“Lesson 194—Developing Skills and Abilities: Progressing with the Lord’s Help,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)
“Developing Skills and Abilities,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Lesson 194: Preparing for Future Education and Employment
Developing Skills and Abilities
Progressing with the Lord’s Help
As we do our part, the Savior can help us develop skills and abilities that will help us prepare for future responsibilities and achieve our potential as children of God. This lesson can help students make a plan to develop skills and abilities that will prepare them for future employment and other roles.
Possible Learning Activities
This lesson will be most effective after teaching the lesson titled “Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities.” If you were unable to teach that lesson, consider using some of the activities from it as part of this lesson.
Focus on where you are heading
Consider beginning the lesson by displaying the following images or drawing similar ones on the board. You could point to the first image when describing the first young woman in the scenario below, then point to the second image when describing the second teen.
Imagine you knew two young people who feel very different in their skills and abilities. The first has many noticeable talents, while the second sometimes feels like he or she does not have the talents needed to be successful in life.
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What advice or warnings would you give to these people regarding their talents, skills, or abilities? Why?
Display the following image and invite students to share what they see being depicted. They could share spiritual lessons they can learn from the chart in the image.
Before sharing the statement by Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Seventy, it may be helpful to explain that the slope of a line refers to its upward or downward progression.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert of the Seventy taught about the importance of focusing on where you are heading in life rather than where you begin:
Becoming More in Christ: The Parable of the Slope
Our future will be determined far less by our starting point and much more by our slope. Jesus Christ sees divine potential no matter where we start. … Christ considers what we do with what we are given. While the world focuses on our intercept, God focuses on our slope. In the Lord’s calculus, He will do everything He can to help us turn our slopes toward heaven. (Clark G. Gilbert, “Becoming More in Christ: The Parable of the Slope,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 20)
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What did you learn about Jesus Christ from Elder Gilbert’s words?
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What did you find in this statement that could offer you hope and encouragement when it comes to developing talents, skills, or abilities?
Explain that this lesson will focus on developing skills and abilities that can help us prepare for future employment or other roles we will have.
Invite students to think of skills or abilities they want to develop to be better prepared for their future roles or employment opportunities. They could list these in their journals. It would be helpful to have students refer to notes they may have made during the lesson titled “Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities.”
Encourage students as they study today to pay attention to inspiration from the Holy Ghost that can help them better understand how they can develop their talents, skills, or abilities with the Lord’s help.
Developing skills and abilities
Before inviting students to participate in the following study activity, consider inviting them to brainstorm ways the Lord can help them develop skills and abilities.
Then place the students in small groups so they can discover truths from the scriptures. You could give each group a different verse and ask them to read, discuss, and write a truth or principle on the board based on the assigned scripture.
Read the following verses and look for truths. Consider how these truths can help you in your efforts to develop skills and abilities.
Doctrine and Covenants 4:7; 46:8–9; 75:3, 29; 1 Nephi 7:12
Invite the students to share truths they discovered. They might share truths similar to the following:
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If we ask for help from God, He will answer our prayers (see Doctrine and Covenants 4:7).
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The Lord commands us to seek spiritual gifts so we and others can benefit from them (see Doctrine and Covenants 46:8–9).
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The Lord commands us to avoid being idle and to labor diligently (see Doctrine and Covenants 75:3, 29).
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The Lord can do all things for us according to His will, if we exercise our faith in Him (see 1 Nephi 7:12).
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How do you think these truths relate to developing talents, skills, or abilities?
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When have you or people you know been able to develop skills or abilities by applying one or more of these truths?
After students respond to the previous question, consider sharing “Faith and the Goal” (4:40), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Invite students to look for examples of the truths they identified.
Faith and the Goal
Developing and using your talents
This part of the lesson is designed to offer students a chance to work on a personal plan to develop a talent, skill, or ability they have identified that can help them prepare for future roles or employment opportunities. Encourage students to rely on the Spirit as they are looking for ways to develop and learn. You might consider reminding students that some talents come naturally, while others require individual work and effort.
Before giving students time to work on their plan, consider showing “Small and Simple” (3:31), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. You could use this video to help students see examples of simple steps they can follow to accomplish their goals.
Small and Simple
Distribute the handout “Developing Skills and Abilities.” Before giving students time to work on this, consider completing one example together as a class. Have class members think of a skill or ability to focus on, and then invite them to brainstorm ways they could complete each of the steps to develop that skill or ability.
When students work on the plan on their own, it may be helpful to remind them of the skill or ability that they determined they wanted to develop in the lesson titled “Discovering Your Strengths and Abilities.”
Developing Skills and Abilities
Use the following steps to help you make a plan for developing skills and abilities that will prepare you for future roles and employment opportunities:
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List a skill or ability you would like to develop to help you prepare for future employment or other roles you will have.
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How will this skill or ability help you to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
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Set a specific goal to help you develop this skill or ability. List two or three specific steps or actions you will take to achieve this goal.
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What habit or habits will you change to meet your goal? Start small. List one or two habits you can change or build every day. They don’t have to be big.
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How will you seek God’s help with your plan? You could find a scripture that describes ways you can do this. Examples include Proverbs 3:5–6; 2 Nephi 32:3; Ether 12:27; and Doctrine and Covenants 4:7.
Invite willing students to share parts of their plans with each other, either in pairs or in small groups. Divide the students into pairs and give them a chance to share feedback. You could display prompts such as the following to help direct the type of feedback students could offer:
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One thing I like about your plan is …
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Something that has helped me accomplish my goals is …
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Another idea you might try to help you succeed is …
Encourage the students to act on the plans they have set for themselves. Testify of the Lord’s ability and willingness to help them as they strive to develop their skills and abilities in preparation for the future.