This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Morning Session of the April 2001 Conference.
I've been thinking lately about how the "wisdom of the world" is so wrong about so many things. One of the most damaging (in my opinion) is the modern focus on self-fulfillment and personal happiness; a concern more with our own "boundaries" and preferences than with selflessness and sacrifice. (Not that there aren't bits of truth woven in with these worldly ideals. But their focus is so often wholly wrong!)
There were several quotes from this Conference session that reminded me how counterintuitive God's plan can seem when we're steeped in that focus on self. Here's Elder Maxwell on suffering:
Others can and should encourage, commend, pray, and comfort, but the lifting and carrying of our individual crosses remains ours to do. Given the “fierceness” Christ endured for us, we cannot expect a discipleship of unruffled easiness. …Uniquely, atoning Jesus also “descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things.” How deep that descent into despair and abysmal agony must have been! He did it to rescue us and in order to comprehend human suffering. Therefore, let us not resent those tutoring experiences which can develop our own empathy further. A slothful heart will not do, and neither will a resentful heart. So being admitted fully to “the fellowship of his sufferings” requires the full dues of discipleship.
"Let us not resent those tutoring experiences which can develop our own empathy further"! I am trying not to resent mine, but to welcome what I learn from them and how they invite me to grow. (And how they are teaching me what a fulness means.)
Bishop Keith B. McMullin said,
Beware of worldly preoccupation with self. The highs are counterfeit; the lows are despairing. Love, kindness, personal fulfillment, and genuine self-worth are found in service to God and others, not in service to oneself.
And Sister Carol B. Thomas said,
Are we encouraging our children to sacrifice by giving their time and resources, such as helping a lonely neighbor or befriending someone who needs it? As they concentrate on the needs of others, their own needs become less important. True joy comes from sacrificing for others.
I love these reminders of where I should put my focus when I want to find true happiness!
Other posts in this series:
Faith—by Rozy
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