Weakness and Strength

Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

I have always loved this scripture and found great comfort in its promise. In my Book of Mormon class this past week I gained a new insight into what exactly this promise means. Similar to many of the other prophets who have contributed to the writings of the Book of Mormon, Moroni confessed and explained his weakness in writing. He prayed to have his weakness in writing strengthened. What I learned in my class is that Heavenly Father doesn't always take away our weaknesses. Rather, he works with them. Moroni's weakness in writing was not a problem to God because the Book of Mormon was translated by the urim and thumim. The fact that the Book of Mormon was written by imperfect men is a further testifier to the truth that God desires to speak with men and to the miracles that God can perform through ordinary men. In my Book of Mormon class, my teacher loves to say, "the farm boy did it again!" Joseph Smith was an ordinary man. He didn't have much education but he was able to translate through the gift of the spirit. God trusted him with the organization of his church when it was ready to be received on the earth again. God works through small and simple means. What this taught me is that I shouldn't feel down because of my weakness but rather, trust in God and place my weakness at His feet allowing Him to make these weaknesses strong or use them for good just as he would my strengths. 

Our Symbolic Journey to Heaven

Ether 2: 7 "And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people".
Sometimes when we feel like we are doing all that we can do, we are given a commandment to do more, to raise the bar. This is not because what we are already doing is not pleasing to the Lord or doesn't satisfy Him, but rather, because He wants us to reach the fullness of our potential. Once we are feeling comfortable at the place that we are at, He gives us a new opportunity to stretch ourselves. While the place that the Jaredites had reached, beyond the sea in the wilderness was beautiful, Heavenly Father had a more beautiful place in mind for them, the promised land.
It is not enough to simply be good. We must be better than the day before. Life isn't about where we are in the journey but about who we are becoming in the journey. It's easy to discredit ourselves for making mistakes today, but that is exactly what the Atonement is for. If we were perfect today, then there would be no purpose to the loving sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. We can show our gratitude to our Savior by utilizing His atonement and allowing ourselves to be forgiven and to improve.