How to lose

So in a recent talk, I came to understand that in the new testament, a talent is a measure of money. Like - a lot of money. In the parable of the unforgiving debtor, what he owed the lord was astronomical - like 100 billion dollars - compared to the $100 that he would not forgive of the guy who owed him. A number that could never be fathomed, let alone repaid. So that's what a talent is.

A couple thousand years later, a talent is generally considered to be a skill. Most of us consider the word "talented" to mean they can sing, or have a well developed gift in music somehow. This is only the tip of the iceberg. I think a person can have a talent (or gift) in writing, speaking, interpersonal relationships, engineering, sales, technology or brick making.

So the key point is that we all have many talents, most of which are either hidden to us or known, but undeveloped. And no, I have no idea what the difference is between gifts and talents. They might be the same thing.

But today's scripture set deals with how to lose them. Working from the index, I'm in Ether 12:35 and Doctrine & Covenants 60:13. "..If the gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent" and "...thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known"

This reminds me that what I discovered and wrote about yesterday, now seems obvious to me. A talent can be discovered and developed, but it's still wasted until it's shared. Using me as an example, I can't bury a talent for expressing what inspires me just because it causes me discomfort that there may be unwanted or unpleasant consequences. I've got to unbury my talent and make it known. That's kinda like singing solo to a large group, knowing that your singing skills are weak at best.

So - ways to lose your gift. The first I found is to lack charity. Two would be idling away my time, and third - burying it.

To me, lacking charity is taking the gift and thinking you own it. Thinking that you're better than because you have something others don't. My best example of that is me giving a birthday present to one of my grandchildren. Let's say it's blocks of wood. Is he better than his brothers and sisters because he now has blocks? He didn't earn those blocks - they were given to him freely. There is now an expectation by the giver (me) that he will play with and use those blocks, and not flush them down the toilet or throw them at his friends. If he does so, the remaining blocks will certainly be taken away from him. We must avoid pride, and falsely assuming we're better than because we have a particular talent. We also have a responsibility to use our blocks in a constructive way.

The second would be to idle our time. If the blocks go in the corner and never get used, the gift was meaningless, and eventually the blocks will be cleaned out and thrown away, or given to another. And of course, when it is time for the next birthday, what we did with the blocks will factor in. This is called judgment.

Finally, burying our blocks. This is perhaps more of a problem than ignoring your blocks. Burying them is an act of isolation. "These are my blocks, and I'm going to make sure nobody else gets them". So out comes the shovel and the child digs a hole in the yard. This is one form of burying, but of course there are others. To bury a gift, like, say, me leaving this blog buried because I'd rather not receive criticism, would surely result in nothing. I wasn't given talents so that I could cause nothing to happen.

Most of us consider ourselves to be untalented. "I have no gifts, we can say". Not true - but we do have to search ourselves and find them. My lovely wife has said "I don't have any gifts". This is funny because she's one of the most talented people I have ever met. The first step in valuing and developing our gifts is to acknowledge that they are there - then we can develop them. May we do so with the joy that comes with discovering who you are.