“Notwithstanding My Weakness”: Removing the Feeling of Forever Falling Short, BYU Women's Conference

[Music] this presentation was given at the BYU Women's Conference on May 4th 2023 [Music] good morning sisters sister Craig and I are so happy to see you here today doesn't it feel so good to be together the topic we're addressing is one that we believe we all relate to I know at least I do I am painfully aware of my weakness and my weaknesses and I am so certain that I have many more that I'm just not quite willing to ask heavenly father to show me right now but what I love about our father in

Heaven is that he is not fixated on our weakness or what we can or cannot do he is focused on our progress he is focused on us it's important to understand that weakness and sin are not the same thing sin is willfully disobeying God's Commandments or failing to act righteously despite knowing truth sin is a choice that takes us away from God weakness and contrast is a condition of being mortal it's a lack of ability or strength or skill and it's part of each of us in very unique and individual ways just remember we came

to Earth knowing absolutely nothing and isn't it wonderful that we are here just think of all that you have learned we wanted this Mortal experience where we could acquire knowledge and learn through a variety of experiences how to make good choices and grow to become like our Heavenly parents unlike sin weakness can bring us closer to God we learn in the book of ether chapter 12 that the lord gave us weakness in the hope that we would become humble enough and teachable enough for him to transform our weak places into strongholds this growth comes line

upon line until someday we reach Perfection but sisters this will not happen in this life so we can just breathe Elder Jeffrey R Holland stated if we persevere then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete which is the New Testament meaning of perfection but the Lord doesn't wait for that transformation to be finished before giving us important responsibilities in fact he uses us to accomplish his work in our weaknesses with our weaknesses and despite our weaknesses somehow he trusts us right now in our current condition have you ever considered your weakness to

be a gift from God to promote humility and growth how can knowing that change your perspective of who you are and who God knows you can become I recently became friends with a remarkable 14 year old young woman from Colorado her name is Presley I first became acquainted with Presley when I heard an inspiring message that she shared on an app that supports our come follow me study with Presley's permission I'd like to share her message with you hi guys it's me again Presley AC from Windsor Colorado I've been asked to speak on sister Greg's

talk wholehearted the main point I got from this talk was to trust in the Lord trusting in the Lord will help you through many of your trials knowing that he's behind you and knows exactly what you're going through trust in the Lord happened to be the last year's theme I love this theme my disability being so uncertain and my future would normally worry a lot of people but I know that I have nothing to worry about as the Lord is right behind me guiding me through each and every day now how do we grow that

Faith to trust in the Lord just as the primary song says faith is like a little seed when planted it will grow you can grow your seed by attending church readings staying on the Covenant path and your seed will grow little by little each day I have a testimony of Jesus Christ and I know that if we trusted him your faith will grow just as mine has and thanks guys isn't she amazing Presley was born with Cerebral Palsy and her disability restricts many of her physical capabilities including her ability to walk now if Presley chose

to she could spend her energy absorbed in comparisons like why can't I run like you why is your handwriting easier to read than mine why can't I trust myself take ballet lessons or play soccer like you why was I given this particular challenge it seems so much harder than yours of course Presley wishes she could do more and I'm sure there are moments or even days filled with tears but Presley chooses not to let her physical weakness overshadow the strength of her beautiful spiritual gifts or impede her capacity to grow she understands that the Mortal

weakness of her body does not determine her Divine destiny I love how Presley testifies that even with the uncertainty of her future she has nothing to worry about she is not quit and she hasn't slowed down she continues to move forward in her faith in Jesus Christ in his atonement by placing her trust in him and his promise if they have faith in me then will I make weak themes become strong unto them Presley's motto I can do hard things and she does like Presley we each face uncertainty and challenges it's part of our Earthly

journey and so is weakness but don't forget weakness is mortal but like Presley we are divine one of the greatest oppositions to moving forward notwithstanding our weakness is Satan himself to stop the work of the Lord from progressing Satan campaigns diligently to stop us from progressing and he can be pretty good at it if he can break our inner Spirit bring doubt into our mind destroy our confidence or undermine our divine identity our growth can be stunted for the most part we know our own weak spots and Satan knows that we know them thus he

capitalizes on our insecurities by endeavoring to change our view about our worth for instance rather than seeing our god-given weakness as a space to grow we begin to view it as an impassable barrier soon feelings of hopelessness inferiority and worthlessness creep in we quit seeing the things we do imperfectly as a failure like oh I failed and start believing I am a failure we no longer see things that we're doing wrong it's a mistake like wow I made a mistake but Embrace his lie that I am a mistake this type of belief leads to the

most catastrophic and crippling form of identity crisis it prompts additional feelings like I am broken I am nothing I am invisible I am not whatever enough I am stuck I am alone sisters we cannot bury ourselves in this murky propaganda of the adversary in all of our weakness we are stronger than he is we are Daughters of divine parentage our covenants give us power to overcome such deception the challenge however is remembering who we are every single day now let's look at how heavenly father treats us in our weakness and even in our mistakes he

forgives he assures he encourages he inspires he Comforts he strengthens with faith and trust in Jesus Christ we are neither stuck nor alone he invites us to get in the Yoke with him where he will help us move forward even if it's only a few inches at a time when I was younger I used to visualize myself moving through life on this upward liner slope and that's just the way I remember my Sunday school teachers drawing The Plan of Salvation on the chalkboard the more I thought I was doing okay um the more I felt

like I was going to make it to heaven but as soon as an unkind word slipped out of my mouth or I got angry or impatient I felt myself slide all the way down that slope and hit rock bottom every single time it was as if all the things that I was doing right had been erased and I had to start everything all over again I became the failure and I was confident that I could never be good enough to make it to the Celestial Kingdom and it was depressing now looking back I can clearly

see how I was caught in Satan's pattern of demoralization but my life changed when I began to understand the doctrine of Christ and how to apply to my life I found Hope encouragement and Light the doctrine of Christ is the Lord's pattern of changing growth it begins with faith in Jesus Christ in his atonement by placing our faith and focus on the savior we are prompted to grow and make modifications in our lives to become more like him we want to repent and grow and change president Russell M Nelson said when we choose to repent

we choose to change and as we choose to repent our desire to make and keep covenants with God increases we choose to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost then the Holy Ghost inspires us to make additional covenants in the temple and endure to the end and during to the end means changing to the end and so we repeat this continuous cycle of growth throughout our lives as we continue to apply the doctrine of Christ we receive his grace which is the enabling power and spiritual healing offered through the mercy and love

of Jesus Christ the grace of God helps us every day it strengthens us to do those things we could not do on our own the Lord promised that if we humble ourselves before him and have faith in him his grace will help us overcome all our personal weaknesses as I continue to follow the pattern of the doctrine of Christ I began to recognize the good I was doing and not only the failures that seem to be continually destroying my confidence I felt empowered I started to see how each day I could try and be a

little better and when I did give in to weakness I didn't feel myself tumbled the entire way to the ground instead of beating myself up I picked myself up or I left off and tried to do better the next time I grew to love the cherished gift of repentance this scripture found in Alma 34 31 is one of my favorites about repentance if ye will repent and Harden not your hearts immediately shall the great Plan of Redemption be brought about unto you the word immediately is significant it does not mean that we will be immediately

forgiven because sometimes that takes time but when we approach the Lord with a humble and repentant heart immediately he will begin to work within us and the blessings of his atonement will flow into our lives that is a powerful and reassuring promise we all make mistakes and we all need to repent every day we cannot become perfect immortality but we can be headed in that direction we can seek to improve each day showing the Lord our effort to become a little more like him our beloved Prophet taught because the Savior through his infinite atonement redeemed

each of us from our weakness mistakes sin and because he experienced every pain worry and burden you have ever had then as you truly repent and seek his help you can Rise Above This present precarious world overcoming the world is not an event that happens in a day or two it happens over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ we call to fate we cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping Covenant set in Taoist with power we stay on the Covenant path and are blessed with spiritual strength personal revelation

the ministering of angels living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle creating spiritual momentum in our lives I admit that I occasionally migrate into that space where I am the failure it can be really easy to do and for whatever reason I feel weakest when I'm fasting I attended a sacrament meeting not too long ago in a local board and I happened to be fasting and feeling particularly vulnerable as they looked over the congregation I beheld a mass of faithful members who had come to partake of the sacrament and worship together

they radiated this light in goodness and I was so grateful to be with them but then out of the blue that light that I had been drawn to suddenly made my light seem very dim feelings of total inadequacy quickly and completely filled me both of body and spirit I felt so small and I could not contain my tears and I was embarrassed until I closed my eyes as if I was praying hoping that nobody would notice and since my eyes were already closed I did begin praying mightily for reassurance and strength and then the sweetest

sound began flowing from the organ and the congregation began to sing I know that my redeemer lives what Comfort this sweet sentence gives he lives to grant me Rich Supply he lives to guide me with his eye he lives to comfort me when faint he lives to hear my soul's complaint he lives to silence all my fears he lives to wipe away my tears he lives to calm my troubled heart he lives all blessings to impart well my tears were not wiped away in fact they just multiplied but they changed from tears as self-pity to

tears of gratitude Heavenly Father heard my prayer and had given me a much needed assurance he answered it during what I thought was a randomly picked sacrament meeting entirely determined by my schedule but he knew where I needed to be that morning to hear his voice through a hymn to calm my troubled heart although we are not perfect we are perfectly known Elder Jeffrey R Holland shared their first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart might mind and strength that is the first great commandment but the first great

truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of his heart might mind and strength sometimes sisters we just need to push away some of the clutter in our lives to bring into Focus what matters most clutter whether it's a messy home or a messy schedule can cause feelings of anxiety and stress and can Cloud our ability to recognize the promptings of the spirit or feel the love of God my degree is in interior design there's a principle in design called negative space in home design especially in the field of decorating there's a

tendency to over decorate to over prop to overfluff making sure that every vertical and horizontal line in the room has something on it each item might have a special meeting and it may have been very carefully hand-picked but when every space is occupied the eye does not know where to land it bounces from wall to wall and from item to item wondering where to settle it cannot find the intended focal point negative space is a principle of leaving some areas blank unadorned or empty so the positive space or focal point is easily noticed when we

over decorate our lives with too many things it becomes hard to see the focal point those themes of most worth overcrowding Our Lives can leave us physically emotionally and spiritually exhausted and in these circumstances we are more susceptible to feelings of discouragement self-doubt and failure being over programmed even with good things makes it difficult for the Holy Ghost to gain our attention we then miss out on the direction peace and assurance and encouragement that he offers can we make a little space for the Lord to fill our hearts even a moment of quiet or connection

with heaven can refocus us since life is neither a race nor a competition we do not need to run faster nor labor more than we have strength we can Pace our progress we can be patient with ourselves and with others Elder Neil a Maxwell gave this wonderful Council about being patient with ourselves as we progress if there were too much swiftness there could be no long suffering no gradual Soul stretching or repenting with too little time to absorb to assimilate and to apply the truths already given our capacities would not be fully developed pearls Casper

Forest would go and found and gathered and unsavored it takes time to prepare for eternity expected to be perfect in our mortal State nor are we expected to do everything perfectly remember we are doing many things for the very first times in our lives I'm not really great at anything but there are many things that I love doing although we can always strive to do things better and be better we must work hard to avoid the three C's do not criticize complain or compare we each have our own path and our own pace of growing

and learning we need to give each other and ourselves a very much needed break in fact we should complement champion and celebrate our own in each other's progress and even more we can show compassion courage caring curiosity cheer consideration and cooperation as we offer this generosity to ourselves and others we will come to know the joy heavenly father has in store for us the same joy that Presley has found because she chooses to focus on the Savior more than the struggle we too can Focus On Christ more than our weakness he is the source of

all joy if we are missing the joy his joy in our journey sisters we're missing everything like the incredible Presley you are magnificent if you cannot see that will you please accept our certainty that you are as you attend this conference this week we pray that you will fill an increase in the power and as sure as that comes from knowing who you are you are glorious your light shines through any dark spaces you may perceive that you are in and when we unite as women bound to the savior our light will permeate the world

more majestically and brilliantly than all the stars in the heavens in the name of Jesus Christ amen oh sisters it is so good to be back together and sister Craven and I are so grateful for this opportunity that we've had to prepare it's a topic that we feel deeply um we have this door in between our offices and every now and then one of us just opens the door and just says this is hard it's wonderful but anyway thank you for your teaching well this topic of notwithstanding my weakness is dear to my heart and

on my way to the recycling bin a number of months ago I was thumbing through a magazine that had come in the mail and I saw a page that literally stopped me in my tracks it was an image of a painting by Caitlin Conley entitled holding holy things sister of Jared I tore the page out of the magazine and through tear-filled eyes I thought about how often I feel like the woman depicted in this painting bringing my meager offerings my rocks to the Lord and asking for a miracle asking for his light and his hand

in my life my offerings have become holy things as I have climbed high mountains and have sought to have my rough places made smooth notwithstanding my weaknesses at times we feel overwhelmed with the demands of our circumstances too many children are not enough maybe it's our marital status or a calling that demands more time and energy than we have or perhaps feeling underutilized bodies minds and relationships that need healing Financial stress that feels weighty the list could go on and on and on you know because you have your own list yet we get out of

bed every day and we want to bring the Lord our very best ordinary offerings we bring our 16 small stones and we ask for miracles well I would like to share some principles from this story and others found in scripture about small stones light faith in Jesus Christ Grace and miracles principles that help give me perspective when I find myself coming up short again and again and again like sister Craven mentioned there is a difference between weakness and sin many of us are familiar with the scripture found in ether 1227 and if men come unto

me I will show unto them their weakness I give in to men weakness that they may be humble weakness in this verse is singular not plural weakness is a condition of mortality it can help us experience how very much we need the Lord Elder Richard G Scott taught that the Lord sees weakness differently than he does rebellion whereas the Lord warns that unrepented Rebellion will bring punishment when the Lord speaks of weaknesses it is always with Mercy close quote we should never question that in his Mercy the Lord is ready willing and so anxious to

help us overcome our weaknesses recognizing our weakness is a catalyst to change back to Ether in ether 12 37 the Lord says to Moroni because thou has seen thy weakness Thou shalt be made strong he's not offering to change moroni's weakness but to change Moroni because Moroni recognized his weakness and shortcomings those who do not see weakness simply do not progress this awareness is a blessing it keeps us humble and turning to the savior it was after Peter had been invited to launch out into the deep and let down his Nets after a long night

of fishing and nothing to show for it that the miracle occurred so many fish that the boats began to sink Peter fell at the feet of Jesus and cried out I am a sinful Man O Lord he certainly recognized and acknowledged weakness in that moment his words and subsequent actions show us that the closer we get to Jesus Christ we become aware of our weakness and we desire his help in becoming more like him president Ezra Taft Benson taught that men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that he can make

a lot more out of their lives than they can this is what happened to Peter and the other disciples Jesus helped them realize they could do more than catch fish they could become with his help Fishers of Men as we recognize our weakness desire to change rely on Jesus Christ our very Natures can change we too can experience the promise found in second Nephi 3 13. out of weakness he shall be made strong discontent can be divine I have spoken before of divine discontent calls to action from Prophet seers revelators or from the Holy Ghost

along with our innate sense that we can do and be more sometimes create within us what Elder Neil a Maxwell called Divine discontent Divine discontent comes when we compare what we are with what we have the power to become each of us If we're honest feels that Gap we yearn for greater personal capacity we want to do more and be more we have these feelings because we are daughters and sons of God born with the Light of Christ yet we live in a fallen world these feelings can be a blessing because they can Propel us

to action and greater discipleship but Satan knows this as well and he would have us see our weakness as a sign of failure he would have us wallow in Despair and discouragement focusing on everything that we are not lacking incapacity looks finances personality Health Talent you name it okay we all come up short in something don't we our discontent can become destructive when we listen to those voices and believe the messages that Satan bombards us with or it can become Divine when it turns us to Jesus Christ with humility one of my earliest memories is

coming face to face with my shortcomings I remember starting kindergarten with the goal to be perfect to never ever ever make a mistake all through school ever so I remember the very first day and we were sitting at our little table and we got a worksheet this is my very first chance to do something perfectly and there were two columns of pictures on the paper for example like Goldilocks on one side and Three Bears on the other and we were to draw matching lines well I took my time but I wasn't quite sure I had

done it right and then we've had recess and out in the kindergarten Courtyard some of us compared notes and to my horror I realized I had made a mistake I had done something wrong on my very first worksheet on my very first day of school so I ran and hid I ran outside of the kindergarten Courtyard and the bell ring for recess and everybody went in but I stayed in my hiding spot if it wasn't long before the teacher came out I heard her calling my name she found me talked me off the edge assured

me that all was not lost I was going to be okay so fast forward a few years to my baptism day and I had a goal can you guess what it was I was going to be perfect like never make a mistake ever so and I was pretty good for an hour or two and then I can't exactly remember what happened but I do remember being outside with a lot of family and I got mad at one of my brothers and I probably said something unkind I don't remember the words but I remember so well

the sinking feeling that came when I realized I had sinned it had only been a few hours and I'd already blown it so what did I do this is a pattern I ran and hid I did I hid behind a tree but this time nobody came looking for me and after a long time I realized I had to come out of my Hiding Place okay sisters the message to run and hide comes directly from Satan's Playbook we see this pattern in scripture and we see it in the temple we are taught the Lord's solution to

mistakes and sin in those very same places faith is a principle of action sisters and the lord loves effort back to the account of the brother of Jared he had a problem and he took that problem to the Lord the barges he had built across the ocean had no light behold O Lord will thou suffer that we shall cross this great water and darkness after crying into the Lord in prayer the brother of Jared did not go home and wait for an angel to deliver the solution he went to work as Disciples of Jesus Christ

we must remember that it is not meat that the Lord should command in all things like the brother of Jared we must carefully evaluate those things in our life that we need to start doing stop doing and continue doing there will not be a one-size-fits-all answer to most of our needs the same words given to the brother of Jared as he was instructed to build those barges go to work and build apply to each one of us we aren't in the business of building barges but we are in the business of building up people and

building up testimonies as we invite others to come to Jesus Christ take your plans to the Lord in prayer this will require faith and effort on your part living as a disciple of Jesus Christ requires work and as he did with the stone offerings of the brother of Jared I know that the Lord will touch your efforts as you seek his assistance the brother of Jared showed us how faith is exercised by moving our feet president Harold B Lee taught quote if you want the blessing don't just kneel down and pray about it prepare yourselves

in every conceivable way you can in order to make yourselves worthy to receive the blessing you seek close quote the brother of Jared climbed up a mountain a mountain of exceeding height to find some stones and he didn't take the first rocks he found but rather he did molten out of a rock 16 small stones and they were white and clear even as transparent glass he did everything he could on his own and then he took it to the Lord to turn the rock into smooth clear Stones he had to subject it to a great

heat a refining process that could be compared to life as we trust God strive to live the Commandments make and keep sacred covenants and serve others the rough edges become smoothed we become like those stones presented to the Lord by the brother of Jared stones that were meager ordinary offerings they were set aflame with enduring light when touched one by one by the Lord another account I love in the scriptures is that of Enoch Enoch had received a call from the Lord that overwhelmed him why is it that I have found favor in thy sight

and embed a lad and all the people hate me for I am slow of speech wherefore am I thy servant the Lord's advice open thy mouth and it shall be filled and I will give the utterance how many of us feel similar to Enoch at times we're called by the Lord to do something that's hard sometimes that hard is just because we live in a fallen world sometimes we feel that's what is being asked of us is beyond our abilities and capabilities perhaps we want to run and hide more than once I have cried out

to the Lord with my lack how can my rocks my Five Loaves and Fishes possibly be enough for what is being asked of me sisters all of us come up short we simply don't have enough time patience energy brain power or capacity but we don't see any suggestion that Enoch doubted the promise given by the Lord he simply went to work with obedience and faith president Thomas S Monson taught remember that this work is not yours and mine alone it is the Lord's work and when we are on the Lord's errand we're entitled to the

Lord's help remember that whom the Lord calls the Lord qualifies another principle is that power to convert a weakness to a strength is possible through the grace of Jesus Christ Enoch's story reveals the amazing power of God's grace power that each one of us can experience to some degree as we just move forward with faith in him as in expect forth the words of God the people trembled and could not stand in his presence so great was the faith of Enoch that he spake the word of the Lord and the Earth trembled and the mountains

fled even according to his command and the rivers of water were turned out of their course and all nations feared greatly so powerful was the word of Enoch and so great with the power of the language which God had given him all of this from alad who was slow of speech the grace of Jesus Christ transforms and protects when Adam and Eve were found naked in the Garden of Eden the Lord made coats of skins to cover them these coats can symbolize the covering we can experience because the Lamb of God Jesus Christ atoned for

our sins and our shortcomings our weakness the Hebrew word for atonement is kefar it literally means to cover or a covering the temple garment is a covering that I carry out of the temple with me a physical representation of Jesus Christ his atoning sacrifice his grace and my Covenant relationship with him it is a gift and I love wearing them I bear testimony that the verse found in Philippians 4 13 which is the youth theme this year it's true I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me the power to convert a weakness to

a strength to accomplish those things that we've been asked to do is made possible through the grace of Jesus Christ sisters Miracles can come from our meager offerings this story of 16 small stones is a story that teaches us that our savior can do anything and bring his light into the most unexpected places in the most unexpected ways he can do extraordinary things with a rock so on those days when you feel ordinary when you feel like maybe your best isn't good enough remember that God isn't asking for any of us to be perfect before

blessing us before blessing our imperfect efforts what he requires from us is our hearts and a willing mind what he is asking from us is that we just do all that we can we offer our Loaves and our fishes our rocks and we give them willingly to Jesus Christ he magnifies and touches our offerings and they become enough and despair I love this quote from Elder Lawrence E Corbridge for those of us who feel wanting when it comes to talents and gifts it is encouraging to know that the savior's invitation to let your lights so

shine before men is not to Dazzle others with who we are or what we know rather our light is the light of the world Our Savior Jesus Christ reflected in us as we simply strive to do as he did that's it the Lord tells us to follow him and not be ashamed or unwilling to stand out do not be ashamed to hold up his light do not be afraid to shine do not worry about the outcome President James E Faust taught occasionally you're too hard on yourselves you think that if your offering is not quite

perfect it is not acceptable I tell you however that if you've done your best which you usually do your humble offering whatever it may be will be acceptable and pleasing to the Lord close quote and finally sisters a witness comes after the trial of our faith the brother of Jared faced a trial of faith and the witness he received was twofold the desired blessing came the stones were touched and they were filled with light but even more important was what happened in the process as the Lord touched the stones the brother of Jared saw the

finger of the Lord and because of his great faith the Lord showed himself to the brother of Jared saying behold I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people behold I am Jesus Christ when we trust God and allow him to Prevail in our lives the end result will be better than we possibly could imagine when the brother of Jared climbed the mountain and presented his best effort his 16 stones I don't think he was expecting to see Jesus Christ but he did notwithstanding our weakness like the brother

of Jared the most important Miracle we can experience is a knowledge that Jesus Christ lives that his light can shine in our lives and in the lives of those we serve sisters I bear testimony that he is the light of the world our Bright Morning Star our Advocate and Our Shepherd and I say these things in His holy name the name of Jesus Christ amen [Music] this presentation was given at the BYU Women's Conference on May 4th 2023 [Music]