Make Weak Things Become Strong

To my daughter, 

                One of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon is Ether 12. By this time Moroni was writing at the end of the Nephite civilization, and he was all alone. He was abridging the record of the Jaredites, and he reviewed the great faith of so many of his predecessors. He highlighted how earlier Book of Mormon prophets had done incredible miracles through their faith. Alma and Amulek caused the prison walls to come down, Nephi and Lehi helped converted thousands of Lamanites, and Ammon and his brethren helped change the lives of thousands of Lamanites. The brother of Jared had so much faith that he saw Jesus Christ face to face and received an incredible vision of all the inhabitants of the earth. As Moroni considered the incredible faith of these earlier prophets, he seems to have gotten down on himself and overcome by his own weakness as he wrote the Book of Mormon. He said, “Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing;… And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them… 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” (v23-25). He felt overcome with his own weakness compared to these great prophets of the past who had performed such incredible miracles and shown such extraordinary faith. He was alone, his life was constantly threatened by the Lamanites, and he felt inadequate at performing the mission that remained his in mortality.

                At this low point in Moroni’s life, the Savior’s voice came to him and brought great comfort. The Lord said this, “Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And 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” (v26-27). These words must have been profoundly comforting to Moroni, and they are powerful for us to consider as we struggle with our own weakness and inadequacies. The doctrine taught here is profound: the Lord gives us weakness. But the point is not, “The Lord gave me this weakness so there is nothing that I can do about it.” No, it’s actually the opposite: the Lord gave me this weakness, and He will make it strong when I come unto Him with humility and faith. He doesn’t want us to simply accept being mediocre and embrace our weaknesses as who we are; rather, He wants us to come to Him for help with our challenges and find strength in Him. If we are humble and seek His help with all our hearts, He promises to transform us to be strong in Him. And that’s exactly what He did for Moroni. This final Nephite prophet thought he was weak in writing, but he came unto the Lord and received great strength, so much that his words he left are probably the most quoted in the whole Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:3-5). To me his words are powerful and penetrating, and what he thought was a weakness became strong as he turned to the Savior for help. I love this powerful invitation that He left us: “And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever” (v41). I hope that you and I will seek Jesus with all our hearts as we work through our own weakness and struggles, for if we do we will have the grace of God to be with and strengthen us forever.   

Love,

Dad