General Conference

As usual, this post will highlight teachings from General Conference earlier this month, that impress me as being useful for those of us who are perfectionistic.  

The first one is by Becky Craven.  She taught:  “It’s impossible to live a perfect life. Only one man was able to live perfectly while dwelling on this telestial planet. That was Jesus Christ. Although we may not be perfect, brothers and sisters, we can be worthy: worthy to partake of the sacrament, worthy of temple blessings, and worthy to receive personal revelation.”

Next is one by Sharon Eubank.  Her talk was about staying connected to Jesus Christ—our source of light.  She shared this hopeful testimony:  “I testify you are beloved. The Lord knows how hard you are trying. You are making progress. Keep going. He sees all your hidden sacrifices and counts them to your good and the good of those you love. Your work is not in vain. You are not alone. His very name, Emmanuel, means ‘God with us.’ He is surely with you.”

But my favorite talk of the whole conference was by Elder Kim B. Clark.  Look at what he taught:  “When the Lord calls [us] to ‘look unto me in every thought’ and ‘behold the wounds’ in His resurrected body, it is a call to turn away from sin and the world and to turn to Him and love and obey Him. It is a call to teach His doctrine and do His work in His way. It is, therefore, a call to trust Him completely, surrender our will and yield our hearts to Him, and through His redeeming power become like Him.

“…if we look unto Jesus Christ, He will bless us to be humble, meek, submissive, full of His love. And we will bring the joy and blessings of His gospel and His Church to our families and our brothers and sisters on both sides of the veil.”

President Russell M. Nelson has called us to look unto Jesus Christ in just this way: “There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming such powerful disciples. Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel. It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought. But when we do, our doubts and fears flee.”

Rivet is a great word. It means to fasten firmly, to attract and hold completely. We rivet our focus on Jesus Christ and His gospel by living our covenants.

When we live our covenants, they influence everything we say and do. We live a covenant life full of simple, everyday acts of faith that focus us on Jesus Christ: prayer from the heart in His name, feasting on His word, turning to Him to repent of our sins, keeping His commandments, partaking of the sacrament and keeping His Sabbath holy, worshipping in His holy temple as often as we can, and exercising His holy priesthood to serve God’s children.

These acts of covenant devotion open our hearts and minds to the redeeming power of the Savior and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost. Line upon line, the Savior changes our very nature, we become more deeply converted unto Him, and our covenants come alive in our hearts.

The promises we make to our Heavenly Father become rock-solid commitments, our deepest desires. Heavenly Father’s promises to us fill us with gratitude and joy. Our covenants cease to be rules we follow and become beloved principles that inspire and guide us and rivet our focus on Jesus Christ.

One of the reasons I like this so much is because he not only tells us to “look unto me in every thought,” but he also tells us how.  Often, I read or hear that I need to do or be something—such as “be Christlike” or “give your heart to Christ”—but I’m not told how to do it.  And so, for a perfectionist, Elder Clark’s teaching is great—not so we can see it as a checklist of things to do, but so we can know where to focus our energies and priorities.  

To be continued . . . with Part 50