I gave this talk in the Saturday Evening Session of the May 2014 Provo West Stake Conference. The opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.



Elder Holland used the phrase the “Lord is hastening his work” in the news conference discussing the missionary age change and we are using this term now more generally to describe the increased focus and attention the church in putting on missionary work and family history with every member having a role to play. The first presidency has asked us to focus this session of Stake Conference on this topic. This term comes from section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants. I would like to read that versus and the verse following it:

“Behold, I will hasten my work in its time. And I give unto you…a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean” (D&C 88:73-74)

I believe that the Lord is saying that we as a people in the church have some personal preparation to be an effective vessel for the hastening of the work. It is to this preparation that I would like to direct my remarks to you this evening.
I love this picture from Greg Olsen that shows the Savior from higher ground helping a child out of the dangers of a river. We also must be in a position to help those who are in spiritual danger when we have a firm footing.

It is my understanding that part of the inspiration for this painting was this quote from President Harold B. Lee:

“You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on higher ground than he is. You must be sure, if you would rescue the man, that you yourself are setting the example of what you would have him be. You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own soul.”

President Lee has definitely outlined the best way for us to be effective in helping others. However, if you are like me you don’t always feel that you are consistently that example of Christ-like behavior, patience, and long-suffering. Don’t forget that higher ground may be just a few steps ahead and not at the top of the mountain. If we are at the top of the mountain, those we need to help may be out of reach. We have to be careful in our preparation that we don’t get overwhelmed.

In a devotional address given at BYU in 2011, BYU professor Brad Wilcox captured this tendency for us to become overwhelmed:
“Too many are giving up on the Church because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the past, but they continually feel like they are just not good enough.”

His example is extreme and if you are here you are clearly not “giving up”. Yet can you relate somewhat to feeling like you are falling short of the Lord’s, the church’s, your family’s, or your own expectations for yourself? I can definitely relate to these feelings.

In the same address, Brother Wilcox goes on to help refute this false concept of binary thinking about our relationship with God:

“There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time…When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, ‘continue in patience until [we] are perfected’ (D&C 67:13).”

I love Brother Wilcox’s analogy about piano practice—we don’t stop just because we aren’t a master pianist, we just keep on practicing. So how do we “continue in patience until we are perfected”? Let’s first try to understand the true doctrine of perfection as preached by the Savior and his prophets.

Jesus addresses this topic in the Sermon on the Mount and in his related message to the Nephites. Jesus issued two slightly different commands related to perfection to his disciples in Palestine and America. Let’s review them:

Matthew 5:48 says “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

3 Nephi 12:48 says “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.”

So are we expected to achieve perfection in this life? Based on the slight difference between these two scriptures, I believe the answer is “No”. The Book of Mormon version suggests that the Savior didn’t achieve total perfection despite having lived a perfect life until he received his glorified, immortal body. Unlike the Savior, we will definitely have more than just receiving an immortal body after this life to achieve perfection yet the point remains.

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught this principle with clarity:
“We are commanded to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. It will take us ages to accomplish this end, for there will be greater progress beyond the grave…[It] will not come all at once, but line upon line, and precept upon precept, …, and even then not as long as we live in this mortal life, for we will have to go even beyond the grave before we reach that perfection and shall be like God. But here we lay the foundation.”

So if we aren’t expected to be perfect in this life as President Smith has taught, what are we expected to do?

Again, this same President Smith has some further guidance for us from the same address:
“It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. Why? Because we are on that road, if we are keeping the commandments of the Lord, we are on that road to perfection, and that can only come through obedience and the desire in our hearts to overcome the world.”

This teaching from President Smith gives me hope and perspective. Yet there are still times in my life with its ups and downs where I have some better yesterdays than todays. Can you relate to this feeling of “two steps forward and one step back”? I love President Uchtdorf’s seminal talk from 2011 entitled “Forget Me Not” that helps us understand the Lord’s view of our halting progress toward perfection. He explains:
“God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect. Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not. And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.”

Wow, isn’t that helpful advice. Did any of you need that reminder about not comparing yourself to others? I think between the Savior, President Smith, and President Uchtdorf we have been given a good perspective on the doctrine of perfection and how to use it to stay motivated and not discouraged.

There is one other aspect of perfection that may become a stumbling block for some members if not checked—It is expecting perfection from the church and its leaders both local and general. Here again, President Uchtdorf gives us great perspective:
“And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes…I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us—His imperfect children—and imperfect people make mistakes. In the title page of the Book of Mormon we read, ‘And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.’ ”

So we learned that it is part of our mortal experience to have weaknesses. I want to speak to you a minute about Moroni’s Promise. You are probably thinking about Moroni 10:3-5 where Moroni teaches about how we can use the Holy Ghost to know the truth. I actually want to speak to you about what I call “Moroni’s Second Promise”.

It is found in Ether 12:27. If you have a set of regular scriptures, I want you to write “Moroni’s 2nd Promise” in the margin next to this verse. Moroni’s Second Promise teaches us why the Lord gives us weaknesses:
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

President Uchtdorf addresses this topic as well in his “Forget Me Not” talk
“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It’s wonderful that you have strengths. And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses…It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.”

We have a promise given to us from the Lord that our weaknesses can be made our strengths! You all have permission from President Uchtdorf to not punish yourself!

I created this diagram to help visualize the importance of our weaknesses in our eternal progression. If we didn’t have any significant weaknesses, our strengths could choke us spiritually with unchecked pride.

With our weaknesses weighing against our strengths, it creates some humility that can help check our pride and aid in our spiritual progression.

So what does in take to turn our weaknesses into strengths? How should we go about working on our weaknesses? I would like to suggest some keys that may be helpful to you in overcoming your weaknesses. To get started, you should concentrate your efforts on a specific problem or weakness rather than a scattered random attempt to overcome everything all at once.

President Harold B. Lee counseled:

“The most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you’re having the most difficulty keeping today…Today is the day for you to work on that until you’ve been able to conquer that weakness. Then you start on the next one that’s most difficult for you to keep.” (Church News, May 5, 1973, p. 3)

President Lee’s advice will keep us from becoming overwhelmed. Remember Mosiah 4:27: “Do not run faster than you have strength”. His comments suggest some steps to begin this process.

1. First identify and rank your weaknesses that require the most attention—for most of us that will be the easiest part. Remember, this list is very personal and should be kept private. It is a matter between you and the Lord.
2. Each morning review your list, particularly noting the problem you want to work on that day. Then pray to the Lord, asked him for power and promise him you will do all you can.
3. Next, that night report to the Lord on your success or failure. As you find yourself improving (and you will), pray for forgiveness and additional strength.
4. Recognize that there will be setbacks, failures, and challenges. Strive to avoid discouragement in these situations—This is a tool of Satan to thwart our progress. I take great comfort that Nephi despite his faith and good works struggled with his weaknesses at times. When I get discouraged about my progress, I love to reread the Psalm of Nephi as found in 2 Nephi 4.

As a reminder, the purpose of this life then is not for us to obtain complete perfection but to continue to progress toward perfection until Heavenly Father calls us home. We should not be discouraged with how much more we have to accomplish if we are continuing to improve day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, and year-by-year.

Gerald Lund captured this sentiment when he said:
“Somehow, some of us get it in our heads that if we are not making great, dramatic leaps forward spiritually, we are not progressing. Actually, for most of us, the challenge of living the gospel is that progress comes in almost imperceptible increments. It is very seldom that we can look back over one day and see great progress. Becoming like God takes years and years of striving, and trying again.”

Many of us will find as we take a look back on our lives through the years that we have grown and progressed in a way that we can’t see in the moment. We should set aside time to reflect on the strengths that have been achieved in our lives and the weaknesses overcome. One of my prior conference talks suggested using journaling as a way to reflect and remember.

I love this quote from educator John Dewey:

“We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.”

Based on Elder Lund’s and John Dewey’s thoughts, I want to propose a more detailed framework where you stay motivated and feel like you are progressing in turning your weaknesses into strengths. It involved four related activities: reflect, plan, act, and observe.

1. The first is reflection. I am not talking about looking in a mirror but having you give serious thought and consideration to your problem. Spend some time writing down what has worked and what hasn’t worked in what you are focusing on right now. Involve your Heavenly Father in your reflection by spending time in prayer on the matter.
2. Next based on your reflection, develop a plan. This is what you intend to do next. What new actions are you going to implement? Think about the how, why, and when of your plan. Look for guidance from the written word in the scriptures and from the modern day prophets to help guide your proposed actions.
3. After you develop your plan, then you of course need to act on your plan. As President Kimball would have said: “Do it!” This is what you actually will do to make progress on your goal. Don’t worry that you may not accomplish everything you put in your plan.
4. The next step is observe. Seek input from close family and friends and perhaps church leaders for their outside perspective on your progress. They may be able to give you some perspective in the moment that you are not able to see yourself.
5. Once you have completed this step, then you go back to reflect on your new changed practice and continue the process over and over. You may be focusing on perhaps the same problem through different cycles or moving on to a new problem when you feel ready.

You may feel like you are just going in circles like the above diagram suggests. In the short term you may be going in circles but remember the quote from Gerald Lund. I have a different diagram that I feel better represents the possibilities as you follow this process. With each repeat of the cycle, you are slowly and steadily improving. Persistence will pay off over time.

President Heber J. Grant often repeated a particular quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that applies to this approach to working on your weaknesses:
“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do so is increased.”

So not unlike our experience as a child, we start to feel like we are crawling in working to master a weakness, then we are able to walk, and finally after time and patience we are able to run.

Last month for spring break, I took my family to see Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah. I am ashamed to say having lived in Utah all my life other than my mission that I had never been there before. I reflected on the absolute beauty and majesty of that place and the amount of time it took the Colorado and Green Rivers to carve it out. I was struck that, as God’s children, we are like these beautiful carved canyons. The Lord is like the river. The dirt that is carried way is our sins and weaknesses. The result, after a very long time, is beauty and perfection for ourselves and those we have shared the journey with. I testify that the doctrine I have taught is true and the principles I have shared may help you in bringing yourself and others back to your Heavenly Father.