manifest Himself to you through these powers and these gifts? Or do you go along day by day, like a door turning on its hinges, without having any feeling upon the subject, without exercising any faith whatever, content to be baptized and be members of the Church and to rest there, thinking that your salvation is secure because you have done this?… I know that God is willing to heal the sick, that He is willing to bestow the gift of discerning of spirits, the gift of wisdom, of knowledge and of prophecy, and other gifts that may be needed. If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. If I am an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It is my duty to seek for charity, which envieth not. So with all the gifts of the gospel. They are intended for this purpose. No man ought to say, “Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.” He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lack wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning His Church. He wants His Saints to be perfected in the truth. For this purpose He gives these gifts and bestows them upon those who seek after them, in order that they may be a perfect people upon the face of the earth, notwithstanding their many weaknesses, because God has promised to give the gifts that are necessary for their perfection.¹⁶⁴

We should understand all the gifts that our Heavenly Father can give us (see #79 SPIRITUAL GIFTS…ENLIGHTENED SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING) and then seek those gifts eagerly and earnestly.