I don’t think that anyone – not a single person – has ever read the last few chapters in Mormon, all of Ether, and all of Moroni, and thought:
“Man, that Moroni is the worst writer ever.”
Right?!
Like, it’s almost laughable.
But clearly, to Moroni, this was a serious issue.
He believed that he wasn’t great at writing.
He believed that this was a big weakness of his.
“When we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.” (Ether 12:25)
He didn’t want to be mocked or compared.
Now THERE’S a feeling I think we all can relate to.
We see a little kid, afraid to perform at a piano recital…
And we tell them that it’s totally fine if they make mistakes because everyone is proud of them just for getting up to perform.
But we ourselves are paralyzed by a fear of messing up.
We go to someone else’s house and tell them not to worry about it no matter how many times they apologize for “the mess”.
And yet we don’t want anyone to see our house unless we clean.
We encourage our friends to accept a new calling, telling them that this will be a new opportunity to grow and expand their talents.
And we think the Bishop’s got it all wrong when we hear of our new assignment.
(There are so many more examples like this…)
We feel such loving compassion for Moroni talking about his weaknesses.
And yet we sometimes spare ourselves that same loving compassion.
So let’s try to be more compassionate, forgiving, and patient with our own weaknesses this week.
To look on our shortcomings the same way a tender, loving parent would.
The way a loyal friend would.
The way our perfect, divine, Heavenly Parents do.
Weaknesses are an opportunity for growth and a new chance for us to turn to the Lord and experience a miracle.
“Many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.” -Elder Uchtdorf
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
