8 Inspiring Questions to Motivate Growth
August 18, 2017 • Blog Post
From May to August we’ve been blessed to hear from devotional speakers in a wide variety of backgrounds: administrators and business professionals, religion professors and language gurus, musicians and lawyers. Here we’ve compiled some of the powerful moments of their talks to help you grow in different aspects of your life. Enjoy!
How Can I Feel More Fulfilled in What I Do?
Does God Even Really Care About Me Personally?
How Can I Overcome My Challenges?
What Language Can I Learn that Will Most Bless My Life?
How Can an Educated Woman Change the World for Good?
What If I Feel Inadequate in What the Lord Has Asked Me to Do?
What If I Am Good to the World, But the World Isn’t Good to Me?
How Can I Emulate the Savior in My Relationships?
How Can I Feel More Fulfilled in What I Do?
“I believe that one of the most significant obstacles to our laying hold upon the word is our inability to fully immerse ourselves in the word or other worthwhile things—our inability to fully focus on them.
“I call this concept ‘centering.’ Centering means you center your attention and effort on what is currently before you. It means you do that thing with all your heart [your feeling and passion], might [your energy], mind [your focus and attention] and strength [your physical will].’ If you are reading scriptures, give them all your heart and mind. If you are in class, give that all your mind and strength. Centering means to be wholehearted—totally invested and engaged. . . .
“. . . When we are distracted, we lose power and willpower. When we focus wholeheartedly, we move in the right direction—and, I believe, in a more inspired direction. It is in the depth of things that you are inspired to lay hold upon the word in ways that can change you and change your life.”
—McKay Christensen, “‘Lay Hold Upon the Word’: The Power of Wholehearted Living,” 9 May 2017
Does God Even Really Care About Me Personally?
“If God wanted us here, then why do we become discouraged once we are here? And if our discouragement or loneliness becomes too intense, sometimes we wonder what God is doing—why is a loving Father allowing this to happen? Finally, this quandary can bottom out with ‘Does God even really care about me personally?’ . . .
“. . . ‘Man is just slightly below God.’” Plainly, if each of us is just slightly below God, then each of us is very important individually to God. . . .
“. . . ‘For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’” Please note here that the Lord’s job description centers on bringing man (as an individual) to eternal life—not even plural men—thus highlighting His interest in us as individuals. . . .
“I leave you my witness that you . . . matter to Him. Don’t ever, ever doubt that.”
—Keith J. Wilson, “B-Y-You Matter to Him,” 23 May 2017
How Can I Overcome My Challenges and Grow?
“When a challenge is before us, it is not required that we conquer that challenge with ease. We may not even possess the skills to accomplish the task before us. All that Heavenly Father requires is prescribed in 3 Nephi 9:20: ‘And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.’ . . .
“Having a broken heart that is willing to do the Lord’s will does not make us weak or insufficient. Instead it helps us to be humble in our mortality and to recognize that we need heavenly help to face life’s challenges. . . .
“It is our humility and reliance upon God that give us the ability to overcome and grow. . . .
“I don’t know about you, but when I am facing life’s hurdles, I want and need to be strengthened by the Lord. I am grateful that He has promised that He will stand by me. And with that promise, I can exercise my faith and feel peace and security in letting my heart become broken in order to grow.”
—Diane Thueson Reich, “On Change and Becoming: Thoughts from a Reluctant Grower,” 6 June 2017
What Language Can I Learn that Will Most Bless My Life?
“I would like to comment on another language that is available to us all but that is a foreign language to most of the world’s inhabitants. It is the language that Joseph B. Wirthlin called ‘the language of the Spirit.’
“Elder Wirthlin described this language as follows: ‘There is a mighty power that transcends the power of messages conveyed by words alone, and this is the power of messages communicated by the Spirit to our hearts’ (‘The Language of the Spirit,’ Ensign, November 1975).
“Of all the world’s languages, it is the language of the Spirit that best satisfies the aims of a BYU education. I have personally experienced the language of the Spirit in my life, and I know it exists. . . .
“Yes, learning other languages is important, but becoming proficient in the language of the Spirit should be our top priority.”
—Ray T. Clifford, “Language Learning: A Truly Educational Experience,” 13 June 2017
How Can an Educated Woman Change the World for Good?
“Our learning is of value not only if we become mothers or workers, church leaders or community activists. We are of value because of our divine heritage and because of what will one day be our divine inheritance. Our value is not merely instrumental. It is intrinsic. And our learning is not merely instrumental. It is essential. . . .
We seek knowledge because it makes us more like God and brings us closer to Him, and His central trait is pure and benevolent love for all of humanity. The more we become like Him through knowledge and the more we hone our ability to hear Him testify of truth through the Spirit, the more these things will lead us to service in every aspect of our lives. . . .
Sisters, never question the value of your education or wonder whether you will have an opportunity to learn and use the knowledge you have gained. God knows you, and even though you may not yet know His plans, He knows the end from the beginning. He is preparing and qualifying you for the work He wants you to do. He will continually guide you to ways in which your knowledge and skills can be of benefit to yourself, your family, your community, and His kingdom.
—Eva Witesman, “Women and Education: ‘A Future Only God Could See for You,’” 27 June 2017
What If I Feel Inadequate in What the Lord Has Asked Me to Do?
“[The Lord] knows our weaknesses and infirmities and will help us in our callings. . . .
“. . . Humility is needed to help us respond to the feelings of weakness we often experience when we receive and heed the call of the Lord. The Lord is there to help us as we strive to follow Him. President Thomas S. Monson has stated, ‘Remember that whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies’ (‘Duty Calls,’ Ensign, May 1996). . . .
“. . . We can . . . call to the Lord for help as we strive to follow Him. He will provide help to us—often in the form of another person. As stated by President Monson, ‘When we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help’ (‘Duty Calls’).”
—Paul Caldarella, “The Call of the Lord,” 25 July 2017
What If I Am Good to the World, But the World Isn’t Good to Me?
“We have our ample share of problems, insecurities, weaknesses, and failures. But I have learned that one way to overcome them is to share whatever modest strengths and attributes we do possess with others. I testify that they will come back to you. . . .
“Will there be bumps? Absolutely. Will the restoration of good for good be immediate? Most likely not. But somehow, somewhere, sometime these things will come back around to you in greater abundance than the amount that you gave. . . .
“Don’t despair when life is not fair or when it seems that no good deed goes unpunished. There is hope and a promise that a good life is its own reward.”
—Kirt R. Saville, “Living a Life of Service and Love: What Goes Around Comes Around,” 1 August 2017
How Can I Emulate the Savior in My Relationships?
“We are advocates because Jesus Christ, our perfect Exemplar, is an advocate. In this dispensation, He described Himself as an advocate on at least five occasions, and prophets in other dispensations have also testified of this key role He plays. He has given us the instruction ‘For that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do,’ so as we are striving to emulate our Savior—to do what He does—we should be advocates. He has placed people in your life whom you are called to love and whose circumstances you are called to support or change. Both will require your advocacy.”
—Gayla M. Sorenson, “‘To Me He Doth Not Stink’: Advocacy and Love,” 8 August 2017
Photo Credit: Brad Slade
