"I had expected to see a set of repulsive looking men, but was happily disappointed; many of them seemed to be intelligent, and some to be men of ability. They were dressed in the coarse but neat prison uniform, their hair smooth, and their boots brushed. As I looked upon the varied physiognomies before me, I thought, “To each of these men have been committed peculiar gifts, or talents, to be used for the glory of God and the benefit of the world; but they have despised these gifts of Heaven, abused and misapplied them.” As I looked upon young men from eighteen to twenty and thirty years of age, I thought of their unhappy mothers, and of the grief and remorse which was their bitter portion. Many of these mothers’ hearts had been broken by the ungodly course pursued by their children. LS 233.1"
"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey."
EGW explicitly references the idea of talents given to each person and their misuse, directly echoing the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:15. This is more than a thematic parallel; it's a direct application of the principle.