Thoughts on Becoming

     Life is hard. Sometimes I just worry about who I am and my ability to succeed. Sometimes it seems like I’m destined to fail. But I know that’s not true. The gospel is a gospel of hope. We can be changed through the Atonement of Christ. We aren’t supposed to be perfect now—it’s normal to have flaws and failings. In fact, it’s a blessing. It’s a blessing to come to know God and rely on His goodness and grace. To be able to become, through affliction and hardship, something so much more than we ever hoped we could be. All things are possible with God. He can make weak things become strong unto us. He can shape us and change our very natures if we come unto Him and let Him work in our lives. I love God because of this opportunity He affords me, the opportunity to grow and to rely on Him. His plan is a plan of happiness and it was formulated with so much perfection and mercy. It is beautiful. We cannot become who we want to be without His help.

     Some of the things I've learned in one of my classes this year have given me a lot of hope that people can change and that attitude really is everything. We really are “the decisive element” as Goethe so wisely said. We decide who we want to be. We become who we want to be based on our thoughts and desires and actions. So, if we want to be good we have already taken the first step to becoming good. We need to start letting good thoughts take the stage in our minds and then to work to make our thoughts into actions. When we use our agency to simply try God can step in and help us make the changes that need to be made. Effort is tied so closely with God’s blessings and grace. I believe that the Divine Nature and Godliness within each of us plays a role in our ability to change and become. Change is possible because of Him. We allow Him to step in to help change us when we show Him that is what we want by exercising our agency to work toward that goal. We can be all we hope to be if we simply believe and try.

    I am everything I am because God has blessed me from the time He created my spirit until now. He has given me attributes. He has given me trials and the accompanying strength to grow. He has given me a loving family environment, an incredible community environment, and an amazing educational environment and opportunities. He has given me everything. "A turtle on a fence post didn’t get there by itself." I owe everything I have to God. He loves me and can help me to continue to grow into the person I want to be.

    I need to pray for help to believe in myself every day. Then I need to act how a person with the qualities I desire would act with faith that God will help me become those things. I need to choose to be resilient and strong. With His help I can do all things. I can succeed. I can be all I want to be.