Growing a Garden of Talentsto go forth and serve

Each of us are given talents. It is our responsibility to make them grow

Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities.

It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend.

—Sarah Ban Breathnach

I. Discover Talents The Lord has given us all seeds of talents that, if planted can grow into a beautiful and unique garden. What are your tal-

ents? In this section we explore ways to discover your talents. Trust that the Lord has blessed you with talents. Blessings

can also be considered talents. Try reading the parable of the talents and replace the word “talent” with “blessing.” Mathew

25:14-30 Talents and blessings are not always obvious; for example, the talent of recognizing the needs of others, the bless-

ing of friends, the blessing of a good night of sleep, the blessing of personal revelation, the blessing of free time, etc.

Take the time to think of the blessings/talents you have and then make a list. Pray to the Lord to have the gift to recog-

nize them—He knows you best! Here are some ways to discover your talents.

1. Personality Evaluation Resources Choose from one of these or pick one you favor, and then include the strengths you learn in your list of talents.

A. The Color Code – https://www.colorcode.com/personality_test/

B. 16 Personalities (based on Meyers Briggs – https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

2. List Blessings Consider that blessings are gifts from God and can also be looked at as talents.

3. Read Patriarchal Blessing

4. List what you enjoy doing Think of things that spark joy in your life. Often our latent talents are found in the things we enjoy. There is a rea-

son you feel joy when you are doing certain activities. This sacred joy comes when you are fulfilling the measure

of your creation.

5. Add to your list, talents from what compliments you may have received Sometimes our talents are odvious to others and can be used as a resource for identifying talents that remain la-

tent to us. Use this information as a way to identify your talents, not as a way to validate what you already know.

When you know what your talents are, it is important to move forward with faith in the Lord and not rely on the

compliments of others to propel your efforts in developing your talents.

6. List what you want to do or what you would like to be good at doingSometimes there are talents which the Lord will give us based on desire. The simple desire and investment of

time can be all you need to develop a healthy talent. You can also pray for talents, just as you can blessings.

7. List Spiritual gifts Read the talk There are many gifts by Marvin J. Ashton and list the gifts you feel you may have.

8. List what the Lord has told you in prayer You can specifically pray and to know your talents and recieve revelation directly from the Lord.

Create a List of what you think your talents may be:

II. Nurture TalentsThe Next Step in Growing your own unique garden of talents is to nurture your gifts. Just as a seed needs plenty of nutri-

ents, sunshine and water, so too do your talents. In this step it is vital to appreciate and express gratitude to the Lord for

your talents. The servant who buried his talent in the Parable of the Talents definitely did not have gratitude for what he

was given, or he would not have buried it. When you only focus on the talents or blessings you don’t have, you are guilty

of ingratitude. Instead, find what gifts, talents, and blessings you DO have, and prayerfully express your thanks to a giv-

ing Heavenly Father. Be mindful of downplaying your gifts – it is dishonest and akin to hiding your light under a bushel.

Luke 11:33 When someone pays you a complement and you are worried about becoming prideful, simply saying “Thank you,”

is a great way to be gracious and accept the complement without depreciating your own gifts. It might also be useful to

say a prayer of gratitude in your heart to the Lord for allowing you to be an instrument in His hands. Someone will always

be better than you. The point of a talent is not to be the best or be the only one with that talent. The point is to make

what you have grow. Remember the principle of what you feed will grow. This applies not only in the development of

your talents but also in the appreciation of them. Here you can explore some ways to feed your talents.

1. Have Gratitude and Appreciation Gratitude prepares your heart and mind to develop your talents and opens the gates of heaven to assist you.

2. Take a Class Another way to grow our gifts/blessings/talents is by learning more about them and learning how to improve

them. Finding tutorials on-line, checking out books from the library, asking someone we know to share their

knowledge on the subject, or signing up for a class are just a few ways you can learn.

3. Allow yourself to be a beginnerIt is easy to compare your beginning steps to someone who has already worked thousands of hours to master a

skill, but resist that urge. Use the masters of a particular skill or field as an example of what is possible and learn

from him or her. In the begining, you will likely not perform to the ability you wish you could, but a seedling can’t

become a tree unless it keeps growing. To nurture your gift, you must accept the stage of develpoment that you

are in.

4. PracticePractice makes perfect. Taking the time to practice a talent, even at the risk of failing, will pay off in the end. Pray

for encouragement. Typically a master of something has spent close to 10,000 hours perfecting his skill.

5. Have a PlanIt helps to envision a plan with each talent. Picturing what your talents looks like when you have mastered it, is

akin to seeing the potential of a seed before it has become fully grown and is essential to mastering a skill. A

good gardener has a master plan of where things will grow and places them in the garden accordingly.

Make a plan for how to develop your talents:

III. Share TalentsTalents are given to us by the Lord for the blessing and benefit of our fellow men. When you use your talents for this

purpose, it will fill you with immense joy because you are fulfilling the measure of your creation. Satan fights this step

of sharing your talents by filling us with fear and feelings of inadequacy. Do NOT fear, but MOVE forward with faith. It is

important to note that you do not have to 100 percent master your talents before you can provide worthwhile service.

Using your talents to serve others can be a great opportunity to further develop your talents. Sometimes we can get

caught up in nurturing our gifts because we might feel inadequate or not yet ready to use our gifts. The real benefit and

purpose of our talents is to share them. Seeking for opportunities to serve with your talents will not only benefit others

but it will help you to further nurture your gifts.

1. Consider how each talent or blessing you have can serve others.

2. GO and DO We are charged from the Lord to use our talents. Do NOT hide talents it is a great offense to the Lord. But with

some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto

them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. D&C 60:2 If you seek to

serve others with your talents and use them as the Lord commands you to, He will prepare a way for you. And it

came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for

I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them

that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. 1 Nephi 3: 7

3. Teach a classSometimes we learn and develop more from being the teacher than from being the student. Teaching is an ex-

cellent way to share your talents.

4. Use it or lose it We know by the parable of the talents that if we do not use them the lord will take away their talent, yea, even

that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly. Ether 12:35

5. Be Humble Seek to bless, not impress is a great saying to help us remember that our gifts come from God. Thus, we are

neither disparaging of our gifts nor puffed up by them.

6. Consecrate your talents to the LordThe faithful servant in the parable of the talents multiplied his talents, but he did so for the Lord.

What are some ways you can use your blessings and talents to serve?

IV. Evaluate Talents Winter is a time of reflection; it is a time to prune the trees, prepare the soil, and clear out any debris. For your talent

garden, this process may seem painful, cruel, unnecessary, or even restrictive, but it can also be liberating, exciting and

bring a sense of peace and focus to your life. We live in an age of abundance, but with that comes an overwhelming

amount of things, information and resources. Pruning is as vital to the joy of fulfilling the measure of your creation as it is

to tending a garden. Consider that if a tree is not pruned, the tree will grow too many buds and the fruit of the tree will

lack flavor and quality and will fail in fulfilling its purpose. If the soil is not cleaned, then pests will leave their eggs to in-

fest the garden the next year. Pruning and clearing the talent garden is a very personal process and should be done hand

in hand with the Lord. He knows what you are capable of and what He can make you capable of. Pruning your talents

doesn’t mean you get rid of or don’t notice your other talents, it simply is an evaluation of where you can invest most of

your time. And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster

than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore,

all things must be done in order. Mosiah 4:27 Here are some things to help you to take inventory of what is working and what is

not working and evaluate what is worth investing in.

1. Consider developing talents that will bring you and others the most joyIf any of these talents you have listed quicken your heart when you think about them, then keep them on your

list. Men are that they might have joy. 2 Nephi 2:25 If some talents don’t inspire a thrill of joy, consider setting them

aside for now, and focusing on the ones that do. Thus, the focus is on growing your favorite talents instead of

the ones that don’t quite inspire joy.

2. Consider your season of lifeIdentify talents that can be developed in your current circumstances. Some are young and just starting to try

their hand at certain skills. Some have a lot of time and some have only a few hours a day to dedicate to de-

veloping a new talent. Some have small children, some have older children and some are in a phase without

children in thier home. Whatever phase you are in, the Lord is aware of your circumstances.

3. Prioritize your talentsIdentify which talents of yours are the most important to you and the Lord.

4. Look for Balance – Emotional, Physical, Spiritual. Be sure that you’re not missing out on rest, relaxation, exercise and nutrition in pursuit of your talents.

On the next page, make a list of what activities you are involved in. Then, list the talents from your original talent list. Next, go through and look at each activity and talent on the list. If you experience joy when you read it, circle it. Pray to know if the ones you have circled are the talents, blessings and activities the Lord wishes you to invest in.