“the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10)
I have had the privilege, for the last several years of my life, to serve in a variety of positions working with the wonderful women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have loved these callings and had valuable experiences that have changed my life and helped me to develop into the person I am today. I still have many more areas I can grow in. I often sit and think of the sisters that I serve and my own personal welfare and growth. I find myself being rather hard on myself. I feel that this is a common characteristic of many women in this world. We tend to focus more on our weaknesses than our strengths. We often focus on how far we have to go, rather than how far we have come.
“Too often we wallow in our weaknesses so much that we do not allow “weak things” to “become strong.” Our condition is frequently misdiagnosed as humility, when in reality it is a lack of confidence.” The difference between humility and lack of confidence is that when we are humble,we “recognize our utter dependence upon the Lord. We are conscious of our strengths, but we do not exalt ourselves and become prideful, for we know that all good things ultimately come from God.” Elder Glenn L. Pace
When we are lacking in confidence, we have feelings of low self worth. We become so preoccupied with our weaknesses, that we miss the opportunity to allow the Lord to make our weaknesses a benefit for ourselves and our fellow men. Having feelings of discouragement, frustration, and inadequacy is a part of life. These feelings can drive us to our knees and the Lord can work mighty miracles through us if we let Him. The problem comes when these feelings impede our progression, because they blind us from recognizing our inestimable worth in the sight of God, and focusing on our divine potential.
I would like to offer 5 principles I have discovered through the spirit to be true when it comes to building our self confidence and recognizing our self worth.
- Understand our eternal nature and destiny. Much of the problems we face in life come from our forgetting not WHO we are but WHOSE we are! “We are the children of God, and as His children there is no attribute we ascribe to Him that we do not possess, though they may be dormant or in embryo. The mission of the Gospel is to develop these powers and make us like our Heavenly Parent.”– George Q Cannon
- Have charity towards all men. When was the last time you genuinely praised someone for the good they have done? When was the last time that your joy was so full to see your brethren and their success, that it exhausted your strength-as it did Ammon (Alma 19: 14) in the scriptures and Alma (Alma 29:14-16) as well! “I am convinced that when we obtain a witness of who we really are and possess healthy feelings of self-worth because of it, our joy in the accomplishments of others is magnified. When that joy is felt, we should share it.” -Elder Glenn L Pace
- Develop an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude is a sign of maturity. The Lord delights in a thankful heart. When we seek daily to recognize the blessings the Lord has given us, we will gain confidence in our own self worth. We will have a great realization of the love of God and our Savior for ourselves and for our fellow men. If you want to feel better about yourself, try being grateful for what you have. “Comparing blessings is almost certain to drive out joy,” says Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “We cannot be grateful and envious at the same time. If we truly want to have the Spirit of the Lord and experience joy and happiness, we should rejoice in our blessings and be grateful”
- Remember that though you may feel inadequate, you can do all things because of the atonement of Christ. All of us have been given weaknesses. The scriptures teach us that weaknesses help us to be humble and call upon God. They are there to help us on our eternal progression. Weaknesses can become strengths when we properly utilize the atonement of Christ. When was the last time that you sat and took in the glory of the beauty of the world which God created specifically for you! Isn’t it a wonder that God created the beautiful universe, the mountains, the oceans, and the magnificent wonders of the world-and he topped it off with his greatest creation-me, and you! Remember President Uchtdorf’s words, “ This is the paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God.”
- Recognize your individual and unique influence as women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Women are essential in God’s plan for his children. The scriptures share many stories of faithful women from the beginning with Eve, who have been powerful instruments in the hands of the Lord. “A worthy woman personifies the truly noble and worthwhile attributes of life. A faithful woman can become a devoted daughter of God—more concerned with being righteous than with being selfish, more anxious to exercise compassion than to exercise dominion, more committed to integrity than to notoriety. And she knows of her own infinite worth.” -Russell M Nelson
Each of us has divine potential and our possibilities are endless! We would do well to create within us a sense of unshakable belief in our capacity to do so much good! As Gordon B. Hinckley taught, “I believe in myself. I do not mean to say this with egotism. But I believe in my capacity and in your capacity to do good, to make some contribution to the society of which we are a part, [and] to grow and develop. … I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world, be it ever so small.”
Let us remember our divine worth and work daily to develop the confidence we need in ourselves to serve God and our fellow men. “People wonder what we (the church) do for our women. I will tell you what we do: We get out of their way and look with wonder at what they are accomplishing.” -Sheri Dew
I am a wanderlust spirit who dreams of seeing every country! I love humanitarian work and hope to one day have my own self-sustaining nonprofit organization. I love to be outdoors doing outdoor recreational activities. I have a degree in Exercise Science from Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in Business Administration. I am a dancer, a singer, and yogi! I believe that this life is all about progression and not perfection. I also believe that every girl should be told she is beautiful often, because we really do not hear it enough. Finally, I believe that faith is not so much a belief, but something we live!
I adore this! Thanks for sharing such beautiful insights.