Temporal Stewardship: Talents and Education
What would
Heavenly Father have me do with my Temporal Stewardship?
INTRODUCTION
Now
that you have your financial plan for self-reliance, things are in place for
you to concentrate and focus on developing talents and receiving an education.
The Lord encourages us to develop our talents and abilities which helps us to
more fully recognize our potential and helps us to help others better. It is
important for us to seek knowledge and wisdom throughout our lives as well.
Learning helps enrich our lives and helps us to grow spiritually and reach out
to others at the same time.
Elder Bruce R McConkie taught that “All
spirits of men, while yet in the Eternal Presence, developed aptitudes,
talents, capacities and abilities of every sort, kind and degree. During the
long expanse of life which then was, an infinite variety of talents and
abilities came into being. As the ages rolled no two spirits remained alike…
When we pass... to mortality, we bring with us the traits and talents there
developed.” (The
Gospel and the Productive Life, p. 45)
President Brigham Young encouraged us to share and develop
our talents through education. He said, “Put forth your ability to learn as
fast as you can, and gather all the strength of mind and principle of faith you
possibly can, and then destribute your knowledge to the people.” He also
taught, “A firm, unchangeable course of righteousness through life is what
secures to a person true intelligence.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church,
Brigham Young, p. 194-5)
POINTS TO PONDER
- When I rely on the Spirit, the
Lord will help me to recognize and develop my talents and abilities.
- The Lord will help me overcome my
doubts and fears as I seek to develop my talents and use them to help and
assist others.
- As I seek knowledge and wisdom, I
look for opportunities to grow spiritually.
SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES
AND QUOTES
When I rely on the Spirit, the Lord will help
me to recognize and develop my talents and abilities.
“I
exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many;
and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts
are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are
given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.”
(Moroni 10:8)
“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” (Doctrine and Covenants
46:11-12)
“God
has given each of us one or more special talents… It is up to each of us to
search for and build upon the gifts which God has given. We must remember that
each of us is made in the image of God, that there are no unimportant persons.”
(Marvin J Ashton, Ensign, November 1987, 20)
“We
must recognize that our natural gifts and abilities are limited, but when
augmented by inspiration and guidance of the Holy Ghost, our potential increases
manyfold. You need help from a power beyond your own to do something
extraordinarily useful. You… can have opportunities and receive blessings
beyond your wildest dreams and expectations… Remember what we do in life echoes
in eternity.” (James E Faust, Ensign, May 2002, 47-48)
“Upward
growth occurs in cycles that build upon each other in an ascending spiral of
capacity and understanding. They are often not easy, but they are always
beneficial. As you walk the path of righteousness, you will grow in strength,
understanding, and self-esteem. You will discover hidden talents and unknown
capacities. The whole course of your life may be altered for you happiness and
the Lord’s purposes.” (Richard G Scott, Ensign, May 1991, 34)
“God has endowed us with talents and
time, with latent abilities and with opportunities to use and develop them in
his service. He therefore expects much of us, his privileged children” (Spencer
W Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 100).
“In
this prior life, this premortal existence, we developed various capacities and
talents. Some developed them in one field and some in another. The most
important of all fields was the field of spirituality – the ability, the
talent, the capacity to recognize truth.” (Bruce R McConkie, The Gospel and the
Productive Life, p. 46)
The Lord will help me overcome my doubts and
fears as I seek to develop my talents and use them to help and assist others.
“The
Holy Ghost… will show unto you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:5)
“I stand in awe that
our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are willing, even anxious for us to
learn from them. . . . Gaining spiritual knowledge is not a
mechanical process. It is a sacred privilege based upon spiritual law. I
testify that you can receive inspired help. Humbly ask your Eternal Father.
Seek divine light. Exercise faith in the Savior. Strive to hearken to His
counsel and obey His commandments. He will bless and lead you as you move
through this sometimes treacherous world” (Richard G Scott, Ensign, November
1993, p. 88)
“If you love the
truth, if you have received the gospel in your hearts and love it, your
intelligence will be added upon; your understanding of truth will be expanded,
larger than in any other way. Truth is the thing, above all other things in the
world, that makes men free… If you will learn the truth and walk in the light
of truth you shall be made free from the errors of men…; you will be above
suspicion and above wrong-doing of every description. God will approve of you
and bless you and your inheritances, and make you prosper and flourish like a
green bay tree. (Joseph F Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, 314)
“As we ripen in years
and in experience, our spiritual lives have more and more to do with our real
happiness.” (J Joseph F Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, 317)
“Our talents may only be small at
first. But with hard work they can grow. Improving one talent often helps us
develop other talents. Special training or formal education helps us build many
skills. Overcoming special challenges or handicaps can also help us develop new
talents. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have
many chances to find and develop new talents when we accept calls to serve.
Many of us are called not for what we can do but for what we can be.” (Latter
Day Saint Woman, Part A, p. 200)
As I seek knowledge and wisdom I look for
opportunities to grow spiritually.
“Seek
out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by
faith.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118)
“To be learned is
good if they hearken unto the counsels of God” (2 Nephi 9:29)
“Seek ye earnestly
the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given; For verily I say
unto you, they are given… that all may be benefited.” (Doctrine and Covenants
46:8-9)
“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. . . .” (Henry B
Eyring, The Gospel and the Productive Life, p. 67)
“Remember, the marvels of modern science and technology
will not exalt us. Indeed, the great challenge we face as we prepare for the
future is to be more spiritually enlightened. All of this new, expanding
intellectual property must certainly be mastered through great effort and
learning. But technical savvy is not fully useful unless there is a spiritual
purpose and meaning to it. I am certain the Lord expects us to apply it to the
advancement of His purposes and the blessing of mankind, but we must adopt
those lofty ideals as personal goals and desires before we can direct
technology to those purposes” (James E Faust, Ensign, May 1999, 19)
“It is clear that
putting spiritual learning first does not relieve us from learning secular
things. On the contrary, it gives our secular learning purpose and motivates us
to work harder at it. If we will keep spiritual learning in its proper place,
we will have to make some hard choices of how we use our time. We generally
know when papers will be due, when tests must be taken, when projects must be
completed. And we know when the Sabbath will come. We know when the institute
class will be held. We know when the prayers at the beginning of a day and
those at the end should come. We know about how long it takes in reading the
scriptures before we begin to feel the Holy Spirit. We know about how many
hours it takes to prepare and to perform our service in the Church. When we see
life as it really is, we plan for a time and a place for all of those things.
There will come crises when there does not seem to be enough time. There will
be many instances when one thing crowds out another. But there should never be
a conscious choice to let the spiritual become secondary as a pattern in our
lives. Never. That will lead to tragedy. The tragedy may not be obvious at
first, nor may it ever be clear in mortal life. But remember, you are
interested in education not for life, but for eternal life. When you see that
reality clearly with spiritual sight, you will put spiritual learning first and
yet not slight the secular learning. In fact, you will work harder at your
secular learning than you would without that spiritual vision” (Henry B Eyring,
The Gospel and the Productive Life, p. 68)
“Service in the
Lord’s cause is a means towards obtaining a true education” (J Joseph F Smith,
Teachings of Presidents of the Church, 319)
“If we provide a
spiritual foundation for our secular learning, not only will we better
understand the laws of nature, we can gain a depth of understanding about art,
languages, technology, medicine, law, and human behavior never before imagined
possible” (L Tom Perry, Ensign, August 1996, 13)
“No service that
matters can be given over a lifetime by those who stop learning…Our education
must never stop. If it ends at the door of the classroom on graduation day, we
will fail. And since what we will need to know is hard to discern, we need the
help of heaven to know which of the myriad of things we could study we would
most wisely learn. It also means that we cannot waste time entertaining
ourselves when we have the chance to read or to listen to whatever will help us
learn what is true and useful. Insatiable curiosity will be our hallmark”
(Henry B Eyring, The Gospel and the Productive Life, p. 70)
APPLICATION
· What
talents and abilities have I discovered through my service in the church?
· How
do I use my talents and abilities to serve and assist others?
· How
does having the companionship of the Holy Ghost enhance my wisdom and
understanding?
· How
have I grown spiritually as I have sought out knowledge and wisdom?
GOALS AND IMPRESSIONS
Use
this space to set goals and record impressions concerning your talents and
abilities. Consider how you use them and how they strengthen and bless others.
Record any notes or impressions that you may have had as you pondered the
quotes and references above.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCES
· The
Standard Works
· The
Gospel and the Productive Life, Religion 150, 2004
· Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, Joseph F Smith,
· Spencer
W Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 1969
· The
Latter-day Saint Woman, Part A
· Conference
Ensigns and Church Magazines
No comments:
Post a Comment