D&C 60: The Hidden Talent and the Fear of Man
I've got a combination square in my shop that I barely touched for about two years. Good tool. Starrett, bought used at a tool swap, dialed in perfectly. But I kept reaching for the cheap plastic one instead. The Starrett lived in a drawer. Not because it was broken. Because I was worried I'd drop it, or lose the little brass adjustment screw, or use it on something that was too rough for it.
I knew exactly what I was doing. I was keeping it safe by not using it.
That came back to me reading Doctrine and Covenants 60. The Lord is talking to elders who have been laboring in Missouri, and He isn't happy with all of them. Some of them did what I did with that Starrett. They had a gift and they kept it in the drawer.
What Is the Hidden Talent in D&C 60
The chapter opens with the Lord telling the elders that some of them haven't opened their mouths. They have hidden the talent they were given. It is a direct reference to the parable of the talents in Matthew, but the talent here isn't money. It's the testimony and authority they had been given.
But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.
— Doctrine and Covenants 60:2
The hidden talent is the gospel itself. The knowledge that God lives and Jesus Christ is the Savior and that this work is real. And the reason it stayed hidden was fear.
I've thought a lot about that combination square. Sitting in a drawer, a good tool does exactly nothing. It doesn't help me cut a straight line or teach my son what a good square feels like. It is just a thing I own that I'm afraid to use. A talent hidden because of the fear of man is the same thing. The person didn't lack ability. They just lacked courage.
How to Overcome Fear of Man in Sharing the Gospel
The Lord is direct about the consequence. He says that those who hide their talent will lose it. Wo unto such. There are not a lot of softeners in that verse.
But the practical instruction that follows is worth sitting with. After the rebuke, the Lord gives specific travel instructions. Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery are to go to Cincinnati and declare the word without wrath or doubting. The other elders go two by two, preaching among the congregations of the wicked.
There is something in the specificity that matters. The Lord doesn't just say go preach. He says go to this city, travel this way, do it this way. The antidote to abstract fear is concrete direction. If you are afraid to open your mouth, having a specific assignment can help. Someone to go with. A destination in mind. A reason to do the thing you are scared of.
I've seen this in my own life. It's easier to have a hard conversation when I know exactly what needs to be said and to whom. The fear shrinks when the path gets clearer.
What Is the Meaning of Shaking the Dust Off Your Feet in the D&C
The chapter also includes the instruction about shaking the dust off the feet. It appears in verse 15, with an addition I hadn't noticed before.
And inasmuch as they repent not, the Lord God hath commanded that I should not give them the blessing which they desire. But in secret, and in your meekness, shake off the dust of your feet.
In secret rather than in public, not as a dramatic gesture. This is a quiet release.
I have always read the shaking of the dust as a public declaration of closure. You shake your feet and move on. But the Lord adds a layer here, saying to do it in secret and in meekness. The release is between you and God, not a performance for the people who rejected you.
The article I wrote on D&C 58: Anxiously Engaged, Agency, and the Law of the Land covers the lead-up to this period. D&C 60 tightens the focus. The question isn't whether you are engaged at all but whether you are using what you have been given.
What Does Not in Haste Mean in D&C 60
There is a phrase in verse 14 that has stayed with me. The Lord tells the elders to travel not in haste among the congregations of the wicked.
Not in haste, not fast or rushed, not as if the assignment is something to get through so you can check the box and go home.
I think about this in terms of woodworking. If I rush a dovetail joint, I make mistakes. The pins get wider than the tails. The gaps show. I end up filling them with sawdust and glue, and I know they are there even if nobody else does. A rushed job is a dishonest job.
The Lord could have told the elders to hurry. It was a journey home, and any reasonable person would want to get back to their family. But He didn't say hurry. He said don't be in haste but to take the time and preach with care. Let the work be thorough.
Speed is not the same as haste. You can move quickly without being careless. But the warning here suggests that the elders' problem was not moving too slow. It was the wrong kind of fast. They wanted to be done while the Lord wanted them to be present.
D&C 60 Elders Return from Missouri
The historical context matters here. These elders had been in Missouri, which was Zion. They had seen the land. They had worked there. And now they were being sent back East, where they had come from, with instructions to preach along the way.
It would have been easy to treat the journey as a travel day. Pack the gear, board the boat, get to St. Louis, go home. But the Lord reframes the whole trip so the return is also the mission. The same journey that gets you home is the journey where you bear testimony.
The boat itself doesn't matter. The Lord says to find a craft to go to St. Louis, whether made or bought. He doesn't care which kind. He cares what they do when they get there and what they do along the way.
I have a friend who is a far better woodworker than I am, and he says the same thing about sandpaper. It doesn't matter what brand you buy. What matters is that you use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the talent refer to in Doctrine and Covenants 60?
The talent is the testimony and spiritual authority the elders had been given. It is a direct reference to the parable of the talents. The sin isn't a lack of ability but a refusal to use what God has given. The Lord rebukes them for hiding it out of fear.
Why did the Lord tell the elders to shake the dust off their feet in secret?
The instruction to do it in secret kept the act private and humble. The shaking of the dust is a formal release of responsibility for those who reject the message. Doing it in secret prevents it from becoming a public display or a way to provoke the people. The release is between the elder and God.
What is the difference between speedily and not in haste in Section 60?
The Lord wanted the elders to travel without delay but to preach without rushing. Speed in the journey was fine. Haste in the spiritual work was not. The difference is between moving quickly and being careless with the message.
Why does D&C 60 say the boat can be made or bought?
The Lord was teaching that the specific method of travel does not matter. What matters is that the elders get where they are going and preach along the way. It is a practical reminder that the details aren't the point. The work is the point.
I took that Starrett out of the drawer about six months ago. I used it to mark a line on a cherry console table I was building for my wife. It felt good in the hand with the brass screw turning smoothly. The line was straight.
A good tool doesn't do any good in a drawer. A testimony doesn't do any good in silence. The elders in D&C 60 weren't rebuked for failing to learn something new. They were rebuked for failing to use what they already had.
The talent was never the problem. The fear was.
-- D.