How to Replace Self-Doubt with Confident Humility — Ether 12–15
Come, Follow Me: Book of Mormon 2024 (November 25—December 1)
“And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing…
“Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words” (Ether 12:23, 25).
I recognize this place of self-doubt described by Moroni and frequently have similar thoughts (they may be familiar to you, too):
I’m not good at this, why am I even trying?
Look at all these mistakes.
I’m a failure.
Others can do it so much better.
What will others think?
But God didn’t let Moroni stay in this cycle of negative self-talk and worry. Consider some of the comforting truths He taught Moroni that can also help us:
It was planned we would have weaknesses when we came to earth. Weaknesses aren’t sticks to beat ourselves with but are stepping stones for our growth.
Growth comes when we recognize our weakness, and humbly turn to God, knowing we’re not meant to do this work alone. This is faith.
Jesus then requires practice. Try, fail, learn, try again and again, line upon line. The ability to change and learn from our experiences is one of the precious gifts of the atonement of Jesus Christ. This is hope.
Be endlessly compassionate with ourselves and others as we go through this process. This is charity.
Each person’s earthly mission is unique, just like our fingerprints. There is no need to compare our prints with others.
Only fools mock.
In short, God’s plan for us and His grace to help us succeed is sufficient when we include Him in our journey. Confident humility replaces self-doubt.
Do Hard Divinely Better Lesson #47: When you’re in a downward cycle of self-criticism or self-doubt, reverse course with faith, hope and charity.