Recognizing and welcoming divine discontent will help us gain an eternal and hopeful perspective on our path of progression.
Feelings of discontent usually aren’t something we welcome. However, in a general conference address, Sister Michelle D. Craig explains how discontent doesn’t have to be destructive if we use three principles of divine discontent that invite us to improve.
Sister Craig defines divine discontent as a God-given yearning for “greater personal capacity.” It is a recognition of the gap between “who we are now and who we want to become.” Unlike “Satan’s counterfeit of paralyzing discouragement,” divine discontent allows us to have hope and look to Christ as we progress.
Photo by Dima Visozki.
Sister Craig then outlines the following three principles of divine discontent:
Divine discontent makes us act in faith. “Divine discontent is not an invitation to stay in our comfort zone, nor will it lead us to despair,” says Sister Craig. Divine discontent helps us exercise our faith and agency without weighing us down or stopping our growth.
Divine discontent helps us follow promptings to do good. Divine discontent is an invitation for us to become more like our Savior, which we can do by acting as he did.
Divine discontent leads us to Christ. We may be discontent with various wants or needs in our lives, but Sister Craig explains that “discontent becomes divine when we humbly approach Jesus Christ with our want, rather than hold back in self-pity.” The Savior’s grace is what transforms our weakness into strength, a miraculous process often initiated by a “recognition of [what we] lack.”.
As we recognize feelings of divine discontent and respond to them, we will draw closer to Christ and become more like him.
Read or watch Sister Craig’s article here to learn more about divine discontent and how it can give us hope as we strive to become more like Christ.
Source: General Conference of the Church
—Ellie Castillo, Mormon Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY SAMUEL ZELLER
Find more insights
Take a look at Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s “Becoming a Disciple” for more explanation on the concept of divine discontent.
Read or watch “His Grace is Sufficient” by Brad Wilcox to learn more about how Christ can help us improve ourselves.