My Stake Conference Talk

One of the most profound instances of a youth doing hard things is in the scriptures when David went before Goliath with the strength of God as his only weapon, his faith as his best armor. He said to Goliath, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.” We have Goliaths in our lives. President Monson said, “Does your Goliath stand squarely between you and your desired happiness? Your Goliath may not carry a sword or hurl a verbal challenge of insult that all may hear. He may not be ten feet tall, but he likely will appear equally as formidable.”

Just like for David, our enemy is no less daunting, and the help of God is not farther away.
This story illustrates that God will not give us more than we are able to handle. God has told us that he “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation provide a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13) We have not been sent to earth at this time to be victims of temptation, but rather to succeed. Our Goliaths must, and can, be conquered.

I think a Goliath silently facing all of today’s teenagers is the culture of low expectations. Without realizing it, I think the low expectations held for my generation sometimes hold us back, and stand squarely between us and our potential. There is a myth that adolescence is a vacation from responsibility, a time when it is normal or allowed to rebel, a time when having fun is more important than having the direction of the Holy Ghost. Phrases like, “they’re just that age,” or “they’re just kids,” or “he’s just being 17" illustrate the perception that it is perfectly normal for youth to be low-achieving. Our society doesn’t demand much of young people, but God has told us that we are capable of much. He said, “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou and example of the believers.”

Perhaps this culture of low expectations evolved because higher expectations require doing hard things-- things against our nature.
It is not natural for us to do many things that are right. Babies are not born walking and talking, just like the natural man is not born with the habit of speaking kindly or is not naturally inclined to obey. Perhaps the natural man does not feel a need for God in his life. BUT, we can overcome the natural man. Some people fall into the trap that “I am just not that kind of person.” “I’m not a math person,” they say, so they just don’t do it. “I’m not a musician,” so they stop trying. But perhaps the most detrimental excuses are the ones such as, “I just don’t pray, I don’t understand scriptures, I’m just not a church-goer, or I’m just not religious.” When David was asked to face Goliath, he could have easily argued that he was just not a warrior. But he rose above his natural inclinations and fought the fight.

Sister Dalton, the general young women president, and one of my heroes, has a little plaque inscribed with the words, “I can do hard things.” I have adopted this as one of my personal mottos. We can do hard things. We must do hard things. Doing hard things is a mentality. It's a mentality that flies right in the face of our culture's low expectations. The world says, "You're young, have fun!" It tells us to "obey your thirst" and "just do it." Or it tells us, "You're great! You don't need to exert yourself." God tells us the opposite. Doing hard things is what it will take to become like Christ.

While Hope and I drive to seminary in the dark every morning, which I must say, is a hard thing, we play a lot of music to stay awake. Jericho Road, an LDS band, is one of my favorite groups to listen to. One of my favorite songs of theirs says, “If that’s what it takes, then it’s what I will do, for nothing means more than returning to You. I’ll give you my life, my time, my mistakes. Deny the world–if that’s what it takes. And no matter how hard it may seem, I will do what you ask, I will do anything. For this life is just a moment in time, so why put my faith on the line?” Giving up the comfort and company of living like the world lives IS what it will take. It is hard, yet I know we can do hard things, and all things, with the help of the Lord. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ, which stengtheneth me.”

Even though opportunities to physically face enemies or dramatically stand up against persecutors may come, it is the small things that can be the hardest. I have been running cross country and track for 8 years, and the past two seasons of cross country I have had a lower leg injury from overuse that has been so painful I couldn’t finish the season. I have gone to physical therapy where they tell me to do daily exercises to strengthen my hip, which will cause less impact on my lower leg where it is so painful. The exercises are so simple and small that much of the time I blew them off and didn’t do them as often as I was supposed to. I now know firsthand that small things can lead to greater payoffs. It is by daily repetitions of small strengthening exercises that will make me strong enough for the daily impact of running, just like it is small things like attending church or reading the scriptures that make us strong enough to endure the daily impact of Satan. Lawrence Bell said, “Show me a man who can not bother to do little things, and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.” Being honest, speaking kindly, not judging others, going to mutual: all these things are relatively small things that may get neglected because of their seeming insignificance. God does use small and simple things to bring to pass great things, and sometimes their smallness makes them hard.

Another hard thing to do is avoid the plague of complacency. The time for lukewarm commitment is behind us. This world cannot survive a generation of latter day saints who are complacent. When we stop testing our faith, when we become satisfied with who we are, when we tire of the constant struggle to improve, or when we just go through the motions of a good Latter day saint, we settle into complacency. This lukewarm attitude of complacency is the antonym of a hot-hearted desire to be useful. “Good enough” becomes today’s watchword and tomorrow’s standard. We can always be striving for the higher road, always pushing ourselves beyond what’s familiar and comfortable. Simply NOT doing wrong things is not enough. Sure, we may not be actively committing sins, but we may not be doing things that increase our faith, which could be a sin of omission. It has been said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

President George Q Cannon said, “He held in reserve his most noble sons and daughters, those who would have the courage and determination to face the world and all the powers of the evil one and yet be fearless in building Zion.” I am not quoting this because we are special, but because we have responsibility. We have been given so so much, and where much is given, much is required. God expects that we will have the determination to face to world. He has confidence in us. He has high expectations. We cannot let Him down. We can conquer. Victory can be ours.

Thomas S. Monson spoke of the hard things that Christ went through to make it possible for us to return to God. He said, “Gethsemane, Golgotha, intense pain and suffering beyond the comprehension of mortal man stood between Jesus the Master and victory over the grave. Yet he lovingly assured us, “I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2–3). I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and the hard things He did for us. I know he is our Savior. I am continually amazed at his love for us. After all he sacrificed for our sake, He continually offers to help us accomplish the hard things we need to do. He notices the sparrow when it falls, he knows each of us and is aware of our current struggles or victories. He loves each of us, one by one.
I know this church is true. I believe we are all capable of doing the things God expects of us. I know he hears our prayers. I know He will help us if we have faith in him.


We can make a difference.

Faith