Talents and Gifts of the Spirit

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul lists what we have come to call the Gifts of the Spirit. These gifts, along with even more, are listed in the Book of Mormon and in the Doctrine and Covenants as well. We know that anyone who receives the Gift of the Holy Ghost is entitled to at least one Gift of the Spirit, but that members of the church don't have a monopoly on spiritual gifts. Many people who are not Mormons have gifts from God that they use to bless the lives of others. One example that comes readily to mind is Mother Theresa, who seems to have been blessed with the gift of charity.

But how can we tell the difference between a Gift of the Spirit and just a innate talent? For example, a friend of mine was baptized into the church when he was nineteen. After his baptism, people would compliment him on something that he was doing and say that it must be a spiritual gift. Only, he had been pretty good at doing that given thing before his baptism too. So is it a spiritual gift or just a talent?

I'm not sure I can give a definitive answer to this question, but I have come to some insights after thinking about it for a while. First, we know that all good things come from God. That's a given. Second, it is my opinion that the more good you are capable of doing in the world, the more evil you are capable of doing too. Or in other words, the more talents you have, the more influence you can have on the world. You determine whether that influence is for good or evil.

A classic example of this is Adolf Hitler. From what I gather, he was a great public speaker. People who heard him talk were captivated not only by what he had to say, but how he said it. He chose to use that talent to achieve horrific ends, but what if he had decided to do something good with that talent?

I'm sure that I can say that Hitler's public speaking abilities came from God, but I do give credit to God for my talents. I consider the things I am good at as spiritual gifts, even if I would have had these talents if I had never heard of the church. So, I find it very difficult to distinguish between an innate ability, or a talent, and a spiritual gift. I'm starting to think that they are one and the same. The real difference is in how we use them.