Friday, April 26, 2013

Ether 12:27-28 -- On Weakness and Improvement

"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.
Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me--the fountain of all righteousness."
Ether 12:27-28


This is scary and beautiful at the same time.  I don't know if we always want to know our weaknesses, and sometimes our earthly relationships are based, at least in part, on avoiding talking about them.  We want our friends to support us and not mention the bad parts.  God tells us.  I actually think that this makes him a better friend than all the rest, and a better teacher, and a better parent. 

In order to improve, we *have* to know what we're really bad at.  And God, our most trustworthy and loving friend, will tell us the truth.  But not just that, not just call us out and tell us we're bad at something.  He'll then jump in with us and figure out how to get better at it... even how to turn it into a strength.  So, scary at the beginning, and beautiful all the way through, as we are first scared to know our failings, but then we learn and grow and fill in the holes and smooth the rough patches, and become more whole and pure and perfect than we could ever imagine. 

Sometimes we define ourselves by our weaknesses through labels.  We avoid things and just say "oh, I'm bad at that."  I think it is cool that if we're willing to put in the effort, God can help us turn those things around.

The second verse here is cool because it follows up on the first and tells us how to come unto him. Faith, hope, and charity.  And I love the comparison of God to a fountain, not just filled with righteousness, but displaying it and offering it to everyone in a beautiful way.  The source of all good.  Who else could we go to to turn around our bad parts? :)  Today, let's go unto God.  Let's find out our weaknesses, scary as it is, and then work with God to turn them around.

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