Talents come in all shapes and sizes and aren't limited to artistic gifts, regardless of what the world may say.

In the Women's Conference morning session, a panel of women spoke about using talents to serve others and the Lord instead of fulfilling selfish purposes.

The panel's moderator, Lolly Osguthorpe, introduced the topic with D&C 60:13, urging women to seek out their talents and use them for good. Joy Gardner, a singer and actress in "The Testaments," focused on how to uncover talents, while Cody Mazuran, who makes quilts, and Kathleen Sheffield, a BYU dance instructor, spoke about developing talents.

"Each one of us should realize how important our talents are in helping to serve the Lord," Osguthorpe said. "He needs you now to lay on the altar your gifts to help feed his sheep."

Osguthorpe listed off several characteristics that are talents in disguise including the gifts of asking, listening, avoiding contention and prayer. She emphasized that each woman is blessed with talents that need to be cultivated.

After singing "Arise and Shine Forth," Gardner listed three steps on how to develop emerging talents. First, pray for guidance and then experiment with new interests. Second, observe lives of others and cultivate admirable qualities. Third, look to ancestors and talents that may have been passed down. She also stressed the importance of education.

"Also refer to your patriarchal blessing and that will help you feel the Spirit," Gardner said.

Both Osguthorpe and Gardner focused on the parent's role in helping children find their talents. Osguthorpe's mother introduced her to music and dance, which in turn led Osguthorpe to teach her children to appreciate the arts.

"Parents play a key role in helping children discover and develop talents," Gardner said. "Guide them and then let them blossom on their own."

Once a talent emerges, Gardner stressed the importance of finding appropriate venues to focus on serving others.

"When using talents righteously, talents expand," Gardner said.

Sometimes fear keeps people from using their talents, Mazuran said. Failure and rejection become stumbling blocks for those whose talents are still growing. Sheffield countered that perspective by asking women to shift their view.

She told a story of how she asks her students to look at a $20 bill and tell her the first three words that pop in their heads. After listening to responses such as clothes, tuition and food, she asks them to think of the $20 bill from an eternal perspective. New words such as tithing, temples and welfare become the new focus.

"If we use our talents to impress others, that is a worldly perspective," Sheffield said. "In the process of developing talents we need to take an eternal perspective. Talents are wings that help us fly."



Copyright Brigham Young University 2 May 2003