The Power of Vulnerability

A friend of mine shared this video on Facebook. I've watched a few talks on TED.com before that blew my mind - so that fact, along with the title that resonated so deeply with me, intrigued me enough to postpone my bedtime by another 20 minutes so that I could watch it. I think this talk is going to be my new obsession for a while....

Check it out - whether you're profoundly affected as I was, or at the very least entertained, it'll be worth your time.

"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." ~ Leo Buscaglia

A week ago, I was asked to speak in church, and I thought it was a subject that may be of some interest to those who couldn't be there....

About a month ago, I was driving in the car with my sister. We have a pretty long commute to and from work, but it’s a fun time to be together and to talk. On this particular night, we somehow got on the subject of talents, and I shared with my sister how I thought I was adequate at a lot of things, but not OUTSTANDING at one particular thing - I didn’t feel like there was one thing that I was “ridiculously talented” at doing. After thinking about it a moment, my sister offered her thoughts to try to help me recognize the good (because that’s a talent that’s she’s really good at!):

“Well, you’re really nurturing.” she told me. I appreciated that she was trying to make me feel better, but I couldn’t help thinking that I’d rather have a talent that would make it easier to pay the bills!

That same weekend, a member of the bishopric asked me to speak in church, and he gave me my topic: “Developing our talents” and “using them to benefit others.” I thought Ok, this couldn’t be a coincidence. There must be something the Lord wants me to learn.

WE’RE ALL GIVEN TALENTS
When I began searching this topic, of course the first thing that came to mind was the parable of the entrusted talents that Jesus taught in Matthew 25:

14 ¶For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

Of the three servants, the ones who were given 5 and 2 talents each doubled their talents. But the one who was given only one hid his in the ground b/c he “was afraid.” When the lord of the servants returned, they each told him what they had done. To the servants that had doubled their talents, the lord said,
21 ...Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

But to the servant that hid his talent, the lord took it away from him and gave it to the servant that had ten, saying,
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

What stood out to me as I’ve re-read this parable, is that the servant of the one talent hid it out of fear. How many of us have felt like that servant, afraid to develop our talent - or doubtful if it’s a very good talent to begin with, and if it really isn’t that great then it might as well be hidden away b/c nobody wants it anyway.....Or maybe we fear b/c we compare our talents to others, or we fail to recognize our talent altogether.  

In one of my favorite talks by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, entitled “The OtherProdigal,” he addresses these feelings:
Someone or something is forever telling us we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being....
We are bombarded with the message that on the world’s scale of things we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.

A TALENT FOR SPIRITUALITY
Thankfully, we don’t need to rely on the world’s messages alone. Because of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, we know who we are - each one of us is a beloved son or daughter of God. And, as Elder Holland has stated, “no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another.”

Each one of us has been given talents - just as every servant in the parable was given talents. How many talents we have doesn’t affect our importance to our Heavenly Father. He doesn’t compare us to others, He just wants us to develop the gifts and talents we’ve been given. One talent that each of us has, can help us as we seek to identify and develop other talents, that is the Talent for Spirituality.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said that this was “above all talents” and “chief among all endowments.”

We had this talent as spirits in the pre-earth life, as seen by Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price: (Abraham 3:22-23)
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

Each one of those souls [each one of us] that Abraham saw that were ‘good’ chose to follow our Heavenly Father and His Plan of Happiness for us by coming to earth and receiving a body. This talent for spirituality has remained with us - it is the reason why we’re here today. It enables us to recognize truth, and listen to and follow the Spirit of the Lord.

WHAT TALENTS SHOULD WE DEVELOP
Although this Talent for Spirituality can help us follow Moroni’s admonition to “lay hold upon every good gift” (Moroni 10:30), I confess I still sometimes struggle identifying talents that I have, or knowing what talents I should work on developing.

In thinking about what talents I should develop, I started thinking about the many different talents that I’ve observed in the people in my life. But as I was thinking about all of the people in my life, I thought of One that is the most talented - Christ. And as I was pondering Christ’s talents, charity came to mind.

[In Moroni 7, Mormon teaches us about this gift -
45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.]

I was surprised to find that “Charity” - the pure love of Christ - is often referred to in the scriptures as a “talent.” I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen anybody win “America’s Got Talent” because of their talent for having charity towards others. (Actually, to be honest I’ve never even watched “America’s Got Talent.”) But when I think about the quality I most admire in the Savior and others in my life, and the talent that they’ve shared that’s blessed my life the most, it’s charity.

The Bible Dictionary defines charity as:
 The highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ. It is never used to denote alms or deeds of benevolence, although it may be a prompting motive
Along with being one of the most important gifts we can possess, Charity is also important as the motivation behind how we use our other talents - and how we use them to benefit others.

But going back to considering Christ’s talents, it makes sense to me why I didn’t instantly think “Charity” when thinking about “talents” -- it’s not something the world places much focus on -- it certainly wasn’t during Christ’s time, as Nephi writes in the Book of Mormon:

9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men. (1 Ne. 19:9)

As we seek to develop our talent of charity - and other skills and attributes - we can’t get discouraged if the world isn’t lining up to shower us with awards or recognition. As Nephi tells us,
7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; (1 Ne. 19:7)

Christ’s talents weren’t recognized by everyone during his lifetime, yet he continued to do the work His Father sent Him to do.  

Each of us has work that we were sent here to do - and that includes developing our talents. Along with the talents we brought with us to this life from the pre-existence, this life is the time to develop other talents. Some talents seem to be innate, while others take considerable effort and learning.  As this life is a “probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God,” it is the time to allow the Spirit - through our Talent for Spirituality - to guide us as we try to develop different talents.

SEEK EARNESTLY THE BEST GIFTS
In the scriptures we are commanded to “seek ye earnestly the best gifts,” remembering that “every good gift cometh of Christ.”

Once we have found those good gifts and desire to pursue them, we are not alone in the development of them - the Lord will help us.
President Henry B. Eyring, in his talk from 2009, “Real-Life Education,” states,
The Lord and His Church have always encouraged education to increase our ability to serve Him and our Heavenly Father’s children. For each of us, whatever our talents, He has service for us to give. And to do it well always involves learning, not once or for a limited time, but continually.
Through prayer, fasting, and hard work, with a motive to serve Him, we can expect His grace to attend us.

HOW DO WE DEVELOP TALENTS
Heavenly Father wants to bless us with talents or gifts, so that we can bless others, but we need to ASK. In the Doctrine & Covenants it states, “Ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally.”

And as we humbly ask and rely on the Lord to help us grow and improve in our talents, we will see in our lives the help He promises in the Book ofMormon:
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Although we may get discouraged, or feel that our talents aren’t good enough or worthwhile, we need to remember the prophet Alma’s words in the Book of Mormon:
"that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass"

We also can’t allow ourselves to get caught up in focusing on the talents we haven’t been given, or the number of talents we have. While there are many gifts of the Spirit, as listed in section 46 of the Doctrine & Covenants, the Lord tells us,
For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.
Like the servant in the parable, we cannot fear - we can’t waste the ONE talent we’ve been given just because we don’t have FIVE.
As the Lord tells us in D&C 64:33:
33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

Of the Parable of the Talents, the prophet Joseph Smith taught, “When the Master in the Savior’s parable of the stewards called his servants before him he gave them several talents to improve on while he should tarry abroad for a little season, and when he returned he called for an accounting. So it is now, Our Master is absent only for a little season, and at the end of it He will call each to render an account; and where the 5 talents were bestowed, ten will be required; and he that has made no improvement will be cast out as an unprofitable servant, while the faithful enjoy everlasting honors.”

President James E. Faust, in a talk from 2002 (“I Believe I Can, I Knew I Could”) echoed the Prophet Joseph’s words:
The Lord entrusts all of His servants... with spiritual talents. The Lord, who endows us with these talents, tells us: “I believe you can. I believe you can.” While we are not all equal in experience, aptitude, and strength, we have different opportunities to employ these spiritual gifts, and we will all be accountable for the use of the gifts and opportunities given to us.

Heavenly Father has blessed each one of us with talents. The number of talents we have makes no difference to Him, and He doesn’t compare our talents to the talents of others. His desire is that we take those gifts that we’ve been blessed with, those talents that are uniquely our own, and become our very best. It is only then that our talents can truly benefit and bless the lives of others.