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How does Heavenly Father want me to use my spiritual gifts?

How does Heavenly Father want me to use my spiritual gifts?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

Spiritual gifts are blessings or abilities that are given by the power of the Holy Ghost. As children of Heavenly Father, we all have spiritual gifts. God gives us these gifts so that we can serve others and help build His kingdom. He has commanded us to diligently seek out and develop our spiritual gifts.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What spiritual gifts do you have? How have they blessed you and others? How have the spiritual gifts of others blessed you? How have you identified your gifts?

Why is it important for the young women to know about their spiritual gifts? How will this help them prepare for their future roles, homes, and families?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior used the scriptures to teach and testify about His mission. How can you use the scriptures in your lesson to teach and testify of how Heavenly Father wants the young women to use their spiritual gifts?

Video: “Invite Us to Testify”

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

  • Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

  • Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

  • Write on the board the following three questions: Why are we given spiritual gifts? Who is given spiritual gifts? (see Doctrine and Covenants 46:9). What are some examples of spiritual gifts? Assign each of the young women one of the scriptures from this outline that helps answer these questions. Ask her to study the scripture and share the answers she finds. Which of these gifts do the young women have? Which would they like to have? (If any of the young women have received their patriarchal blessing, suggest that they read their blessing later to find out which spiritual gifts they have been given.) Invite the young women to share their thoughts on how spiritual gifts can help them now and in their future roles and responsibilities.

  • Invite the young women to read the lists of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8–10; Moroni 10:9–16; or Doctrine and Covenants 46:13–25 and find a gift they are interested in learning more about. Give them time to study the gift they chose, using resources such as “The Gifts of the Spirit” in Gospel Principles (pages 125–30), “Spiritual Gifts” in True to the Faith (pages 165–67), or the Topical Guide. Ask them to share what they find. How can these gifts be used to help build the kingdom of God?

  • Ask the young women to list the gifts of the Spirit they know of (if they need help, refer them to the scriptures suggested in this outline). Invite them to identify the spiritual gifts mentioned in Elder John C. Pingree Jr.’s talk “I Have a Work for Thee.” Ask the young women to share examples they have seen of people using one of these gifts to bless the lives of others. What other “less conspicuous gifts” can the young women think of? Share examples of spiritual gifts you have noticed in each of the young women in the class.

  • Invite each young woman to review the list of spiritual gifts on pages 165–66 of True to the Faith and select one or more that she would like to develop. Ask her to explain why she chose those gifts. How do we develop spiritual gifts? Invite the young women to search Doctrine and Covenants 46:7–12 and “We Can Develop Our Gifts” in Gospel Principles, pages 130–31. Ask them to share what they learn.

  • Show one of the videos in this outline and invite the young women to think of and share a talent or gift they see in each member of the class (make sure that good qualities of each young woman are shared). Invite the young women to read Matthew 25:14–30, or invite a class member to retell the parable of the talents. How does this parable relate to the gifts God has given us? How can we use our talents to serve others and fulfill our responsibilities? Invite the young women to write down their thoughts, and ask a few of them to share what they wrote with the class.

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

  • Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

  • Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young women apply what they learned in this lesson.