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.