Every Little Thing

Sometimes life just stinks. Life will never be perfect because we WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. Not in this life. It's just not possible. We all mess up. We all make mistakes. In this sense, we are all sinners. We are all falling off the path our Father in Heaven has laid out for us.

 This is what I want to talk about today. The problems with Perfectionism, Confidence and the true meaning of repentance.

Perfectionism is something aspired for that quite frankly is not achievable in this life. Only one man ever has, and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Stop trying to be perfect. Admit your downfalls, but don't become controlled by your weaknesses. If you are, then Satan is controlling you. True Confidence is true humility. Humility does not mean that you are constantly down on yourself.

YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!!! Know who you are. Remember this identity. We all have been given weaknesses, it's a fact of life. But what do we do to overcome them? WE GET OFF OUR BUTTS AND WORK ON THEM! We get on our knees and confess our weakness. Before you confess your weaknesses, thank your Father in Heaven for your talents and gifts. Maybe you can sing or draw or write. Maybe you are an incredibly gifted athlete. Maybe you have a gift for making people feel comfortable. What can you do well? Figure those out first. THEN move forward to your weaknesses. Then figure out who you want to become. Take it to the Lord and realize He knows who you have the potential to become.

He knows your PERFECTLY. You may not be perfect, but He knows you and loves you perfectly, warts and all. We are all like the frog in Princess and the Frog. We are all in a sense green, covered in warts and just gross. But our Father in Heaven knows that we can be a Handsome Prince or a Beautiful Princess. He knew we would need someone to show their love for us to be able to truly see what we are worth to Him.

Because of all this, He sent His son, Jesus Christ to the earth to die for us. Something I didn't understand until I was 15, though, is that Christ didn't just suffer for our sins, but for our pains, heartache, sicknesses, everything. In the Book of Mormon, in the Book of Alma Chapter 7 verses 11-12, it says,

 11  And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people;

and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy according to the flesh, that he may now according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

What this is saying is that Christ went through EVERY LITTLE THING we go through in this life. He knows exactly how you feel 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. Every moment, He has been there. This means He knows that we are going to mess up. The sacrifice He made makes it possible to repent. 

Repentance is more than just saying sorry and doing it over again. It is a change of heart, a change in yourself to become more like our Savior. It is recognizing we are doing something wrong, forsaking it (giving it up), we confess it, we do all we can to repair and we recognize our Savior in it all. This isn't an every once and awhile process, but every day. 

He can change us and make us better. We have to want to and we must work for it. He did so much for us. How we expect just to say "I accept Christ!" and keep breaking the commandments and be okay. We flat out cannot. We must repent and strive to be like Him. We must follow the commandments. His grace is sufficient, but His mercy is only given to those that ask. 

Okay, back to the beginning. This all seems like a lot. But as we are striving to keep the commandment, He will bless us. Repentance is something we will desire us to do. Our faith in Him leads us to act and repent. 

He has taken on EVERY LITTLE THING! Don't let the atonement go to waste. The best way to show Christ you love Him is to use the Atonement. We are all frogs right now, but because Jesus Christ lives, we can be those Beautiful Princesses and Princes. He is the truest love to ever walk the Earth. Our Father in Heaven loves you. Christ loves you. Never forget it. Your confidence will shine through as you remember this. Your desire to be perfect will become a desire to be like Our Savior. Most of all, you will desire to seek forgiveness of your sins and change to be better. We can all be better than we are. But, we need to start from where we are now. Don't forget that.

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond