This is #8 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain the principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.
I didn’t sleep at all the night that I was called to be a Relief Society President. I was 27. I was 6 months pregnant. I had braces on my teeth. All of my imperfections and insecurities emerged from their dark corners. I knew that I had offended people even just that week.
I knew that my abilities didn’t match the things I was being asked to do. (To see a description of what a Relief Society President does, go here.) At last, my mind settled on an image that I drew in my journal. It was a stick figure Angie with different labels: mother, daughter, college graduate, imperfect friend, etc, but each label was dwarfed by the sign she held in her hand: Daughter of God. I decided to trust that THIS qualification, more than any other label, would make it possible to be a good servant.
One day as I was helping a lonely woman, she shared her favorite scripture with me, Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” She told me to look at the word, “which” and notice that it refers to “do[ing] all things”. Of course Christ helps us to do the difficult things, but it’s doing the difficult things, and not being paralyzed with fear or insecurities which strengthens us.