Brothers and sisters, aloha!
We have lived in Park City, Utah, for over 20 years. Park City was the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics and is home to three world-class ski resorts. It’s a big time ski town. My favorite area is Deer Valley. On a powder day I know where to go to find first tracks in untouched snow. But when we were new to town I had to learn my way around the mountain.
I remember the first time I skied one particular run called The Ruins of Pompeii. It’s a double black diamond. It starts off steep and then in the middle it has an even steeper section. My first time down I wasn’t sure what was ahead so I was skiing carefully. When I came to the steep section I stopped to catch my breath and look down the slope to pick out my line. While I was standing there looking over the run, I heard another skier approaching. He was obviously a good skier and was skiing fast. When he came to the steep section he let out a whoop, caught a little air and went over the edge. I watched him do some nice turns and then ski out of sight. I was impressed.
I pushed off and carefully navigated the steep section with five or six turns. Then I stopped again and looked back up the slope. I was surprised at how much easier it looked from the bottom, especially now that I had completed it. Pleased with myself I completed the run and jumped on the lift.
Returning to the Ruins of Pompeii again I skied the upper section feeling pretty good. When the steep section came in sight I noticed a skier stopped where I had been, peering over the edge. So what do you think I did? Exactly. I picked up a little speed, let out a whoop, caught a very little air, and skied right over the edge. I laid down my turns and continued out of sight.
What was the difference between the two runs for me? Confidence. The first experience gave me confidence to do much better the second time down. And that’s what I want to talk about today. Confidence.
There is a marvelous scripture in Doctrine and Covenants, Section 121:
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.” (D&C 121:45-46)
Those are very powerful promises and beautiful blessings contingent on our developing some key Christ-like attributes. But “confident” is not normally the way that we see ourselves if we should find ourselves in the presence of God. We tend to think of ourselves as Moses did after being transfigured so that he could talk with God and then returning to his mortal state. He fell to the earth and after many hours he regained his strength and then observed, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10)
Or we think of ourselves as some of the Nephites did. Just before Christ visited the Nephites there was a great division among the people. “Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God. (3 Nephi 6:13)
But true humility, the humility that God wants from us, is developed by keeping the commandments and drawing close to God. In the Doctrine and Covenants we are thus directed, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:10)
God does not ask us to cower in His presence. He wants us to gain personal strength and draw closer to Him. In fact, the only one that wants us to fall down and worship him is Satan. After the Savior’s 40-day fast, Satan took him to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms and glory of the earth and then tempted him saying, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9)
The American theologian Tryon Edwards said, "True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit; it is but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us."
Elder Glen L. Pace addressed this topic from an LDS perspective:
“Many Latter-day Saints have unhealthy feelings about their own inadequacies, real or imagined. The scriptures inform us that we all have weaknesses and that there is a place for them in our spiritual progress: “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.”
My wife and I were here on campus for a year six years ago. While we were here I taught Religion 130, the Missionary Preparation class. In one of our lessons each semester we talked about making the Atonement active in our lives. As part of that lesson I asked all of the students to close their eyes and put their heads down on their desks. Then I asked them to consider this question, “If you were to die today, do you think you would go to the Celestial Kingdom? If your answer is Yes, then raise your hand.”
I had 30-40 students in each of those classes. How many hands do you think went up? Only three or four hands, and even those would be pretty shaky. Even allowing for the awkwardness of the classroom setting those are pretty bad results. And they shouldn’t be.
Brothers and Sisters, I say to you now as I said to the class, “If not you, then who?” You are all baptized into the The Church of Jesus Christ, you attend His university, many of you have served or are preparing to serve full-time missions. You attend church every week and partake of the sacrament. You do many acts of service both here on campus and in the community. If not you, then who?
“Too often we wallow in our weaknesses,” continues Elder Pace. “Our condition is frequently misdiagnosed as humility, when in reality it is a lack of confidence. What is the difference between the two?
To be humble is to 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. We are conscious of our weaknesses, but we know the Lord can use those very weaknesses to bless our lives and that through Him, our weaknesses can become strengths.
To lack confidence is to have feelings of low self-worth. We are preoccupied with our weaknesses, and we lack faith in the Lord’s ability to use those weaknesses for our good. We do not understand our inestimable worth in the eyes of God, nor do we appreciate our divine potential. Ironically, both pride and a lack of self-confidence cause us to focus excessively on ourselves and to deny the power of God in our lives.” (Ensign, Jan 2005)
Confidence comes from knowing that we are right with God, that we are aligned with God’s will and doing what he would have us do. The Brother of Jared displayed this confidence, but not initially.
The Brother of Jared built the barges to cross the ocean as he was directed, but then he discovered that he had two problems; no air because the barges were tight like a dish, and no light. So he went to the Lord for help. The Lord solved the first problem by giving the Brother of Jared the solution. But for the second problem He asked, “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?”
Seeing that it was up to him, the Brother of Jared went to great lengths to do his part. He went to an exceedingly high mount, and he did molten sixteen small stones out of rock until they were white and clear as glass. Then he presented them to the Lord and asked Him to touch the stones to provide the light they needed. The Lord did so, and when He touched the stones, the Brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord. He was struck with fear and fell to the ground. That doesn’t sound like a guy full of confidence, does it?
When the Lord asked why he had fallen to the ground he answered, “I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me.” The Lord then explained that he had seen the finger of the Lord because of his great faith and asked “Sawest thou more than this?”
Now the Brother of Jared turns from fear to confidence. “Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.”
Because of that confidence, The Lord then asks him one of the greatest questions in all of the scriptures, “Believest thou the words which I shall speak?”
Think about that question for a second and all that is implied in those few words, “Believest thou the words which I shall speak?”. He didn’t ask, “Do you believe all the things that I have said in the past? or Do you love Me? or Do you trust Me? or Will you keep all of my commandments?” He just said, “Do you believe what I’m about to say?”
Then the Brother of Jared gave the right answer. “Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.” Then the Lord showed himself to him and told him that he was redeemed from the Fall and brought back into His presence. What a glorious moment, maybe the ultimate confidence builder.
President Boyd K. Packer had an experience where he was taught the way to gain confidence. He says, “Shortly after I was called as a General Authority, I went to Elder Harold B. Lee for counsel. He listened very carefully to my problem and suggested that I see President David O. McKay. President McKay counseled me as to the direction I should go. I was very willing to be obedient but saw no way possible for me to do as he counseled me to do.
“I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw no way to move in the direction I was counseled to go. He said, ‘The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.’ I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: ‘You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.’
President James E. Faust said, “Let us not take counsel from our fears. May we remember always to be of good cheer, put our faith in God, and live worthy for Him to direct us. We are each entitled to receive personal inspiration to guide us through our mortal probation. May we so live that our hearts are open at all times to the whisperings and comfort of the Spirit.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells this story about trusting in the Lord and gaining confidence.“During a busy season of my life, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin extended a call to me to serve as stake president.
“During my interview with him, many thoughts raced through my mind, not the least of which was the unsettling worry that I might not have the time this calling would require. Although I felt humbled and honored by the call, I briefly wondered if I could accept it. But it was only a fleeting thought because I knew that Elder Wirthlin was called of God and that he was doing the Lord’s work. What could I do but accept?
“There are times when we have to step into the darkness in faith, confident that God will place solid ground beneath our feet once we do. And so I accepted gladly, knowing that God would provide.”
Now I’d like to give some practical suggestions to increase our spiritual confidence. The first six come from a talk that Elder Jörg Klebingat of The Seventy gave in General Conference in October, 2014 and then I will add a couple more.
Number 1. Take responsibility for our own spiritual well-being.
Don’t blame others, don’t blame your circumstances. Stop justifying, and stop making excuses for why you may not be fully striving to be obedient. It is time to give up your favorite sin.
Some of us have a misguided view of the God-given gift of agency. We think that we have our “free agency” which means that we get to choose for ourselves. But the term “free agency” does not appear once in the scriptures and the only free agents I know of are professional athletes. The Lord has given us our “agency” and we are free to choose, but the choice is clear; we are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, …or to choose captivity and death.” (2 Nephi 2:27) We are free to choose, but we are not free to choose the consequences that follow our choices. There is no middle ground. As a philosopher observed, “When you pick up one end of a stick, you also pick up the other.”
The Lord knows our circumstances perfectly, but He also knows perfectly well if we simply choose not to fully live the gospel. If that is the case, be honest enough to admit it, and make the changes that are required in your set of circumstances.
Spiritual confidence increases when we take responsibility for our own spiritual well-being.
Number 2. Take responsibility for our own physical well-being.
Our soul consists of our body and spirit. Feeding the spirit while neglecting the body, usually leads to a spiritual imbalance and lowered self-esteem.
Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught that we should “regard our body as a temple of our very own” and that we should “control our diet and exercise for physical fitness.”
If you are out of shape, if you are uncomfortable in your own body and can do something about it, then do it! Use good judgment in what and especially how much you eat. Regularly give your body the exercise it needs and deserves. If you are physically able, decide today to be the master of your own temple and begin a regular, long-term exercise program, suited to your abilities, combined with a healthier diet.
Spiritual confidence increases when our spirit, with the help of the Savior, is in charge of our natural man or woman.
Number 3. Embrace voluntary, wholehearted obedience.
The Savior’s standard is clear and simple: “If ye love me, keep my commandments”. Selective obedience brings selective blessings. Also, we must do the right things for the right reasons.
Adam, when he was driven out of the Garden of Eden, provides a perfect model of obedience. Remember that he had been friends and played with the animals in the Garden. Then God gave him the law of sacrifice to teach him about the atonement. He obeyed but it must have been a difficult commandment to keep. “And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” That is our example of obedience, or as we say in the mission field, Exact Obedience, to the commandments of God.
Remember that casualness in spiritual matters never was happiness. Make the Church and the restored gospel your whole life, not just a part of your outward or social life.
Spiritual confidence increases when we are truly striving, for the right reasons, to live a consecrated life in spite of our imperfections!
Number 4. Become really, really good at repenting.
Establish an attitude of ongoing, happy, joyful repentance by making it your lifestyle of choice.
Most of us wouldn’t go out in the sun without applying some sort of sunscreen. Because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is very practical and available to all, we should apply it generously 24/7, for it never runs out. Beware of the temptation to procrastinate and just repent.
Hugh Nibley, one of our greatest Mormon scholars, said it this way. “Who is righteous? Anyone who is repenting. No matter how bad he has been, if he is repenting he is a righteous man. There is hope for him. And no matter how good he has been all his life, if he is not repenting, he is a wicked man. The difference is which way you are facing. The man on the top of the stairs facing down is much worse off than the man on the bottom step who is facing up.”
Spiritual confidence increases when we voluntarily and joyfully repent of our sins, both great and small, by applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Number 5. Become really, really good at forgiving.
Forgive everyone, for everything, all the time, or at least strive to do so, thus allowing forgiveness into our own lives. Don’t hold grudges, don’t be easily offended. Learn to forgive and forget quickly.
President Hinckley said, “"I think [forgiveness] may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed. There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred. There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness. It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern. Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance, accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way."
Spiritual confidence increases when we know that the Lord knows that we harbor no ill will toward any other soul.
Number 6. Accept trials and setbacks as part of our mortal experience.
Remember that we are here to be proved and tested.
Some trials come through our own disobedience or negligence. Other trials come because of the negligence of others or simply because this is a fallen world. When these trials come, try to force a smile and say, “I understand, Lord. I know what this is. A time to prove myself, isn’t it?” Then partner with Him to endure well to the end.
When Joseph Smith cried out to the Lord from Liberty Jail, the Lord told him:
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. (D&C 121:7-8)
…Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. “(D&C 122:7)
Spiritual confidence increases when we accept that trials and tribulations are part of life and all of this will be for our good.
And now let me add two more suggestions from the verses in D&C 121.
Number 7. Let virtue garnish they thoughts unceasingly.
Modern computers may have parallel processing, and some of you may think you have learned how to multitask, but the human mind can only process one conscious thought at a time.
Scientists have calculated that each of us has over 50,000 thoughts each day. We make a choice, a conscious choice, to pursue or ignore each thought that enters our mind. The ability to control our thoughts, to focus on virtuous thoughts is a pure Christ-like attribute.
Elder Scott told us in a training seminar what he did to stay focused on virtuous subjects. He travelled a lot in his church service. He said that whenever they showed a movie on the airplane he would busy himself in his work at his seat and never look at the screen. Why? Because he didn’t even want the images that he might see to enter his mind.
Spiritual confidence increases when we learn to control our thoughts and spend more time on subjects that are both virtuous and praiseworthy.
And lastly, Number 8, Have charity towards all men.
There is a wise saying that goes, There are two kinds of people in the world; those that you love and those that you don’t yet know. The more we get to know people and their situations and their challenges, the better we like them.
My recommendation is to give people the benefit of the doubt. And the best way to get to know someone is to do for them selfless acts of service.
Spiritual confidence increases as we seek to serve those around us.
Brothers and Sisters, Confidence is a key to success, both in our earthly endeavors, like skiing, and in our striving to return to the presence of God. As we follow each of these suggestions we will give a celestial boost to our own self-confidence and our confidence before God. We will greet each new day with a healthy optimism. We will meet our friends and make new acquaintances with calm self-assurance. And, as promised in D&C 121, we will more fully understand the doctrines of the gospel, the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion, people will recognize us as pillars of righteousness, and other blessings will flow unto us, unbidden, forever and ever.
Of this, I bear my solemn witness. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.