If we are all children of God, how are we unique?

As Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that all of us are children of God. Not just Mormons, but everyone who has lived, now lives, and will yet live on the earth. Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits. We are all brothers and sisters as spirits and Jesus Christ is our older brother. Just as we can grow and follow in our earthly parents' footsteps, we can grow and become like our Heavenly Father, a god. That makes each of us special. But if we are all children of God, all born to become gods, what makes each of us unique? How can we all be alike and all be different?

This past weekend, I hosted an all day writing retreat for my writing group. I had to clean my husband's office beforehand and I prepared and bought food. I looked forward all month to spending time with my fellow writers. We critiqued each others chapters, discussed strong writing, chatted about non-writing topics, ate, and read and wrote. You might think that sounds like an ideal way to spend a day. You might also think you'd rather have your toenails pulled out than write and discuss writing all day. With the support and critiques of these writers, I'm able to learn and improve my writing.

Sunday night I attended a performance called "Hymns of Thanksgiving." This is a community event where local talent comes together to sing in a choir and play in an orchestra. The pieces are chosen to support the theme of gratitude. I marveled at the bass player, the beautiful blend of the choir, the swift hands of the piano soloist. Those who participated in the choir and orchestra created in me a greater appreciation for music and the beauty around me.

Tonight my friend, Monelle Smith, sang six songs that she wrote at a local lounge. She played the acoustic and then the bass guitar. While she sang, she shined with her love for music. I have no desire to perform on a stage or sing into a microphone, but her soulful voice touched me and I marveled at her talent and the time and effort she's put into developing that talent. Other musicians performed before and after her.

There is a need within each of us to communicate and connect with each other. We do that in different ways. Some of us prefer writing, others singing or writing music. There isn't just one person who does each of those things. In that way, the people who express themselves in the same medium are similar. But as I saw with the many different artists at the lounge tonight, not one of those performers was exactly the same.

We each have gifts to contribute. Talents or abilities that help us communicate, connect, and bless lives. In the church we call those spiritual gifts. Marvin J. Ashton a deceased modern-day apostle said, "One of the great tragedies of life, it seems to me, is when a person classifies himself as someone who has no talents or gifts. When, in disgust or discouragement, we allow ourselves to reach depressive levels of despair because of our demeaning self-appraisal, it is a sad day for us and a sad day in the eyes of God. For us to conclude that we have no gifts when we judge ourselves by stature, intelligence, grade-point average, wealth, power, position, or external appearance is not only unfair but unreasonable" (October 1987, There Are Many Gifts"). He reminds us that God has given us each a gift, maybe more than one, and each of us must search for and develop those gifts with the help of our loving Heavenly Father.

When I'm in a big city or at a concert or a new place, I'm amazed at all the people that exist whom I've never met. I don't know how our Heavenly Father keeps track of or loves each of us. But I know He does. I know that I am like every one of you because I am a child of God. I also know that I am unique. I know that because when I pray, Heavenly Father speaks to my heart that he knows me, that I am His daughter, and that He wants me to succeed.