The Mistakes We Make
A rather well known LDS scripture passage goes like this:
"If thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7)
This was a promise the Lord made Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration as he was facing heavy persecution and imprisonment in Liberty Jail for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My whole life I have felt comforted by this scripture -- no trial seems impossible to bear when I know that Heavenly Father has made this promise to those who follow him.
This summer I learned a lesson that made this principle even more meaningful to me.
I realized that the Lord does not only use our trials to strengthen us and to put us on the path back to him. I realized that he is so much more merciful than that -- when we turn to him, the Lord also uses our mistakes to make us (and others) stronger. In the end, I believe even our mistakes can lead to blessings if we turn back to him in faith.
Almost exactly two months ago I was in India, packing my bags and getting ready for my last little trip around India before going home. I was sitting on my bed and thinking about this trip -- and I just didn't have a good feeling about it. I felt like there was a storm cloud casting it's shadow over what should have seemed to me like a fun final adventure with my friends. I mentioned it to Carly one day but I eventually ignored the feeling (a feeling I now recognize as a strong prompting from the Holy Ghost). First mistake.
A few days later I was finishing my packing and I picked up my folder of paperwork. I saw my passport and the thought came into my mind that I should really put that in my wallet. I brushed the thought away and just left it where it was -- one more prompting ignored.
The next day we left for our trip to Goa. And many of you know the story. My bag was stolen, my passport was gone and I was suddenly thrown into a current of events which led me to cancel my Spring classes at BYU and brought me back to Canada for two months.
From the moment my passport was stolen I knew that I had myself to blame. I knew I had been warned enough times that I was accountable for not listening when I had the chance.
But then there is this:
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God"-- Romans 8:28
Loving God doesn't mean we will never make mistakes again. We still make mistakes -- we hurt our perfect Father in Heaven over and over by not listening to him.
But I have found that God's love is so all-encompassing, so gentle and so fatherly that he sees what mistakes we will make. He knows that we won't always walk straight paths -- that sometimes we will stray off the path because we are stubborn and young, because we think we know a better way, or because we just don't want to do what he's told us to do.
Despite our mistakes and our rebellions, if we return in faith, God can and does (in my opinion) use our sins and missteps to benefit us and others in the end as much as he uses our trials to do the same:
Because of my mistakes in India I was compelled to come back to Canada for half of the summer (something I would never have done had I not had my passport stolen). Coming back has been an amazing blessing at this time in my life -- I can't even list all the ways the last two months have strengthened me.
Had Eve not eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden (event though she was commanded not to) we would not be in the world today with the chance to gain bodies, families and the strength we need to be like our Heavenly Father and Saviour one day.
"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy"-- 2 Nephi 2:25
Returning to our Saviour's love is the greatest consolation and peace that can be found in this world. No one else understands us and our choices the way our Redeemer does.
I sincerely believe that God never gives up on us; that he watches us turn from his path with sorrow and waits for any opportunity to pull us back to him. Whether our mistakes are big or small, if we turn to him in faith, he can work those things for our good-- to make us stronger, to steer us towards those who are or have struggled with similar things, and maybe even to change the direction our life is going.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or [...] For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" -- Romans 8: 35, 38-39
Love,
Stéf
"If thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7)
This was a promise the Lord made Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration as he was facing heavy persecution and imprisonment in Liberty Jail for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My whole life I have felt comforted by this scripture -- no trial seems impossible to bear when I know that Heavenly Father has made this promise to those who follow him.
This summer I learned a lesson that made this principle even more meaningful to me.
I realized that the Lord does not only use our trials to strengthen us and to put us on the path back to him. I realized that he is so much more merciful than that -- when we turn to him, the Lord also uses our mistakes to make us (and others) stronger. In the end, I believe even our mistakes can lead to blessings if we turn back to him in faith.
Almost exactly two months ago I was in India, packing my bags and getting ready for my last little trip around India before going home. I was sitting on my bed and thinking about this trip -- and I just didn't have a good feeling about it. I felt like there was a storm cloud casting it's shadow over what should have seemed to me like a fun final adventure with my friends. I mentioned it to Carly one day but I eventually ignored the feeling (a feeling I now recognize as a strong prompting from the Holy Ghost). First mistake.
A few days later I was finishing my packing and I picked up my folder of paperwork. I saw my passport and the thought came into my mind that I should really put that in my wallet. I brushed the thought away and just left it where it was -- one more prompting ignored.
The next day we left for our trip to Goa. And many of you know the story. My bag was stolen, my passport was gone and I was suddenly thrown into a current of events which led me to cancel my Spring classes at BYU and brought me back to Canada for two months.
From the moment my passport was stolen I knew that I had myself to blame. I knew I had been warned enough times that I was accountable for not listening when I had the chance.
But then there is this:
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God"-- Romans 8:28
Loving God doesn't mean we will never make mistakes again. We still make mistakes -- we hurt our perfect Father in Heaven over and over by not listening to him.
But I have found that God's love is so all-encompassing, so gentle and so fatherly that he sees what mistakes we will make. He knows that we won't always walk straight paths -- that sometimes we will stray off the path because we are stubborn and young, because we think we know a better way, or because we just don't want to do what he's told us to do.
Despite our mistakes and our rebellions, if we return in faith, God can and does (in my opinion) use our sins and missteps to benefit us and others in the end as much as he uses our trials to do the same:
Because of my mistakes in India I was compelled to come back to Canada for half of the summer (something I would never have done had I not had my passport stolen). Coming back has been an amazing blessing at this time in my life -- I can't even list all the ways the last two months have strengthened me.
Had Eve not eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden (event though she was commanded not to) we would not be in the world today with the chance to gain bodies, families and the strength we need to be like our Heavenly Father and Saviour one day.
"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy"-- 2 Nephi 2:25
Returning to our Saviour's love is the greatest consolation and peace that can be found in this world. No one else understands us and our choices the way our Redeemer does.
I sincerely believe that God never gives up on us; that he watches us turn from his path with sorrow and waits for any opportunity to pull us back to him. Whether our mistakes are big or small, if we turn to him in faith, he can work those things for our good-- to make us stronger, to steer us towards those who are or have struggled with similar things, and maybe even to change the direction our life is going.
Christ's atonement is real; he can heal every wound and through him we can overcome anything. Though I hope to avoid mistakes, especially those I have already made in the past, I am grateful for God's mercy in giving me chance after chance, because he knows I am imperfect. Mistakes have consequences but I have found that if I try to humbly bear the consequences and turn towards him in faith my mistakes can be used to my (and God's) advantage.
Love,
Stéf
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