Discover Your Spiritual Gifts—They Will Change Your Life
Learning about my spiritual gifts changed the trajectory of my life, and it can change yours too.
I was going to be a marine biologist.
Or, at least, that’s what I started studying my freshman year of university. But now I’m a social media specialist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So how did I get here?
I discovered and developed my spiritual gifts.
In high school, I didn’t think I had any gifts. I had received my patriarchal blessing, which listed a few spiritual gifts, but I wasn’t sure if I was good at any of the things it described.
As an introvert, I didn’t feel like I was a very good communicator. But as I taught people during my mission, I realized the impact my words could have. Once I understood that I might have a gift for speech and communication, I decided to major in communication (not that communicating with whales and sharks wouldn’t have been fun), ended up meeting my future husband, and transferred schools, which gave me the opportunity to intern for the Church magazines.
We have all been given spiritual gifts by Heavenly Father. As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently reminded us:
“Your origin story is divine, and so is your destiny. You left heaven to come here, but heaven has never left you!
“You are anything but ordinary.
Sometimes we just have to figure out what those gifts are.
How Do I Recognize My Spiritual Gifts?
In a world filled with a myriad of talents, it can be easy to get lost in comparison or to feel like we don’t have much to offer.
Elder Uchtdorf taught otherwise. He gave an amazing list that can give you an idea of what some of your spiritual gifts might be or ones that you would like to develop—especially those gifts that might not always be loud or obvious, like:
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Noticing people who are overlooked.
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Finding reasons to be joyful.
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Giving sincere compliments.
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Enduring.
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Helping others know that they belong.
And he said: “You might not see these gifts displayed at the ward talent show. But I hope you can see how precious they are to the Lord’s work and how you might have touched, blessed, or even saved one of God’s children by your gifts.”
Study spiritual gifts. Pray for them. Ask Heavenly Father and loved ones to help you recognize the gifts you have within you. You might not be aware of all your gifts, but others who know your heart definitely are.
How Do I Magnify My Spiritual Gifts?
It took me a while to understand the impact and influence that discovering and developing my gifts could have on the world. Once I did, my view of the future changed, and I saw so many more opportunities to bless those around me and share the love of Jesus Christ.
Elder Uchtdorf added: “God gives us gifts—of knowledge, of ability, of opportunity—and He wants us to use and amplify them so they can bless us and bless His other children. That doesn’t happen if we put those gifts high on a shelf like a trophy that we admire from time to time. Our gifts magnify and multiply only when we put them to use.”
The more I have prioritized Jesus Christ, the more I have been able to understand the other gifts listed in my patriarchal blessing and develop others that I never knew I could.
I’m still developing my gifts and learning to magnify them, but I’ve realized that we weren’t born to hide—we were born to shine our light and share our gifts with the world. As you work to discover, magnify, and multiply your gifts, you’ll find more joy and meaning in whatever opportunities Heavenly Father leads you to.