Stronger

Mistakes. We tend to make many as mortal beings. Weakness. I feel that I am almost always weak to some degree, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. All of us pass through trials and sometimes our weaknesses make the trial even more difficult. For me, the harder I try to avoid making mistakes the more I make, and regardless of how much more I do than those around me and how much good I've done, my mistakes and weaknesses seem to define me. Why are weaknesses so evident in each of us?
Heavenly Father taught us that "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" (Ether 12:27).  As we go from day to day, enduring the pains and exhaustions we are wont to experience, we may not see at first any purpose for being humbled and worn down. I unfortunately had a negative perspective today as I was continually being pushed to my limits and a little beyond all throughout the day. As I questioned why it must be so and pleaded in prayer for my load to be eased, the burden didn't change; it remained completely the same. However, I changed. My attitude changed as my muscles continued to have the strength they needed to endure, and Heavenly Father sent me both peace and a lesson. I was reminded of a story I heard once about a man that God came to. God asked the man to move a large boulder, and the man started pushing the boulder. Day after day the man returned to the boulder and pushed on it from sunrise to sunset. Finally after some time, God revisited the man to check the progress. The man asked God, "You wanted me to move the boulder, but after so long it's not budging. Why did you give me such an impossible task?" God responded, "Look at your shoulders, arms, and legs." The man's arms and legs had increased in strength.
Although the task at hand seems impossible, especially when we are repeating the same actions and yeilding little result, Heavenly Father has a plan for us. Right now, I don't know the reasons for being pushed beyond my limit each week and for being tried exceedingly. What I do know is that as I've continued, I've been made stronger than I ever realized possible.

"He got a bigger piece!"

In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah, and chapter 10 verse 13, an Ancient American leader wrote about the wars and contentions between his people, the Nephites, and their enemies, the Lamanites. The verse describes why the Lamanites were angry with the Nephites:
"And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord- therefore he was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the wilderness."
While considering this scripture I thought of two explanations for this verse. The first explanation is that the narrator, Mormon, wanted to describe that the Lamanites were angry and felt that they had been wronged, but really the Lamanites had not been wronged but disobedient. The second explanation for the verse is best described through the experience of parenthood or leadership, and the whining cry of "He got a bigger piece!"
If one day your child begins to throw things, yell and scream, and punch their siblings, would you love him any differently than the rest of your children? No (At least you shouldn't). When it came to dessert time and everyone was seated around the table, would you intentionally give your misbehaved child a much smaller slice than the rest of your children? Probably not. However, will that child enjoy the cake you spent time making as much as everyone else? It's not that their slice is any different, but their attitude is different. So it was with Laman and Lemuel in the earlier portion of the Book of Mormon. They hadn't received anything different than Nephi and Sam, but they received visions from the Lord, visits from angels, they saw miracles, and they were taught by their father how to have faith and keep the commandments. They received the same exact blessings from the Lord, but they rejected those blessings and rebelled against the Lord. Our Heavenly Father loves each of us the same. We may receive different blessings because we are all unique individuals, but we are promised the same reward in the end. How much we will enjoy the blessings that come from our Father depends on us alone.    

Staying Strong

“I’m exhausted.” “He’s simply burnt out.” “I don’t feel like I have the motivation.” “I can’t do this any more.” Many times in life we want to give up because we become tired or life’s circumstances grow increasingly difficult. Perhaps depression and anxiety affect us or else despair overcomes any positive emotions. We find ourselves waning in friendships, work, health, or family relationships, and we tend to think that the change happening in our life signifies that it’s the end of life as we know it. 

This is not so.

A diamond is formed out of a coal-like (carbon) mineral. In order for a diamond to transform into the clear, beautiful gem as we know it, it must undergo extensive pressure and heat. For a metal to be refined, it must be held in a flame until the right moment so that it can be properly purified. In order for a muscle in the body to strengthen it must be exercised continually, which includes occasional tearing, discomfort, and pain. For the necessary growth and production of good fruit in trees, branches of the tree are cut off and others are grafted in. Only through some pain, pressure, and then healing can anything produce more than what the natural man thought possible. Anything or anyone passing through such pressure is bound to cry or call out, and that’s fine. What is not fine, however, is giving up, regardless of how much we would like to quit. 

There’s a poem that I was asked to memorize in grade school. I memorized it, pondered its meaning, and recite it as often as possible so that it sticks with me. The name of the poem is Invictus (Translation: Unconquered), which goes as follows:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be 

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.    

Throughout life we will pass through many hardships and trials, and we may desire to give up on life, but just as this poem suggests, we decide how our future is going to go and what we are going to do with it. Will we give up everything great in the future simply because we currently struggle? Or will we press forward with faith in good things to come? It is one of our greatest goals to reach the end valiantly, so why not stay strong in the process? Life is going to be difficult, but we don’t have to be conquerable in the least by our enemies, whether they are mortal, immortal, physical, or psychological. Stay strong. Stay courageous.