Quotes
1) "Let us examine our lives and determine to follow the Savior’s example by being kind, loving, and charitable. And as we do so, we will be in a better position to call down the powers of heaven for ourselves, for our families, and for our fellow travelers in this sometimes difficult journey back to our heavenly home.” (Monson, Thomas S. “Kindness, Charity, and Love.” General Conference. April 2017.)2) “We need to experience a continuing conversion by increasing our faith in Jesus Christ and our faithfulness to His gospel throughout our lives—not just once but regularly.” (Ballard, M. Russell “Stay in the Boat and Hold On!” General Conference. October 2016)
3) “Those who do not see their weaknesses do not progress. Your awareness of your weakness is a blessing as it helps you remain humble and keeps you turning to the Savior.” (Eyring, Henry B. “My Peace I Leave with You.” General Conference. April 2017.)
4) “Life-changing truths are before our eyes and at our fingertips, but sometimes we sleepwalk on the path of discipleship. Too often we let ourselves be distracted by the imperfections of our fellow members instead of following the example of our Master. We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles.” (Uchtdorf, Dieter F. “O How Great the Plan of Our God!” General Conference. October 2016.)
5) “Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible.” (Benson, Ezra Taft. “A Mighty Change of Heart.” Ensign. Oct 1989.)
6) “When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do. When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.” (Nelson, Russell M. “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives.” General Conference. April 2017.)
7) “Weaving the spiritual tapestry of personal discipleship requires more than a single thread…The attributes of the Savior, as we perceive them, are not a script to be followed or list to be checked off. They are interwoven characteristics, added one to another, which develop in us in interactive ways. In other words, we cannot obtain one Christlike characteristic without also obtaining and influencing others. As one characteristic becomes strong, so do many more.” ((Hales, Robert D. “Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” April 2017. General Conference.)
8) “We come to know the Savior as we do our best to go where He wants us to go, as we strive to say what He wants us to say, and as we become what He wants us to become. As we submissively acknowledge our total dependence upon Him, He enlarges our capacity to serve ever more effectively. Gradually, our desires align more completely with His desires, and His purposes become our purposes.” (Bednar, David A. “If Ye Had Known Me.” General Conference. October 2016.)
9) “Most people recognize that to obtain peak physical and mental performance, such preparation and practice are essential…Less emphasis is placed on the amount of spiritual growth necessary to become more Christlike and establish the foundations that lead to enduring faith. We need to emphasize moments of sublime spiritual understanding. These are precious instances when we know the Holy Ghost has witnessed special spiritual insights to our hearts and minds. We rejoice in these events; they should not be diminished in any way. But for enduring faith and to have the constant companionship of the Spirit, there is no substitute for the individual religious observance that is comparable to physical and mental development.” (Cook, Quentin L. “Foundations of Faith.” General Conference. April 2017.)
10) “Fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son of God and to weaken your resolve to keep your promises to Him. These trials are often camouflaged, making them difficult to identify. They take root in our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, our sensitivities, or in those things that matter most to us. A real but manageable test for one can be a fiery trial for another.” (Anderson, Neil L. “Trial of Your Faith.” General Conference. October 2012.)
11) “It is a gift and blessing from the Lord that the keystone of our religion is something as tangible and graspable as the Book of Mormon and that you can hold it and read it. Can you see the Book of Mormon as your keystone, your spiritual center of strength?” (Stevenson, Gary A. “Look to the Book, Look to the Lord.” General Conference. October 2016.)
12) “The truths you will find (in the Book of Mormon) will uplift and inspire you in a similar way. They will strengthen your faith, fill your soul with light, and prepare you for a future you scarcely have the ability to comprehend…You will discover the infinite love and incomprehensible grace of God. As you strive to follow the teachings you find there, your joy will expand, your understanding will increase, and the answers you seek to the many challenges mortality presents will be opened to you. As you look to the book, you look to the Lord.” (Stevenson, Gary A. “Look to the Book, Look to the Lord.” General Conference. October 2016.)
13) “We must not only be tolerant while others work on their individual illnesses; we must also be kind, patient, supportive, and understanding. As God encourages us to keep on trying, He expects us to also allow others the space to do the same, at their own pace. The Atonement will come into our lives in even greater measure. We will then recognize that regardless of perceived differences, all of us are in need of the same infinite Atonement.” (Renlund, Dale G. “Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying.” General Conference. April 2015.)
Position Statement
Gathering these quotes, I found that the most important thing that we can do to grow spiritually is to go through trials while leaning on the Lord and what he wants for us. A lot of the time, we take for granted what we have in life. He has a lot available for us, right here, and right now. We have all these resources to help us become more Christlike for when the trials come to knock us off of our feet. If we know Christ, then our fiery trials will be easier to endure, and we will get a lot more out of those trials because we know how Christ is helping us. When we understand where our priorities are, then we can better ourselves and become more like Christ, in more than one way. Through becoming like Christ, we will have power, through blessings, through spirituality, and everywhere else that we need it in our lives. I'm so thankful to be part of a church that encourages spiritual growth. It's a really big deal to continue in growing our testimony when the world seems to be diminishing in their own standards. It's important that we stay strong and swim against the current of today's world.
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