Practice Makes Progress

Practice Makes Progress
Quotes by Elder Holland: Read the talk here 

About 15 years ago I was sitting in a Sacrament Meeting listening to the bishops wife speak. I don't remember what her talk was on, but I Do remember bringing up the subject of her family and how she loved them and no matter where they were at in life, she loved them. She prayed for them, and she rejoiced in any progress they made in life. That resonated with me, very deeply and sincerely. 

I pondered on that principal for a long time and it has come to bless my life in ways I now look back and am so grateful that I understand to my core, the principal of progression, that we are all on a journey to perfection. That it is not necessary think I have to be spot on today, but that I am getting as close to it as I can, as I act on the principles of the gospel. And when I fall, I get back up again and check myself, and move forward.

Elder Holland starts off his talk like this: "The scriptures were written to bless and encourage us, and surely they do that. We thank heaven for every chapter and verse we have ever been given. But have you noticed that every now and then a passage will appear that reminds us we are falling a little short?" And then in his humourous way, that only Elder Holland can pull off, he comments on how these scriptures "remind us we are falling a little short" and make us want to go back to bed and forget it all, at times. That these "celestial goals" can seem even daunting.

And then he encourages and lifts each of us:

"Yet surely the Lord would never give us a commandment He knew we could not keep.

One insightful Latter-day Saint, Sister Darla Isackson, has observed that Satan has somehow managed to make covenants and commandments seem like curses and condemnations. For some he has turned the ideals and inspiration of the gospel into self-loathing and misery-making.3

I also know that, as children of God, we should not demean or vilify ourselves, as if beating up on ourselves is somehow going to make us the person God wants us to become. No! With a willingness to repent and a desire for increased righteousness always in our hearts, I would hope we could pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t include getting ulcers or anorexia, feeling depressed or demolishing our self-esteem."

"President Russell M. Nelson has taught, here in mortality

 perfection is still “pending.”

 Elder Holland describes how we can get discouraged from reading what God expects of us by way of commandments. We see our selves as not enough, not worthy enough, and never-going-to-make-it kind of people. Yet if we believe that we can become like God, if we believe he made it to a God through progression, can we not believe in what He has become? A being who loves His enemies, who can bless those who despitefully use Him and persecute Him, and who is merciful and a peacemaker.

"So I believe that Jesus did not intend His sermon on this subject to be a verbal hammer for battering us about our shortcomings. No, I believe He intended it to be a tribute to who and what God the Eternal Father is and what we can achieve with Him in eternity."

Ephesians 4:12 For the ^aperfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the ^bedifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the ^aunity of the faith, and of the ^bknowledge of the Son of God, unto a ^cperfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

Speaking on what the atonement has done for us Elder Holland says:

"We may not be able to demonstrate yet the 10,000-talent perfection the Father and the Son have achieved, but it is not too much for Them to ask us to be a little more godlike in little things, that we speak and act, love and forgive, repent and improve at least at the 100-pence level of perfection, which it is clearly within our ability to do."

"My brothers and sisters, except for Jesus, there have been no flawless performances on this earthly journey we are pursuing, so while in mortality let’s strive for steady improvement without obsessing over what behavioral scientists call “toxic perfectionism.” Read an article about Toxic Perfectionism

One time after teaching a Relief Society lesson a former bishop was standing out in the hallway and he had known it was me teaching in there. As I approached him he asked me how it went and then he asked me a question I will never forget, "was it "perfect"? I was a little taken back by the question but then with confidence, I was able to answer "it was perfect for me." I knew I was improving with each time I taught. 

Then he asked, "Do you know the definition of Perfect?" I did not. So he told me what the definition in the Bible dictionary was; Perfection means Finished and Complete. He was making a point. My lesson was finished and complete. So then I thought to myself, I was right, it was perfect for me. I had planned, prepared, practiced and taught to the best of my ability. And each new lesson would be an improvement on the last.

Of this Elder Holland says:  "If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection." 14

That Sabbath day I had "Finished and completed" a lesson I prepared and practiced. For that time I was finished and complete. Yet it doesn't stop there. It goes on and on, everyday is a day to finish and complete. It is up to us what we do with our time and how we use it to grow. Our time here IS a resource. 

My wish for all of us is that we make each day count, that we will "somewhere in eternity" become Finished and Complete.

"Every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. If we admit that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human."

I am learning so much about honestly admitting to our improvements. To count my successes along the path of mortality. We look too harshly at our faults, condemn ourselves and then forget to admit when we have improved. I encourage all of us to count our progress, and make it count. Live in the present and look forward to the future with hope, patience and Love for ourselves. 

Joy In the Journal

• Take a look at your past life and then where you are now and write at least one place of growth you see in yourself. (Small ones count!)
• Write a success at the end of each day! Count it! Take joy in it!
• Consider creating a "Celestial Goal."

***All blog posts in this section are from LDS Conference Talks. All Quotes are from one indiviual talk with references to whom the speaker was also quoting. This is how I started recording my thoughts while reading Conference talks. Now I want to share them with you.***