Do What You Can

Elder Gary E. Stevenson must have been terribly nervous about his call to the Quorum of the Twelve. He said that, immediately after accepting the call, he was overwhelmed by a wave of feelings of inadequacy. Admitting his weakness, he declared:

I stand before you as evidence of the words of the Lord recorded in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants: “That the fulness of [the] gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the [earth], and before kings and rulers.”

However, he received counsel that is as useful to us as it is to him:

As I agonized over my inadequacies this week, I received a distinct impression which both chastened and comforted me: to focus not on what I can’t do but rather on what I can do. I can testify of the plain and precious truths of the gospel.

He then proceeded to do so.

Sometimes in our lives, we feel overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and we worry about the things we can't do. But God didn't send us here to teach us all how weak we are. He sent us here to teach us how to exercise the power that we have, even if that power is limited. There are many things that we cannot do, but there are also many things that we can do. I'm sure that God is much more pleased when we do what we can do and leave the rest to Him than when we worry about not being able to do more.

God knows that we face great challenges and have limited abilities. He knows that we aren't always going to be capable of everything that we think we should do. He Himself has given us commandments that we may or may not be able to keep in this lifetime. There will be many times when we feel that we literally cannot do the things we should do, and there will be times when that is true. But during those times, God doesn't want us to focus on our limitations but to focus on our abilities and to try to make the most of them.

I can't d much. I don't have much time, talent, or skill. But I can do some things. I can clean up around the house. I can speak kindly and upliftingly. I can blog. If God can use me to lift another person's spirits, I'm sure He can work similar, if not greater, miracles through you. You can do great things, especially with God helping you. You don't have to be incredibly skilled already. God can use everyone, even Elder Stevenson, and even the likes of me and you.