This talk shares principles that solidified what I learned from Bishop Dean M. Davies' about building on a sure foundation, which was basically that I should identify and define myself primarily as a child of God. To quote President Uchtdorf:
One title that defines all of us in the most fundamental way is [child] of Heavenly Father. No matter what else we are or do in life, we must never forget that we are God’s literal spirit children. We were His children before we came to this world, and we will be His children forevermore. This basic truth should change the way we look at ourselves, our brothers and sisters, and life itself.
I suppose I'm still working on letting this truth change my life. It's kind of easy to forget Eternal things in the midst of day-to-day life. It's easy to forget what's really important in the long run. I, like many people my age (I assume), find myself easily distracted by everything that's going on in life. Sometimes I need to remind myself of the basics. And I mean the really, really basic basics. I am a child of God.
Unfortunately, none of us quite lives up to everything that this title implies, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
It can be discouraging at times to know what it means to be a son of God and yet come up short. The adversary likes to take advantage of these feelings. Satan would rather that you define yourself by your sins instead of your divine potential. Brethren, don’t listen to him.
I've fallen into that trap before. Sometimes I think that what I've done disqualifies me from my divine potential. After all, God can't look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, right? How can I be welcomed into heaven and become like He is after I've done X, Y, and Z? I'm so far from perfect and I consistently fail to make any progress. How can I ever reach that goal?
Unfortunately, this discouragement in exactly what Satan wants. By focussing on my imperfection rather than my potential, I'm denying myself the opportunity to be forgiven and improve. I've heard repeatedly that there's nothing I can do in this life, no problem I can cause for myself, that's beyond the Savior's ability to solve. No finite amount of sin, however monumental it may seem and, in fact be, can stand up to His infinite Atonement. I cannot fall farther than His arm can reach to lift me back up.
(Please note that this is NOT a license to commit sin and repent afterward. It doesn't work like that. This is, however, an invitation to forsake any feelings of hopelessness and lack of self-worth.)
Then President Uchtdorf said something that reminded me a lot of something I said.
I do not believe in a God who would set up rules and commandments only to wait for us to fail so He could punish us. [Or a Park Ranger who would build a fence only to wait for us to cross it so he could punish us by pushing us off a cliff.] I believe in a Heavenly Father who is loving and caring and who rejoices in our every effort to stand tall and walk toward Him. Even when we stumble, He urges us not to be discouraged—never to give up or flee our allotted field of service—but to take courage, find our faith, and keep trying.
So often, I forget how much or Heavenly Father loves us, how patient He is with us, how much He wants us to keep striving to keep His commandments no matter how hopeless it feels to us. He knows we can make it if we give it enough time, and He knows how much time we have, on Earth and in the eternities. He knows how strong and good we are, even if we can never see the strength and goodness in ourselves. All we often see in ourselves is our weakness and our past failings. He sees the BIG picture, our entire identities, the good and the bad. And He wants us to focus on the good. He wants us to be optimists, to remember that we are His children and He loves us, and nothing will ever change that.
These truths are glorious to think about. Then how are they so easy to forget?
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