Grace

My head thinks only in extremes...I don't do things gradually.  If it's a little chilly in the car, I don't just turn the heat up a little, I turn it all the way to 90 degrees, turn the fan up to HIGH, and turn on the seat warmers.  It's either ON or OFF...there is no in between.  That applies in everything I do.  All or nothing.  Life or death.  Perfection or failure.

So, the lesson in Gospel Doctrine today was mostly for me.  (Hopefully all those other people in there liked it, too.)   I am LOVING this year's course of study which is The Book of Mormon.  Have I mentioned that LOVE the Book of Mormon!?  And I also love that my personal goal to read the scriptures is being supported by this "weekly discussion" at church.  It is totally inspiring me and driving me to keep reading.  

In our ward, we have two gospel doctrine teachers who alternate weeks.  That's always a nice thing so that one person isn't responsible for the entire calling and to give a little diversity in teaching styles.  However, I clearly have a favorite teacher, and sometimes my attitude about the other one isn't always enthusiastic.  This morning, though, I walked into the class with excitement about the lesson, and excitement about what little inspiring thing I might get out of the class.  (After last week, I've kind of been looking for that stuff everywhere, and I'm kind of finding it!)  I LOVED the lesson today.  This particular teacher's style is still a little less than appealing for me, but today it didn't matter.  The material that he brought was so uplifting and so personally appropriate, that I didn't even think about all those other distractions.  



He based his entire lesson on this talk...Brad Wilcox BYU Devotional His Grace Is Sufficient

Here's part of it...

 ...there should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).

See...personally appropriate.  And Brad Wilcox doesn't even KNOW me!?  But guess what!  Heavenly Father does.  He knows what I need to hear.  He knows what will move me to do something different than I've done before.  He knows my weaknesses.  And even better than that...he knows my strengths.  Even when all I see is failure, He sees potential and the ability to change.  I loved today's lesson.  And I loved that talk even more the second and third and fourth time I read it.  It's exactly what I needed today, and what I will need to be reminded of a million more times in the future.     

The grace of Christ is sufficient—sufficient to cover our debt, sufficient to transform us, and sufficient to help us as long as that transformation process takes. The Book of Mormon teaches us to rely solely on “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8). As we do, we do not discover—as some Christians believe—that Christ requires nothing of us. Rather, we discover the reason He requires so much and the strength to do all He asks (see Philippians 4:13). Grace is not the absence of God’s high expectations. Grace is the presence of God’s power (see Luke 1:37).