I Make Weak Things Become Strong

When I opened up my Gospel Library app this morning to read my scriptures, I found something rather strange. It was on Ether 12—probably my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon—but it was blank except for the words with a footnote. Since I’ve read this chapter so many times, I thought it would be interesting to study it with just those words. It was a powerful way for me to see the message of this chapter. I saw that it could be organized into three general regions in the chapter. First, there is a positive focus on faith, miracles and power. Some of these words (in order) include faith, hoped, witness, called, gift, excellent, faith, miracle, change, and Holy Ghost. It also includes this phrase: Ammon wrought miracles faith. Indeed, it is by faith that miracles are wrought and mountains are moved. 

But then the next section focuses on weakness and struggle. Some of the words are these: mock, weakness, awkwardness, cannot, weakness, mock, Fools mock, weakness. This was the low point for Moroni as he struggled with his own limitations. 

And, finally, the third section returns triumphantly to faith and hope with an emphasis on love as well: give, grace, humble, faith, righteousness, comforted, remove, faith, mansions, hope, loved, love, charity, grace, clean, judgment-seat, garments, seen, face to face, plain, seek, and record. Those aren’t all of the footnoted words (but they are most of them), and those themes are fairly strong just looking at the footnoted words of the chapter. 

It highlights to me an important progression: initial faith; then trial and testing; and finally triumphal faith, grace, and love. Surely part of the message of this chapter is that faith must be tried in order to truly be strong, and we see Moroni’s own faith tested as he worked through his own weakness.

               The central point of this chapter, and where the second section above turns into the third, is surely this well-known verse: “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” (v27). When Moroni went before the Lord overcome by his weakness trying to write a sacred record, it is instructive that the Lord did not say, “You’ve got this Moroni. You can do it. You are an amazing writer. No one will mock your words. You are powerful.” Those are the kinds of things I think that we would probably say to someone in our day in his situation. No, instead the Lord told Moroni that through his humility the Lord would give him strength. We are not strong—our strength only comes from the Lord as we humbly realize that without Him we are nothing. Ammon who “wrought miracles faith” put it this way: “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever” (Alma 26:12). This doesn’t mean that we don’t need to do anything to solve our challenging problems, but it does mean that the first step is always to humbly approach the Lord pleading for His help and strength and power. Moroni found that, and afterwards powerfully invited us in these words: “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” (Ether 12:41). We must seek Him in all our struggles, and Moroni’s witness is that we will indeed find the grace and power of the Savior. And good can come out of weakness and mistakes, even bugs in the Gospel Library app.