Chapter 27: A Surprising Twist to the Parable of the Talents

            The meaning of talent has changed through the centuries. In Biblical times it was a measure of weight of 75.6 pounds. King David’s crown weighed one talent. (See 2 Samuel 12:30.) Can you imagine a neck that could support 75 pounds? We may in the future experience what it feels like to be hit with a talent. Revelation 16:21 prophesies that before the great battle of Armageddon a mighty hailstorm will occur “every stone about the weight of a talent.” On August 8, Delta flight 1889 made an emergency landing after baseball-size hailstones hit it. The largest hailstone on record hit Vivian, South Dakota in 2010. It was eight inches in diameter and weighed not quite two pounds. Makes you wonder what the diameter of a 75.6-pound hailstone will be. Look out below!
            In Jesus’ time, a talent was a measure of money equal to 20 years of wages for the common worker or $666,000. That is how much the Lord in the Parable of the Talents asked his servants to manage while he was gone to a far country. To one he gave five talents ($3,300,000), to another two talents ($1,332,000), and to the third one talent $666,000). When the lord returned, he asked for an accounting. The one with five had gained five more. The one with two had gained two more. The one with one said he was afraid; he knew the lord was a hard taskmaster, so he had buried his talent. (See https://bible.org/seriespage/27-parable-talents-matthew-2514-30-luke-1912-28.)
            To the two who doubled their talents, the lord said, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things” (Matthew 25:23). To the one-talent servant he said: “Thou wicked and slothful servant…. Thou oughtest… to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents…. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness” (Matthew 25:26-30).
            Today we define talents as natural abilities, which is nowhere as tangible as a weight of 75.6 pounds or of $666,000. It is precisely that intangibleness that may cause a person to struggle with self-doubt and insecurity, wondering, “What are my talents and how many have I been given?” The answer is that everyone reading this message has more talents than they have developed or are using. These talents and gifts have come to you “by the Spirit God” (D&C 46:8-11). They have come from a loving, personal Father in Heaven who loves us and who has confidence in us.
            He has given you and me natural talents that come through genes from our ancestors. He has given us spiritual gifts that come as additions to natural gifts by the Spirit. Like the lord in the Parable of the Talents, Heavenly Father expects each of us to improve upon both talents and gifts to bless others and to expand the capacity of our minds, bodies, and spirits.
            All of the above you basically already know.
            When I was reading on the subject I was very surprised to find another very specific and surprising reason the Lord commands us to seek and develop talents and gifts: “That ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men… seek ye earnestly the best gifts” (D&C 46:8). I have never thought or imagined that such a cause and effect relationship exists, that seeking and developing spiritual gifts gives you power over Satan and men’s deceptions? So why wouldn't I with vigor develop more talents and spiritual gifts and obey the command to "seek... earnestly the best gifts"? I wondered.
            Am I content with the status quo, liking my life like it is? Is it that I don't know how or where to begin? How would I determine what is a best gift? Why, if I truly believed the scriptural promise, would I not begin right now so that I could claim the protection from evil? As I pondered, I came to two unpleasant possibilities, either I don't have enough faith or I have too much fear, which are probably one in the same. Then I thought of an example.
            I play piano. I sightread well. I can play most any hymn without practice. I use my piano-playing talent to substitute in Primary or Relief Society or play at the rest home in our ward boundaries. When we are on vacation and I walk into Relief Society to hear recorded prelude, I find the president and tell her I play piano. I am not fearful on these occasions. I also play organ, a little. I am self-taught and would need a lot of practice to play any hymn with a decent level of proficiency. So recently, the bishop asked me how well I play the organ. He didn't call me; he was seeking information. My mind filled with fears. I thought: "It would take so much work." "I get too nervous." "I'm too old." "I'd make too many mistakes." I was experiencing the dictionary definition of fear: an “anxious feeling, caused by our anticipation of some imagined event or experience” (Psychology Today). My fears told me that I might not meet expectations, that it’s too hard, that I might fail. I think I have a lot in common with the servant who buried his one talent.
            Fear could be called Satan’s anti-gift. He tempts you to bury your talents and whispers that spiritual gifts are not real. He knows he will have less power over you if you take the Lord's promise of protection by seeking earnestly the best gifts. He wants you to come to him. His purpose is to discourage you, stifle your progress, blind you to opportunity, take away motivation, and deceptively offer alternatives.
            Faith, the opposite of fear, is God’s sustaining gift. His faith in you is evidenced in his invitation to improve on your talents. With his coaching, He will prove to you that whatever you keep doing you will get better at in measurable steps. Your spiritual gifts will be increased layer upon layer as you use them for righteous purposes. He will support you, open opportunities, urge you, and encourage you because He knows of what you are capable.
            The one-talent servant feared for no reason. He didn’t realize: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me (Psalm 118:6)?” “If God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?” “Fear not, neither be discouraged” (Deuteronomy1:21). As you succeed, He succeeds, which is His work and His glory. (See Moses 1:39.)


(c) Marilynne Todd Linford, 2018