You Can Do It Now!
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"There may be times in our lives when rising up and continuing on may seem beyond our own ability. . . We can feel so burdened by our failures and shortcomings that we begin to think we will never be able to succeed. We might even assume that because we have fallen before, falling is our destiny."
"Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward."
One of the strategies Satan uses is to make us think that we can't change, that once a failure, always a failure, to make us forget who we really are and what we really desire.
"Satan's purpose is to tempt us to exchange the priceless pearls of true happiness and eternal values for a fake plastic trinket that is merely an illusion and counterfeit of happiness and joy."
In 2 Nephi 10:23 Jacob tells us "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are FREE TO ACT FOR YOURSELF".
We are free to choose: Are we going to give up or are we going to get back up and try again?
"Every person, young and old, has had his own personal experience with falling. Falling is what we mortals do. But as long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the path toward the spiritual goals God has given us, we can learn something from failure and become better and happier as a result."
When I read this, I thought of Adam and Eve. They definitely fell, but they rose up and continued on the path God intended for them.
"Men are that they might have JOY" (2 Nephi 2:25)
If we live perfectly all the time and never fail, we would have no joy because we never knew misery, we would do no good, because we knew no sin. (2 Nephi 2:23)
I am grateful for all I've learned from my failures. They have helped me to be a better, happier person.
Choose not to get discouraged.
Remember:
You are stronger than you realize.
You are more capable than you can imagine.
You can do it now!
Next Week's Talk:
by Elder Dallin H. Oaks