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Lesson 193—Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities: Prepare for Career and Other Future Roles

“Lesson 193—Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities: Prepare for Career and Other Future Roles,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)

“Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual

Lesson 193: Preparing for Future Education and Employment

Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities

Prepare for Career and Other Future Roles

youth working on a project

As youth prepare for future responsibilities and employment opportunities, it can be helpful for them to identify strengths and abilities they lack or need to develop. Our Father in Heaven can guide them to discover their strengths and weaknesses as they seek His help. This lesson will help students prepare for future responsibilities and employment opportunities by recognizing current strengths and abilities they need to develop.

Possible Learning Activities

Note: A future lesson titled “Developing Skills and Abilities” will focus on helping students develop some of the skills and abilities they identify in this lesson. If your teaching schedule necessitates combining lessons, it could be effective to teach these two lessons together.

Strengths and abilities needed to succeed

Consider writing on the board different roles students may have in the future, such as the following.

  • Student

  • Apprentice

  • Parent

  • Spouse

  • Worker

Rather than including worker as one of the roles, you could be more specific by inviting a few students to share some future careers they might be interested in and writing those on the board.

Students could discuss the following question in small groups. Consider assigning each group one of the responsibilities to discuss, or you could have them discuss all the roles together.

  • What are some of the skills or abilities that could help someone be successful in these roles?

Invite each group to share what they discussed. You could invite groups to come to the board and write next to the appropriate role some of the skills or abilities they identified. If students need help, consider suggesting some of the skills listed in the handout later in the lesson.

After your discussion, share the following to help prepare students for the rest of the lesson:

Think about responsibilities or employment opportunities you are interested in pursuing in the future. As you study today, seek Heavenly Father’s guidance through the Holy Ghost to help you identify strengths and skills you already have that can prepare you for these responsibilities. Also try to identify skills and abilities you still need to develop that will help you be better prepared for the future.

Our potential through Jesus Christ

Explain that some people can feel discouraged when they are asked to think about their skills and abilities because they do not feel as talented or skilled as others. There are eternal truths taught in the scriptures that can help when we feel this way.

Study a few of the following passages, looking for eternal truths that could help us recognize our ability to achieve our potential through Jesus Christ.

1 Samuel 16:7; Philippians 4:13; Jacob 4:7; Alma 26:12; Doctrine and Covenants 18:10.

  • What truths did you find that could help someone who feels they lack skills or abilities to succeed in life?

Students may point out truths similar to the following: The Lord does not look upon the outward appearance, but upon the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7); We can do all things through Jesus Christ, who can strengthen us (see Philippians 4:13; Alma 26:12); The worth of our souls is great in the sight of God (see Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).

  • How can these truths help us when we feel discouraged about our abilities?

Discovering your strengths and abilities

Remind students that as children of God who are created in His image, each of us is blessed with different strengths and abilities. There may be students who have a difficult time recognizing the strengths and abilities God has blessed them with.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared some of the ways we can recognize the talents, strengths, and abilities our Heavenly Father has blessed us with:

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

The talents God has given us first become apparent in the interests we pursue. If you are wondering about your talents, make a list of the things you like to do. Include all the activities you enjoy from different dimensions of your life—spiritual, musical, dramatic, academic, athletic, and so on. Study and ponder your patriarchal blessing for insights and inspiration. Consult family members, trusted friends, teachers, and leaders; others often can see in us what we find difficult to see in ourselves. (Ronald A. Rasband, “Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Talents,” Ensign, Aug. 2003, 34)

  • How can knowing your current talents, strengths, or abilities help you as you think about future responsibilities or employment opportunities?

Give students time in class to discover strengths and abilities they have and need to develop to be better prepared for future responsibilities or employment opportunities. The following are some ideas of how you could help students do this. As they work on these activities, invite them to seek inspiration from Heavenly Father to be able to see themselves as He sees them.

  • Invite students to write down their current interests. Invite them to think about potential employment opportunities they could pursue that relate to those interests. Consider offering help by suggesting some possible employment opportunities that would match students’ interests.

  • Invite students who have received their patriarchal blessing to read it, looking for what it helps them understand about themselves.

  • Invite small groups of students to discuss strengths and abilities they have noticed in each other. You could also contact parents or priesthood leaders before class and ask them to write a note that describes some of the abilities they see in their student.

  • handout icon Distribute the handout titled “Skills and Abilities Self-Evaluation” and give students time to complete it. Explain that this evaluation contains a list of skills that employers are generally looking for in their employees.

Skills and Abilities Self-Evaluation

For each of the following statements, rate your level of confidence on a scale of 1 (not confident) to 5 (very confident).

  1. I can effectively communicate with others.

  2. I am self-motivated.

  3. I am a hard worker.

  4. I can think through difficult situations and find solutions to them.

  5. I am willing to learn and try new things.

  6. I am honest and trustworthy.

  7. I work well with others.

  8. People can depend on me to do an assigned task.

  9. I can organize and use my time effectively.

  10. I can arrive on time.

After students have had sufficient time to do the previous reflection activities, invite them to share some of their insights by asking questions such as the following.

  • What insights did you gain about yourself?

  • How can what you have learned help you better prepare for the future?

To help students summarize and remember what they have learned about themselves today, consider displaying the following prompts and inviting students to record their answers in their journals:

  • One strength or ability I have that can help me in responsibilities I will have in the future is …

  • One skill or ability I want to develop to help me be better prepared for future responsibilities is …

Explain that in a coming lesson (“Developing Skills and Abilities”) students will be given opportunities to think about how they can develop the skills and abilities they have identified in the second prompt. You could invite them to begin thinking of ways they could develop these skills or abilities now. Testify of the Lord’s ability and willingness to help them grow and progress.