Ether 12:27

Ether 12:27 has been one of my favorite scriptures for as long as I can remember.  I always thought it was such a comforting message that it’s okay that we’re weak and we have imperfections, because Christ has the power to strengthen us and help us to become strong individuals.  I loved the promise that my weaknesses could actually become my strengths.

It wasn’t until my mission, however, that I came to understand that there was much more to the scripture than that.  As a new missionary, I became more acutely aware of my weaknesses than I’d ever been before.  At first it was little things, like my inability to live the schedule perfectly or my fear of contacting people on the streets.  But as time went on and I progressed as a missionary, I noticed that I was having more and more painful realizations of what my weaknesses were.  Some of these faults were things I had never noticed, that seemed to me to be serious defects in my personality and personal progress.  I was surprised—I was on a mission.  I felt closer to God than I’d ever been.  Why at this time was I feeling less than positive about the quality of person I was?

Then I re-read this favorite scripture, and suddenly saw a whole new level of meaning.

“If men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness.”

I’d read that line a hundred times, and even pondered the Lord’s ability to show us our weaknesses.  But it wasn’t until I came to Christ more fully than I ever had—dedicating all of my time, effort, and heart to Him for a year and a half—that I gained personal experience of what it meant.  Of course I was seeing weaknesses I’d never seen before.  I had never been so close to the Savior!

This realization brought me great comfort.  I wasn’t a worse person than I’d been in the past.  The fact that I was noticing these defects in myself was a good thing.  And an exciting thing.  It meant not that I was doing something wrong, but that I was doing something right.  Christ was showing me my weaknesses so that He could make them become my strengths.  I tried to humble myself and work on these things, and God was as good as His word.  He did help me turn those defects into strengths.

Since that realization, it hasn’t been nearly as discouraging when I’ve noticed something weak in myself.  Really, it’s a very good sign—it means I’m coming to Christ!  And it means that I’m on the verge of a breakthrough if I allow Christ to change me and help me to become strong in Him.