The Lord will do wonders

General Conference is a concentrated dose of inspiration and goodness.  So once more, it was difficult to decide which Conference address to use for my blog and radio program.  They were all so good.

Take, for example, the counsel of Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf about marriage during the Priesthood session.  I thought they were spot on, and it gave me, a single LDS man, much to ponder.

Afterwards single ladies posted those remarks on social media with some inclusions of their own.  “Yeah, you need to get busy and do your priesthood duty!”  That for me 20-year-old refrain doesn’t inspire anything positive and is inspired more by issues within them rather than any issue I have.

That’s why I absolutely loved Elder Holland’s remarks at the conclusion of General Conference entitled “Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You.”  Conference indeed presents high ideals, from which many of our own personal situations seem far removed.  How ever can we bridge the gap?

Elder Holland reminded us how the Atonement makes our improvement possible and that trying is what counts, even if we sometimes fail.  As I’ve said before, it’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey.

See the similarities

I struggled for many years with dating.  Because I own my life, I take responsibility for how my life has turned out.  That means the story I tell to explain why I’m still single lays the fault on me.  It’s not that I didn’t want to be married.  I just didn’t have the right attitude or project the right image to attract the type of woman I really wanted.

True, most of my dating invitations failed miserably.  For many years I felt trapped because my eternity seemed completely outside my control at the mercy of others who could never see the real me.  But because I now own my life, I accept I wasn’t doing a good enough job of showing the real me to them.

What always annoyed me were the ladies who always threw marriage quotes from General Authorities in my face.  When I did manage to work up the courage to ask them out, they rejected my invitations in ways that made me feel completely worthless.

Ladies, if you want us brethren to ask you out more, then you need to own your life and approach us more effectively.  I understand you’re frustrated in not receiving the dating invitations you want.  You feel trapped because your eternity seems completely outside your control at the mercy of others who don’t seem to see the real you.  That’s not very different from the experience I and other single LDS men have had.

Can we all come to a place where we start to see the potential in each other rather than the problems?  Can we see each other the way God sees us, as brothers and sisters on the same eternal journey who have much more in common than we do different?  I answer with a resounding yes.  And Elder Holland’s recent conference talk shows us how.

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Keep trying

Elder Holland described feeling the spiritual high of General Conference only to return back to our ordinary and imperfect daily lives which often don’t measure up to the glorious ideals Conference presents.  He recognizes the gap between what we wish our lives were and what our lives really are.  And he provides some solid counsel for confronting that gap.

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First of all, if in the days ahead you not only see limitations in those around you but also find elements in your own life that don’t yet measure up to the messages you have heard this weekend, please don’t be cast down in spirit and don’t give up. The gospel, the Church, and these wonderful semiannual gatherings are intended to give hope and inspiration. They are not intended to discourage you. Only the adversary, the enemy of us all, would try to convince us that the ideals outlined in general conference are depressing and unrealistic, that people don’t really improve, that no one really progresses. And why does Lucifer give that speech? Because he knows he can’t improve, he can’t progress, that worlds without end he will never have a bright tomorrow. He is a miserable man bound by eternal limitations, and he wants you to be miserable too. Well, don’t fall for that. With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.

What a glorious perspective!  Too often we focus on the destination and consider ourselves as “less” because we haven’t yet arrived.  Yet God sees us as “striving to be more” and so should we!  It’s about the journey and not the destination!

Elder Holland continues:

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Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out like Alma, “O Jesus, … have mercy on me.” He will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek.

Just because we don’t see the way forward doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  It is there.  And when we partner with the Lord, He will not only help us to see the reality of the blessings we want but also provide help to secure them.  After all, He created this world in which we are journeying!

I love this perspective from Elder Holland:

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My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s 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. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, keep seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor.

Let’s extend that grace to our neighbor.  Let’s see each other more as God sees us.  Let’s divert our energy from criticizing others for their failings to helping them overcome the obstacles that impede their journey home.  In so doing, we’ll accelerate our own journey to the same heavenly destination.

Tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you because today He will do wonders with you and within you when you partner with Him, rely on His marvelous Atonement, and keep trying.  May God bless each one of us so to do.

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