As a teenager I had cystic acne, this is not your normal
teenage acne of one or two zits, but cysts that cover your face. It was so painful
I couldn’t even have my hair touch my face and I felt incredibly unattractive. At my
age, even now, I have scars from this wonderful gift that I was given. I look back and realize that it was a gift. It has helped me see with different eyes. Eyes of compassion and caring, understanding and love. It wasn’t
a “magazine face”. I share this with you because I believe that we all have
challenges with our bodies, whether it is shape, size, color, hair, scars, age,
height, weight, health, whatever it may be, each tailored to help us grow, appreciate, and understand our true worth. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C 18:10). Each of us have been given “gifts” to
help us come to know our Creator, Jesus Christ, who knows what we really look
like. "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
It is destructive to us when we focus on the outward appearance and become "[preoccupied] with self and [have] a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much of the unhappiness women, including young women, face in the modern world. And if adults are preoccupied with appearance-tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled- those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We must be careful where we focus our attention. Our children pick up on what we worry about whether it is our looks, our likes and dislikes, our health, or even our hearts. Christ came to help us with all of it, but our heart is what we can decide whether or not we want to change and will have an eternal effect upon us, not just physically, but spiritually. Christ is there, waiting to help us with this change. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. ....I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13). We all need the Physician because we all sin and make mistakes and none of us have a "magazine body". Christ is the Physician and our hearts are healed as we turn/return to Him and He helps us see the true value, the "worth" of our entire selves, not just how we look to the world. We don't need to suffer unnecessarily. "[Christ] suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto Him" (D&C 18:11).When we focus on physical impairments, such as my scars, I am suffering unnecessarily and need to repent, need to turn to Him and see ourselves for who we really are. We are more than our bodies, even though the world would have us believe otherwise. "...Ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16)!
He knows what we suffer physically as well as spiritually because He suffered for everyone. He wants us to know who we are, that is part of why we have physical challenges, some being greater than others. Some challenges can be as simple as growing older and dealing with wrinkles, grey hair, missing teeth, weight and and eye sight changes. Others can be quite severe such as cancer, Muscular Dystrophy, diabetes, mental illness, learning disabilities, to name just a few. I have wondered at times why I must go through things and why a miracle can't take place and have the "scars" taken away. (I was told the other day that my acne scars could be removed, which I knew could be done, but I don't notice them. They don't inhibit my life, because I am not my scars. I am not defined by my scars.) I have come to know for myself that sometimes, " though [we] have all faith, so that [we] could remove mountains" (1 Corinthians 13:2) the mountains aren't suppose to be removed. Sometimes, we must be as Caleb in the Old Testament and say, "Give me the mountain" (Joshua 14:12) and climb up it faithfully, trusting that the Lord's plan for us to age, to have these physical challenges, are for a reason, most often to help us "come to ourselves" (see Luke 15:17). He wants us to know our "worth", because He already knows how "precious" we are (see Isaiah 43:4).
He wants us to know who we really are and this comes from "looking up [to God], having the image of God engraven upon [our] countenances" (Alma 1:27) as we put Him first in our lives rather than worrying about every wrinkle or grey hair or change in our body that is going to come our way. We need to be "neat and comely" (Alma 1:27), comely meaning "pleasing and wholesome in appearance; attractive (The Free Dictionary) and more concerned about having His image in our countenance than we are about the image in the mirror. The way to have His image engraven upon our countenance isn't to take away "the scar", but to trust that He will heal us physically and spiritually through our faith in Him, for all things are spiritual unto Him (see D&C 29:34). Physical challenges are spiritual challenges. If we allow them to be, they are some of the greatest blessings in our lives. I always think of this saying that is on my laundry room wall: "When life is more that you can stand, kneel". I believe this is the proper way to look to God, even if we are in the middle of a crowd and we can only do so mentally. We must "look to God, and live" (Alma 37:47).
In this time when the world would have us think we are "magazine people" rather than "children of God" (see Romans 9:8) we must "be women (and men) of Christ. (We must) cherish [our] esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs [us]" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We can and we must "trust in the Lord with all [our] heart; and lean not unto [our] own understanding. In all [our] ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct [our] paths" ( Proverbs 3:5-6). He knows whether or not the mountain must be removed or if we will get stronger by climbing it. We don't get stronger by sitting around reading a magazine that tells us we aren't "magazine shape". We can trust the Savior, our Creator, who knows all things (see Mosiah 4:9), that He knew and still knows what is exactly right for us, so that we may know for ourselves who we really are. This is how we must define ourselves, by Him who knows us best, and thus have His image engraven upon your countenance, reflecting who you really are. For we are, this I testify, "children of the Most High" (Psalms 82:6).
It is destructive to us when we focus on the outward appearance and become "[preoccupied] with self and [have] a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much of the unhappiness women, including young women, face in the modern world. And if adults are preoccupied with appearance-tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled- those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We must be careful where we focus our attention. Our children pick up on what we worry about whether it is our looks, our likes and dislikes, our health, or even our hearts. Christ came to help us with all of it, but our heart is what we can decide whether or not we want to change and will have an eternal effect upon us, not just physically, but spiritually. Christ is there, waiting to help us with this change. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. ....I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13). We all need the Physician because we all sin and make mistakes and none of us have a "magazine body". Christ is the Physician and our hearts are healed as we turn/return to Him and He helps us see the true value, the "worth" of our entire selves, not just how we look to the world. We don't need to suffer unnecessarily. "[Christ] suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto Him" (D&C 18:11).When we focus on physical impairments, such as my scars, I am suffering unnecessarily and need to repent, need to turn to Him and see ourselves for who we really are. We are more than our bodies, even though the world would have us believe otherwise. "...Ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16)!
He knows what we suffer physically as well as spiritually because He suffered for everyone. He wants us to know who we are, that is part of why we have physical challenges, some being greater than others. Some challenges can be as simple as growing older and dealing with wrinkles, grey hair, missing teeth, weight and and eye sight changes. Others can be quite severe such as cancer, Muscular Dystrophy, diabetes, mental illness, learning disabilities, to name just a few. I have wondered at times why I must go through things and why a miracle can't take place and have the "scars" taken away. (I was told the other day that my acne scars could be removed, which I knew could be done, but I don't notice them. They don't inhibit my life, because I am not my scars. I am not defined by my scars.) I have come to know for myself that sometimes, " though [we] have all faith, so that [we] could remove mountains" (1 Corinthians 13:2) the mountains aren't suppose to be removed. Sometimes, we must be as Caleb in the Old Testament and say, "Give me the mountain" (Joshua 14:12) and climb up it faithfully, trusting that the Lord's plan for us to age, to have these physical challenges, are for a reason, most often to help us "come to ourselves" (see Luke 15:17). He wants us to know our "worth", because He already knows how "precious" we are (see Isaiah 43:4).
He wants us to know who we really are and this comes from "looking up [to God], having the image of God engraven upon [our] countenances" (Alma 1:27) as we put Him first in our lives rather than worrying about every wrinkle or grey hair or change in our body that is going to come our way. We need to be "neat and comely" (Alma 1:27), comely meaning "pleasing and wholesome in appearance; attractive (The Free Dictionary) and more concerned about having His image in our countenance than we are about the image in the mirror. The way to have His image engraven upon our countenance isn't to take away "the scar", but to trust that He will heal us physically and spiritually through our faith in Him, for all things are spiritual unto Him (see D&C 29:34). Physical challenges are spiritual challenges. If we allow them to be, they are some of the greatest blessings in our lives. I always think of this saying that is on my laundry room wall: "When life is more that you can stand, kneel". I believe this is the proper way to look to God, even if we are in the middle of a crowd and we can only do so mentally. We must "look to God, and live" (Alma 37:47).
In this time when the world would have us think we are "magazine people" rather than "children of God" (see Romans 9:8) we must "be women (and men) of Christ. (We must) cherish [our] esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs [us]" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland). We can and we must "trust in the Lord with all [our] heart; and lean not unto [our] own understanding. In all [our] ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct [our] paths" ( Proverbs 3:5-6). He knows whether or not the mountain must be removed or if we will get stronger by climbing it. We don't get stronger by sitting around reading a magazine that tells us we aren't "magazine shape". We can trust the Savior, our Creator, who knows all things (see Mosiah 4:9), that He knew and still knows what is exactly right for us, so that we may know for ourselves who we really are. This is how we must define ourselves, by Him who knows us best, and thus have His image engraven upon your countenance, reflecting who you really are. For we are, this I testify, "children of the Most High" (Psalms 82:6).
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