President Nelson and Talents

As I was reading the biography of President Nelson by Spencer J. Condie yesterday, I was blown away at the magnitude of the man.  The way that he managed to balance life as a father of 10, a world-renowned surgeon, and a busy church leader (a stake president, then the general president of the Sunday School, and then a regional representative) is unbelievable.  For example, in the year 1981 “he had performed 285 open-heart operations with only five deaths—an operative mortality rate of 1.7 percent.  He consecutively performed the last 95 operations without a fatality.”  If you remove Sundays, that’s almost one open-heart operation a day that year!  This was at the same time that he was a regional representative over stakes at Brigham Young University and was also traveling around the world to teach surgeons of other countries.  And yet, despite this incredible workload, Brother Condie wrote, “Notwithstanding ever increasing opportunities within his professional career, combined with the time demands of his calling as a regional representative, Elder Nelson always made time for his family.”  When asked about her husband’s busy schedule and how she copes with it, Dantzel said simply, “When he’s home, he’s home.”  How did he ever have time to be home?! 

               What impressed me even more was the way he developed other talents as is shown in the early years of his ministry as an apostle.  He was asked to provide the organ accompaniment for the hymns when the Twelve gathered in the Temple soon after his call.  How did he know how to play the organ?  He related that many years before this, “I was impressed to modify my routine by getting up an hour earlier in the morning to study the scriptures searchingly and dutifully, and also to teach myself how to play the organ, studying the hymns of Zion and the masterworks of Bach and others.”  He had ten children, was performing heart operations nearly daily, serving in busy church callings, and yet he found time to teach himself the organ so he’d be prepared one day to play for the Twelve!  He used this talent in his second year as an apostle when he was on a trip in Europe and toured the Austria Vienna Mission.  He played for the Saints there Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D on the organ—and then bore testimony to them in their native German.  This was, of course, after he had already visited the French and spoken to them in French, and before he would go to Portugal and also speak to them as well in Portuguese.  Later that year he visited Greece and bore his concluding testimony in Greek because he had been tutored in the language during weeks prior to his visit.  Elder L. Tom Perry told of a time when Elder Nelson accompanied him to visit a stake president, and one of his daughters was practicing the harp.  After observing her play it, “Elder Nelson asked if he could take a turn on the harp.  To the amazement of all, he sat down and played ‘I Am a Child of God’ with the alacrity of a veteran harpist.”  Where did Elder Nelson get all his gifts?!  Where did he find the time to develop so many talents?  Elder Ballard summarized well: “When Russell Nelson sets his mind on something, there is nothing he cannot do.”      

               Reading about these incredible accomplishments of President Nelson causes two general feelings for me.  One is a desire to emulate him, to strive harder for self-mastery, to develop my talents better, to set greater goals and do more good like he has done.  On the other hand, it also can be discouraging to read of such super human accomplishments and incredible service since I know there’s no way I could accomplish even a fraction of what he’s done in his life.  That’s why I take comfort in the parable of the talents.  To one servant the lord “gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.  Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.”  When the lord came back to check on these servants he said the exact same thing to the one who had gained two talents as he did to the servant who gained five talents: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:15-23).  The lord was not as concerned with the number of individual talents given or gained but rather how well they were increased.  Going from two to four was just as good as going from five to ten.  President Nelson is a 100-talent kind of man, and he’s multiplied those tenfold; I may be a two-talent kind of guy in comparison, but the Lord doesn’t expect me to do what President Nelson has done in quantity.  But He does expect each of us to seek to magnify, multiply, and increase the talents we do have.  He cares more about the effort we make to develop our talents in His service than total increase we give.  As He said to Oliver Granger: “His sacrifice shall be more sacred unto me than his increase, saith the Lord” (D&C 117:13).  Ultimately all of us, even President Nelson, are nothing in comparison with the Lord and His greatness.  But He has given each of us divine potential that we are to develop in this life.  We need not compare ourselves with each other, but President Nelson’s example of following the Savior can inspire each of us to sacrifice more and develop our talents better as we seek to serve the Lord in our little part of the vineyard.