Sacrament Talk on Talents

 July 23, 2025

Sacrament Talk on Talents

Intro: 

Good morning brothers and sisters. For those who don’t know me, I am Elder Hall. I am from Draper Utah - a town south of Salt Lake City. I am the youngest in my family with an older brother and sister. I transferred into your area two weeks ago and have enjoyed getting to know you all. 

I want to begin by bearing my testimony. 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The Book of Mormon is true. 

Joseph Smith is a true prophet and we have a prophet on the earth today who speaks with God daily. 

I know God loves us and is aware of us. 

I know Jesus Christ is my Redeemer and that HE LIVES! . 

I love being a missionary and sharing these truths. 

It has changed my life for the better. 

I’m humbled to speak to you today and hope that the thoughts and personal experiences I share will in some small way touch your hearts.  

Through out the scriptures, Jesus did much of his teaching by the use of parables. I’d like to share two with you. 

1.The Parables

The first one is found in Matthew chapter 13. It is the parable of the sower. In verse 3 we read:

Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Some fell upon the stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked  them:

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

The sower had a choice to make. He had to choose whether to first prepare the soil for the seed or to take a chance and sow the seed without preparing the ground. He chose to be careless- sowing without preparing the soil. 

Some seeds fell by the wayside and were eaten by the birds. Some fell among thorns and were choked out. He learned that sowing where birds ate and where thorns choked was not profitable. But Had he prepared the soil first, he could possibly have reaped one hundredfold. 

This parable teaches us one of life’s great lessons. That lesson is: “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

The second parable I want to share is found in Mathew chapter 25. It is the parable of the talents. 

The Savior told of a man who was about to leave on a long trip. 

He called his servants together and gave them his goods. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. To each man he gave according to his ability.

While the master was away, the one that received five talents put them to use and made five more talents. 

The one that received two talents put them to use and made two more. 

But the one that received the one talent hid it in the ground.

After a period of time, the master returned and asked for an accounting. Unto the servants that had doubled their talents the master said in verse 23:

“Well done, 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”.

He did not share the same sentiments with the one who buried his talent. 

From this parable we learn about the expectations of our Savior. Regardless of the amount of talents ALL are expected to multiply the talents they are given. 

As we compare these two parables, both were given gifts from God. These gifts had the potential to grow and multiply and bless the lives of not only the men receiving them but the people around them. Both were given a CHOICE. What they did with these gifts was up to them. 

2.Kenzie

One of my favorite quotes from President Russell M Nelson was given in the April 2020 General Conference when he said; “the Lord loves effort because effort brings rewards.”  We have an obligations to develop and use the gifts and talents we have been blessed with. If we CHOOSE to put in the effort, through faith and study, we will see rewards. 

When my older sister, Kenzie, was 12 years old, she asked for a guitar for Christmas. Over the next five years she developed this talent. She took guitar lessons and practiced all. the. time. She spent hours in our basement playing her guitar and belting out the top hits on the radio.

Her efforts paid off when in 2014, at 16 years old, she auditioned for the popular realty TV show American Idol. To my family’s surprise she made it through the producer round and then the executive producer round. She got three YESES from the judges and sailed past the dreaded Hollywood Week. Out of the 80,000 people who auditioned my sister made it to the Top 15. 

Because of this she was given many opportunities to share her talents-  opening for well known musical artist like Reba McIntyre, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, even Don McLean. Although it was a busy and stressful time in her life, she was living her dream. She had worked hard but also knew this was a God given talent and she knew she needed to share it. She felt extremely blessed. 

After her time on American Idol, Jason Wright, the author of the popular book Christmas Jars, interviewed her and asked her about her experience being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a national stage. She shared with him that music was a part of her life just as her religion is, but that her goal on the show was to try keep them separate. I’m pretty sure the Lord heard that and thought “game on!”.

Kenzie had many opportunities to share her faith. For example, while many contestants depended on coffee to keep them awake and motivated through the long hours - as well as tea to keep their voices performance ready, Kenzie always politely declined. This shocked not only the contestants but the producers and music coaches. Of course they inquired as to why she never took the drinks. It gave her a chance to share a little bit about the word of wisdom and her beliefs. 

She also wore a small gold CTR ring that my mom gave her. During an interview Ryan Seacrest noticed this piece of jewelry and asked about it. With a big camera on her face she once again was giving an opportunity to share her faith and why she chooses to wear this little reminder to choose the right. 

In this interview with Jason Wright, she said, “I don’t carry my faith like a neon sign, it’s more a quiet commitment. I made a decision long before American Idol to not let outside influences change me or determine my choices. I learned a lot about myself and this experience strengthened my testimony. I learned Heavenly Father never gets tired of our prayers. He really is there and He will always be there.”

Robert D. Hales said “As we follow the Savior, He blesses us with gifts, talents, and the strength to do His will, allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we've never before thought possible."

Although I was only eight years old when my sister was on the show, I remember being so proud of her for doing something so scary and out of her comfort zone. As I have gotten older, I can see how this experience blessed her life and introduced our beliefs to people who have never heard of our faith. 

3.Talents 

Kenzie’s experience is unique in that it was very public. Not everyone will share their talents on a national TV show. But it is not unique in that we have all been asked to recognize and develop our gifts from God. And we are asked not to bury or hide them but to share them. 

Sometimes we think Talents are only what we see  on a stage or on an athletic field or court. We think a talent has to include an instrument or what we paint on a canvas. But often talents aren’t seen with our eyes or heard with our ears.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf said “You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before- colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn't have to be perfect. Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you-whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.”

Sometimes gifts from God can be found in the one who sees the good in others and freely offers compliments. It”s the unwavering faith in the one faced with many trial. It’s in those that are tech savvy and the handy man that can fix machines. It’s in the teacher that calms her nervous students. The loyal minister who listens to promptings and doesn’t hesitate to act. The greeter who remembers everyone’s name or the neighbor who has perfected the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

We have all been blessed with different skills and abilities. They are all gifts from a God who knows and loves us. 

In Doctrine and Covenants 82:18 the Lord has told us that he has given us many things, “For the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talents, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold”. 

Of course, we all have our free agency to do with them as we please. But I pray we will take time to recognize what God has given us and instead of taking a chance and tossing them by the wayside like the sower did, I hope we will put for effort to develop our talents and to share them with the people around us. 

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion I’d like to share one more personal story with you. 

Just over two years ago on July 26th 2023 I surprised my parents with my mission papers. In the weeks and months following I felt every emotion on the planet. I was excited and nervous! I was anxious to get started but was also filled with self doubt. Did I know enough about my faith to go and share it? Was my testimony strong enough to be a missionary? Was I ready physically mentally and spiritually to leave the comforts of home, move to an unknown area, live with a stranger and share a message that was still new to me?  I was a confident kid in school and on the football field but that wasn’t going to help me much as a missionary. I wondered if I had anything special to offer. 

The night I got set apart I was sitting in my front room surrounded by my friends and family. The stake president asked if anyone had any advice they would like to share with me. 

I don’t remember a lot of what was said . Thankfully my mom recorded the conversation and printed it for me.  As I have been thinking and preparing this talk want to share something my bishop said to me. 

He said; “Put your heart into the work but most importantly Keep your personality. Be who you are. While the mission will help you change and grow and learn- remember to be who you are. There is a reason you are called to the place you’re serving in and part of it is because of the person you are. You might be the only person that can connect with certain people so don’t lose sight of that. Allow the Spirit to help you grow into the next version of Hayden Hall. The Lord needs you. Remember you are doing the Lord’s work. It won’t always be easy but when you are doing the Lord’s work, great things will come.”

Our talents, abilities, even our personality, are given to us for eternal purposes, and God intends us to step out and use those unique gifts as a light in a dark world.

I know that the Lord needs me and I know that the Lord  needs you. He needs us all individually and collectively to share our talents and gifts to build his kingdom here on earth. I hope that these last two years I have been true to myself and by doing so I have changed someone’s life for the better. I hope through my efforts, my studies, and my faith I have shared what God has given me. And when my mission is done he will say what he said in Matthew 25:23

Well done, good and faithful servant. 

I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ amen.