Strengths and Weaknesses

One of my favorite scripture-mastery passages from seminary was Moroni's lament about his weaknesses in writing, and the Lord stating the following:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

I always took comfort in this passage in the hope that my predilection to like guys would eventually turn to a strength.  But how often do we recognize the other side of this coin?  Our perceived strengths could actually be weaknesses.

In 1992, Dallin H. Oaks gave a fireside address at BYU entitled "Our Strength Can Become Our Downfall."  Some examples he uses include those who have an unusual commitment to one particular doctrine or commandment, like a talent for family history work, a commitment to constitutional government, or some other talent or hobby; and these strengths can overcome and topple a testimony by giving other important parts of the gospel short shrift.  A desire for understanding about some point of doctrine is usually a strength, but taken too far can lead a person away from truth and toward the fringes of speculation and beyond, and can be detrimental.  A desire to be led by the spirit is a very good thing, but a desire to be led in ALL things is not, because we need to learn how to make personal choices.  A person with great skill and passion for teaching the gospel can be of great service to others and a great strength to the church, yet if they use their skills to gather followers and disciples for their own glory or gain, they step into the realm of priestcrafts and lead to their eventual downfall.  Even personal righteous, while a great strength, can lead to self-righteousness and unrighteous dominion if the individual doesn't develop charity to go along with it. 

One of the most surprising examples he gave was that of love and tolerance.  These are surely some of the greatest strengths, but even they can be a weakness if we are not careful.  Elder Oaks explains, "Carried to an undisciplined excess, love and tolerance can produce indifference to truth and justice and opposition to unity.  What makes mankind 'free' from death and sin is not merely love but love accompanied by truth."  Even moderation and balance, one of the greatest strengths, can be a weakness.  Too much of an attempt for balance and moderation could lead to ruin and downfall, like trying to plan a balanced diet by eating poisonous food along with nutritious food.  Too much moderation is addressed by the apostle John who says, "because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev 3:16)

What all this means to me is that it is problematic to call my orientation a strength or weakness, because either way it could lead to much good or much evil.  In order for our weaknesses to be strengths, or even for our perceived strengths to be actual strengths, we need humility and charity.  So I have to view my orientation in the light of humility, not pride, and charity, not self-righteousness.  That's my challenge and my goal, though it may take more than a lifetime to reach.