“The
growth in our own talents is the best measure of personal progress. …
Comparing blessings is almost certain to drive out joy. We cannot be
grateful and envious at the same time. If we truly want to have the
Spirit of the Lord and experience joy and happiness, we should rejoice
in our blessings and be grateful” (“Rejoice!” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 29, 30).
Elder
Sterling W. Sill of the Seventy:
“[The
third servant’s] loss was not because he did anything wrong, but rather
because his fear had prevented him [from] doing anything at all. Yet
this is the process by which most of our blessings are lost. …
“… When
one fails to use the muscles of his arm he loses his strength. … When
we don’t develop our abilities, we lose our abilities. When the people
in past ages have not honored the Priesthood, it has been taken from
them. … Neither spiritual, mental nor physical talents develop while
they are buried in the earth” (The Law of the Harvest [1963], 375).
