Tonight I just wanted to share one of my favorite quotes today that gave me hope. And I referred to it several times today when I was feeling discouraged and guilty and shameful when listening to other talks.
My favorite quote from today is from Elder Craig A. Cardon (Saturday morning). His talk was on repentance. He said, "In His mercy He allows for improvement over time and not immediate change. The Lord will recognize our righteous efforts."
I needed to hear that today, maybe more than any other day. I needed to know that it was okay that I have not been able to change everything all at once when it comes to this addiction, including the thoughts. I needed to know that the Lord recognizes my efforts, because I am really giving a valiant effort in all areas of my life. It was calming to my spirit to hear this. It carried me through the rest of the conference speakers.
One thing I know for sure about myself is that I have desire to not participate in this addiction. It is a small desire, but it is a desire and it grows stronger each day. In the ARP manual for Step 1 it says, "The only requirement to begin recovery is the desire to stop participating in the addiction. If your desire is small and inconsistent today, don't worry. It will grow!" I am counting on it growing and that I will be able to show consistent improvement over time.
I love general conference. I think the one that stood out most to me was Elder Bednar's talk especially in the first few lines when he said, I am going to answer the question why keeping the law of chastity is important.
ReplyDeleteIt stood out to me because I vacillate between wanting to just understand by study why chastity is important verses just obeying and trusting the understanding will come as I obey. I felt like Elder Bednar gave me the "understanding by studying and learning about it" part and now it's time for me to just obey!
Oh my goodness, Elder Bednar's talk was my absolute favorite and most impactful for me too. I can't stop thinking about it. I had tears the entire talk.
DeleteI vacillate between those two things too and he addressed many of my concerns and need for understanding. It also generated a few more questions for me. So after the afternoon session was over, I immediately searched for more of his talks on this subject and there were some. So I read those (which had much of the same information) and learned even more. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.
I talked to my bishop today and told him I want to talk to him more about it and ask him my questions.
Thanks for being the first to comment on my blog. :)