Family Talent Time

Like many families, we rotate our assignments for family home evening. However, in addition to assigning someone to be responsible for the lesson, treats, and so on, we also assign one family member to share a talent as part of the evening’s events. It can be something this person has recently learned, created, or accomplished, or something he or she does well. For instance, we have been entertained by finger plays, musical performances, karate techniques, and gymnastics tricks. We have admired crayon art, original poetry and stories, and building block creations. We have been amazed by juggling acts and magic tricks, and we have learned foreign words and dance steps. My husband and I have shared with the children our achievements from our youth as well as abilities we have been developing as adults.

We feel the talent part of our family home evenings benefits us in several ways. First, it encourages us to work to develop our talents, since we need to be ready to share something every couple of months. It also reminds us that there is unlimited variety in the talents people have, and it teaches us to appreciate those talents in ourselves and others. It helps us practice being good audience members as well as confident presenters, and it helps build each family member’s sense of self-worth.

As we have learned to appreciate each other’s talents, we have grown closer as a family. There have even been special times when we have talked about the gifts mentioned in our patriarchal blessings, recognizing that “every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God” (D&C 46:11) and that “every good gift cometh of Christ” (Moro. 10:18). Our family has many fond memories of sharing our talents with one another, and we look forward to developing and sharing many more.—Lisa Greene, Antelope First Ward, Sacramento California Antelope Stake

Illustrated by Beth M. Whittaker