Purpose
Develop talents and build relationships with others through sharing your talents.
Activity Suggestion
Hold a talent show. Ask participants to sign up ahead of time to share a talent. Remind participants that there are many different kinds of talents—everyone has something to contribute. For example, participants could perform talents in the following ways:
- Read a poem or story
- Make a treat
- Display a craft, artwork, or photograph
- Sing a musical number or play a musical instrument
- Do a magic trick
- Perform a dance
- Do a group skit
- Create a video
- Perform martial arts
- Tell some jokes
If participants have talents that might be difficult to demonstrate in a talent show (such as bike repair or archery), encourage them to talk about their talents and share pictures or videos, if possible.
To make sure everyone gets a chance to present their talent during the activity, you may want to put a time limit on individual performances.
Be sure to include everyone who wants to participate. If someone in the group wants to participate but isn’t sure what they can do, work with them ahead of the activity to identify a talent and share it.
Be sensitive to everyone’s feelings. While all the youth can be encouraged to contribute, no one should be forced into appearing in the talent show if they don’t want to, and no one should feel shamed for not performing.
Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute.
Adaptation Ideas
- After the talent show, have the youth write thank-you notes to those who participated. Encourage them to be specific in the notes about what they appreciated about each person’s talent.
- Invite the youth to teach others about their talents. For example, a person who knows a foreign language could teach some basic vocabulary or the alphabet. A person who knows yoga could teach basic skills.
- Arrange to perform the talent show at a retirement home or assisted-living center.
- If other branches or wards are close enough, invite them to participate in the talent show. If feasible, you could hold a stake talent show. Have participants from all branches or wards counsel together to plan and carry out the show.
Discussion
Encourage youth to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:
- Why is it important to recognize and develop the talents the Lord has given us? Why is it important to share them?
- What are some examples of spiritual gifts or talents you have seen people work hard to develop? How has that talent been a blessing for them and others?
- When have you been blessed by sharing your talents with others?
- How can we learn to appreciate the talents of others, even if our talents are different from theirs?
Related Resources
- “How does Heavenly Father want me to use my spiritual gifts?” (Come, Follow Me—For Aaronic Priesthood; Come, Follow Me—For Young Women)
- “The Parable of the Talents” (video), biblevideos.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
- “Developing Our Talents,” Gospel Principles (2009), 197–99