The Journey to Perfection

I have been thinking a lot about hope lately; what it is, how we obtain it, etc. It's a pretty broad topic and one that I think is often overlooked. As a missionary it can be easy to get into a routine and just "go through the motions" of being a missionary but if we don't keep our purpose in mind of bringing our Heavenly Father's precious children back to Him, we can't do as much good. We, as missionaries, have to have a vision of who these people are and what they can become. Heavenly Father has a vision like that for each of us but if we don't catch that vision in ourselves we can't become what He knows we can become.

It's so easy, in the world that we live in, to put ourselves down by comparing ourselves to others. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said  
"Let me cite a hypothetical example of a dear sister in any ward, the one who has perfect children who never cause a disturbance in church. She is the one working on her 20th generation in her family history, keeps an immaculate home, has memorized the book of Mark, and makes wool sweaters for the orphaned children in Romania. No disrespect, of course, intended for any of these worthy goals. Now, when you get tempted to throw your hands in the air and give up because of this dear sister, please remember you’re not competing with her any more than I’m competing with the members of the Quorum of the Twelve in winning a 50-yard dash. The only thing you need to worry about is striving to be the best you can be. And how do you do that? You keep your eye on the goals that matter most in life, and you move towards them step by step."  

Source

Everyone has their own strengths and their own weaknesses and it doesn't make anyone better than anyone else. We are all at different points in our progression but the point of this life is to become better. Perfection doesn't come in this life but we have a responsibility to constantly be stretching and growing. Heavenly Father knows what we can become and He will help us get there as long as we are trying our best. Sometimes we blame ourselves when people (children, siblings, friends, even parents) choose to do things contrary to what they have been taught but it is important to remember that everyone has their agency and all we can control is ourselves. In Preach My Gospel it defines what a successful missionary is but I think it is also the definition of a successful person.
"When you have done your very best, you may still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you."  

Heavenly Father only looks at our own personal effort. What others do after we have done our best is up to them but we can know that Heavenly Father is pleased with what we have done through prayer and studying the scriptures. Elder Carl B. Cook counseled us "to try not to look sideways to see how others are viewing our lives but to look up to see how Heavenly Father sees us. He doesn’t look on the outward appearance but on the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). And He knows, better than anyone else, what each one of us needs."
So just keep doing your best. Place your faith and trust in the Lord and He will help you have the hope that you need to make it through.

The Best Path

A few days ago during companionship study Sister Luscher and I were talking about the things we invite people to do and how they respond. As missionaries we invite people to do a lot of things (read the Book of Mormon, pray, come to church, get baptized, etc.) and one of the responses we hear quite frequently is "I'll try." Trying is good but it requires some doing and usually includes falling short a few times. The conversation reminded me of a time in my life when I thought I was trying but I wasn't doing my best.





Quick story from the life of Sister Tucker... Before I came on my mission I was in college at BYU-Idaho. The last semester I was there I was taking some pretty tough classes that I didn't enjoy very much, I wasn't particularly thrilled with my roommate situation, and I really didn't like my job. To say the least, it was hard. I got my mid term grades and realized I was failing a couple of classes and not doing too well in the others. Obviously I knew I needed to step up my game and just do the work I needed to but I was so overwhelmed with everything else going on in my life that I didn't know where to start. It was then that I realized that every talk in church, every devotional I went to focused on daily prayer and scripture study.... Oops... That's what was missing in my life and that's why nothing seemed to be going right. I had let those small but very important things slide for far too long. I made a commitment that I would start waking up earlier to read my scriptures before I got ready for class. It wasn't easy at first but as I kept that commitment and just did it I started to see the blessings. I was able to get all my homework done and I didn't dread it as much. I got better grades on tests. Work was tolerable even though I still didn't completely enjoy it. I was able to start hanging out more with someone who is now one of my very best friends and still maintain a good relationship with my roommates and other friends. And the best part...I decided that I was definitely going to serve a mission, which is the best decision I've ever made. What started out as the worst semester turned into one of the best because I committed to living the gospel and doing those small and simple things each day. It wasn't easy and I wasn't perfect at it but as I put forth my effort Heavenly Father blessed me. He will do the same for you as you truly commit to live the gospel. Christ commanded us to "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48) but that doesn't mean He expects it all at once. It is the same way when missionaries invite people to do something like read the scriptures every day. I know that it's not the easiest thing in the world but is possible as you rely on the Lord and do your best each day.