Larry Howell, a professor in Mechanical Engineering at BYU, recently spoke at a graduate student symposium on the topic of Faith & Scholarship. In light of his renown and success as an academic, I was struck by something he said (and I paraphrase): "At the final judgment, God will not be interested in how many degrees we earned or how many publications we had, but He will ask what we've done with our gifts."
"To every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God," we read in Doctrine and Covenants 46:11. It seems apparent that we each have different strengths and talents. Discovering our gifts requires more than simply identifying what we're gifted at (though it may be a good place to start); gifts require passion.
There are certainly some gifts that we might not be particularly passionate about, but which we should seek for, hence the admonition to "seek ye earnestly the best gifts" (Doctrine and Covenants 46:8). Some of these might include parenthood, charity, and faith. Some gifts are essential to developing the character of Christ.
But just as each of my children have unique gifts and talents, each of us, as literal children of heavenly parents, are blessed with unique gifts and talents, passions for different areas of human endeavor that would drive us not only to make the world in that sphere a better place, but also a predisposition towards seeking and receiving inspiration in those areas.
It's common, in my opinion, for people to go through life without ever discovering or magnifying the gifts they've been given. But those who do become a blessing to any and all with whom they come in contact.
I can readily picture God at the final judgment taking a very personal moment to show us what has been so unique about us, even since the premortal world and then asking us how we used those talents to bless others.
In picturing that moment, I suspect He will also ask us about one particularly important gift that we are to receive in mortality, which is the Gift of the Holy Ghost. A gift to guide and direct us to find other gifts. "How did you use that gift?" He will most assuredly ask. That's probably not a question I think about enough.
