Uchtdorf - You Can Do It Now! - October 2013

President Uchtdorf discusses with the men of the church the reality that sometime we feel inadequate, depressed, or guilty because of the shortcomings we have in our lives.  He shares that these feelings are normal but it is how we react to them that determines our future.  If we stay in these dark places, we will not find happiness.  If we try to move past them, and find hope in the Savior, we will succeed in moving forward.

• We may think that women are more likely than men to have feelings of inadequacy and disappointment—that these feelings affect them more than us. I’m not sure that this is true. Men experience feelings of guilt, depression, and failure. We might pretend these feelings don’t bother us, but they do. We can feel so burdened by our failures and shortcomings that we begin to think we will never be able to succeed. We might even assume that because we have fallen before, falling is our destiny.

These feelings are normal.  But he reminds us that we are not defined by the number of time we fall short, but by our abilities to get up and move forward through these trials.

• Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.

God has shown us where to find answers through these dark moments in our lives.

• We know this mortal life is a test. But because our Heavenly Father loves us with a perfect love, He shows us where to find the answers. He has given us the map that allows us to navigate the uncertain terrain and unexpected trials that each of us encounters. The words of the prophets are part of this map. When we stray—when we fall or depart from the way of our Heavenly Father—the words of the prophets tell us how to rise up and get back on track.

Sorrow, guilt, and pain are normal feelings when we fall short of what God wants or expects us to be.  How we handle these feelings of inadequacy will determine how we get through it.

• There is an important difference between the sorrow for sin that leads to repentance and the sorrow that leads to despair.
• Satan’s purpose is to tempt us to exchange the priceless pearls of true happiness and eternal values for a fake plastic trinket that is merely an illusion and counterfeit of happiness and joy.

We all have experiences of falling short in our lives.  But if we look to the Savior as our foundation, our hope, our path forward, we will be able to rise past our mistakes and become better disciples of Jesus Christ.

• Every person, young and old, has had his own personal experience with falling. Falling is what we mortals do. But as long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the path toward the spiritual goals God has given us, we can learn something from failure and become better and happier as a result. My dear brethren, my dear friends, there will be times when you think you cannot continue on. Trust the Savior and His love. With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power and hope of the restored gospel, you will be able to walk tall and continue on.

We all fall short.  I am a perfect example of not living up to the potential that God has granted me.  But when I try to stay on track, when I choose to follow the Savior, when I push to not stay in the dark moments but seek the light of the Savior, he grants me that light.  He gives me hope that I can be forgiven for the mistakes I make.  He gives me hope that I will be able to move past my natural man and continue to worship in righteousness.  How lucky we are to have a Savior that never turns His back on us.  He is always there waiting for us to reach out to Him.