D&C 5

Not all gifts are given to all, all of the time.

Joseph Smith was given the gift to translate, for a time. When his translating was finished, other gifts were going to be bestowed. (I'm guessing power to teach, etc.)

God bestows spiritual gifts on us to accomplish His purposes, not just to build our self-esteem. I'm sure that sometimes God's purposes for our spirtual gifts is to build our faith. It's in His plan for us to grow stronger and have great faith in Him. I'm just saying that the gifts God bestows are not for our benefit alone.

Am I using my spiritual gifts to further God's kingdom?
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Later in the section, the rising of the Church is spoken of as being "clear as the moon, fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." I thought this was an interesting, if somewhat odd analogy. The moon and sun parts are fairly obvious, but what did God mean by an army with banners?

As I thought about it, I realized that only a strong, confident, fearless (aka FAITHFUL) army announces themselves with banners. As the gospel goes forth, it is not with stealth, hiding in the shadows and quickly attacking. No -- God's army is here to announce to the world who they are and what their purposes are. We want everyone to know of us, because we want everyone to join us.

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Later on, God tells Joseph to stop translating for a time. He goes on to explain that there are people who seek to destroy him, and he needs to stop translating for a little while. (I don't know if he ran, or just went about farm life as usual, but for whatever reason, translating was to stop so that people wouldn't destroy Joseph.

So while God bestows gifts to accomplish His purposes, He is also aware of His children. God was concerned about Joseph's welfare and was willing to postpone the work of the Restoration to preserve his life. I'm sure God wanted to protect the life of His prophet so the work could continue, but also because He was (is) Joseph's Father, and wanted to protect Him.

God needs his work to continue forward, but He is also concerned for the welfare of His children.