This past week was what I compare to the average drive down an Ohio street. Lots of highs and lots of lows. The things that constituted the highs were District Council, teaching lessons, and of course General Conference. The lows constituted mainly of not really being able to proselytize outside and leaving lots of voicemails. Lots and lots of voicemails. Especially on Tuesday and Wednesday, it was pretty rough where for those 2 days, our finding efforts was all essentially just calling people who would either hang up or wouldn’t answer. But on Thursday is when something great happened. We had called some members and set up appointments to teach a lesson, but for the most part it was essentially the same as Tuesday and Wednesday. Slightly discouraged we decided to call one last member before we would move on to our next activity. They answered and gladly accepted the invitation to receive a lesson. Prior to our hanging up, they told us that their daughter wanted to talk to us. We listened as her daughter simply said, “Hey could you teach and baptize my three kids?” We kind of just sat there and I looked at my trainer and said, “can we do that?” We gladly accepted the invitation to teach her children, and we have an appointment with her tomorrow! It was a real attitude improver for us because we were getting slightly discouraged from the lack of success those last couple of days. We are very excited to teach them and hope to see more success in the future!
As we look at general conference talks, I’d like to focus on two. The first is President Nelson’s talk from Sunday Morning. The second is from over three decades ago, President Benson’s discourse on Pride. While I was listening to President Nelson’s talk, my mind kept on correlating what President Nelson said to what President Benson wrote those 31 years ago. Says President Nelson,
“When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, to be part of Israel, so many decisions become easier. So many issues become non-issues! You know how best to groom yourself. You know what to watch and read, where to spend your time, and with whom to associate. You know what you want to accomplish. You know the kind of person you really want to become.”
When we align our wills with God’s, showing humility by being willing to give up our sins and the natural man, we will naturally live in accordance with the principles and commandments of the gospel. Conversely, when we pit our wills against God’s, and submit to the appetites of the natural man, we grow distant from God. President Benson explains how being prideful, and unwilling to let God prevail in your life shows itself in men. Says he,
“The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.”
It’s interesting to see how they correlate. The will of God against the will of man. Humility vs. Pride. Thesis and antithesis. Submitting to the will of God shows humility. It shows that you are willing to do whatever the lord wants you to do. Submitting to the will of man shows pride. It is selfishly showing that you are without the need of God in your life, and trust the natural man more than Him. I invite you to ask yourself, “In my life, am I submitting to the will of God, and letting God prevail in my life? Or am I letting the will of man prevail in my life, letting pride get in the way of following God and being happy?” I promise that as you seek to let God prevail in your life, and let the pride of the natural man disappear, the decisions and trials of your life will become easier.
Stay safe, I pray for you all every day.
Love,
Elder Watson