Thought of the Day

It is not possible to make real change all by ourselves. Our own willpower and our own good intentions are not enough. When we make mistakes or choose poorly, we must have the help of our Savior to get back on track. We partake of the sacrament week after week to show our faith in His power to change us. We confess our sins and promise to forsake them.

When our best efforts are not quite enough, it is through His grace that we receive the strength to keep trying. The Lord says: "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."

- Julie Beck, Ensign, May 2007

Change

I write a lot about overcoming addiction to pornography, because that is the challenge I am fighting in my life. But as I think about change, I think maybe the entire purpose of our lives is to change. To change from letting the natural man rule our decisions to turning our life and will over to our Savior.

Change is hard. Just ask anyone who has tried to lose weight...or start an exercise program...or start waking up earlier...or stop losing their temper...or stop procrastinating. Why is change so hard, and how can we make changes that stick?

I don't have all the answers.

I do think I would like to study change more and gain a better understanding.

For now I will leave two thoughts.

1) It is through the atonement of Jesus Christ that our greatest and most powerful changes come. When we learn to rely on him and allow him to change us, we find great success.

2) Notwithstanding #1, there are practical lessons that can teach us how to make successful change. In many ways I think it falls on us to understand how to practically change our lives, and then rely on the Lord to help us achieve that change.

It is that familiar refrain. Pray like it all depends on the Lord, and then work like it all depends on us.