Lay aside your weapons of war

 

The Joy of Our Redemption

By Sister Kristin M. Yee

Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

To truly repent and change, we must first be “convinced of our sins.” A person does not see the need to take medicine unless they understand that they are ill. There may be times we may not be willing to look inside ourselves and see that which really needs healing and repair.

In C. S. Lewis’s writings, Aslan poses these words to a man who has entangled himself in his own devices: “Oh [humankind], how cleverly you defend yourselves [from] all that might do you good!”

Where might you and I be defending ourselves from those things that might do us good?...

I pray we may lay aside any “weapons of war” that we’ve consciously or even unconsciously taken up to defend ourselves from the blessings of God’s love. Weapons of pride, selfishness, fear, hate, offense, complacency, unrighteous judgment, jealousies—anything that would keep us from loving God with all our hearts and keeping all our covenants with Him.

As we live our covenants, the Lord can give us the help and power we need to both recognize and overcome our weaknesses, including the spiritual parasite of pride. ...

Like my painting, the Lord is not done with us when we make a mistake, nor does He flee when we falter. Our need for healing and help is not a burden to Him, but the very reason He came....

The Savior can redeem that which was lost, including broken and fractured relationships....

If you are struggling with a situation you think you should have overcome by now, don’t give up. Be patient with yourself, keep your covenants, repent often, seek the help of your leaders if needed, and go to the house of the Lord as regularly as you can. Listen for and heed the promptings He sends you. He will not abandon His covenant relationship with you.

There have been difficult and complex relationships in my life that I have struggled with and sincerely sought to improve. At times I felt like I was failing more often than not. I wondered, “Did I not fix things the last time? Did I not truly overcome my weakness?” I’ve learned over time that I am not necessarily defective; rather, there is often more to work on and more healing that is needed.