How many times have we had the feeling of inadequacy when being asked to fill a calling? Or given an assignment. Well, we're not alone. Moroni, who was faithful and brave, felt the same way. God had given him a commandment to write some stuff down on the plates, which were meant to come forth to the gentiles in the latter days.
"And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing;" (Ether 12:23)
He goes on to share his fears about how there would be all sorts of issues with writing. He even says things about how God had made their words very powerful when speaking, but harder to capture in writing. He (Moroni!) just decides he has some fears/frustrations/complaints.
After emphasizing that he is worried that the Gentiles will mock him, He received some comforting words from the Lord.
"Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;" (Ether 12:26)
I mean, if God says that to me, I would feel so much better! That phrase, "they shall take no advantage of your weakness", is amazing. "Shall" is the kind of language that you see in the commandments. This just underscores how serious He is when He says it that way.
Then, I love this explanation from the Lord:
"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." (Ether 12:27)
I love this because if you think about it, we talk all the time about God-given talents and abilities. What about God-given weaknesses? It's important to remember that even our weaknesses come from a loving, caring, all powerful and all knowing Father in Heaven, who wants to give us the best chance for making it back to heaven with him while still giving us our agency. He, in all His wisdom, has given us weaknesses so we can be humble and so we can have stuff to work on. This totally changes my perspective on weakness though. It's just just something to hide or be ashamed of. It's something that God gave me (and everyone) to be humble and then strengthened (over time).
He will help us find our weaknesses, and learn about them. If we do, and we remain humble and faithful, God has promised to turn our weaknesses into strengths. I know that I have a lot of weaknesses, and God has promised to make them known to me if I come unto Him. I think I probably need to be better about asking Him what weaknesses I have and what I can do to improve on them.
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