As disciples of Christ, we don’t all have to be exactly the same. If we are each firmly rooted in our testimonies of Jesus Christ and are committed to following him, the exact circumstances of our lives don’t matter.
Photo by Rowan Chestnut
In this modern world marked by social media, our lives are full of comparisons. For me, it takes just sixty seconds of scrolling through Facebook to be reminded that I haven’t run any half-marathons, I haven’t graduated from college yet, I don’t have any children that I can photograph, and I still don’t know how to wear lipstick. However, Sister Chieko Okazaki, a former first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, reminds us in her talk “Strength in the Savior” about what matters most.
Sister Okazaki uses two different patterned quilts to illustrate our lives. Some quilts are symmetrically patterned, and others are randomly pieced together. With these examples in hand, Sister Okazaki firmly declares that “there’s not one right way to be a quilt as long as the pieces are stitched together firmly.” Further, she says, “there’s not just one right way to be a Mormon woman, either, as long as we are firmly grounded in faith in the Savior, make and keep covenants, live the commandments, and work together in charity.”
By choosing to center our lives on the Savior Jesus Christ, we will have the strength that we need to face life’s unique challenges. Sister Okazaki proclaims that “our circumstances will not always be ideal, but we can still strive to live up to them.”
As we decide to have faith in the Savior and to live our lives centered on him, we will have the confidence to say with the Apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
Read Sister Chieko Okazaki’s full talk “Strength in the Savior” to learn more about how we can each draw strength from our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Source: LDS General Conference
—Rebecca Cazanave, Mormon Insights
feature image by olivia snow
Find more insights
Read about Joseph Smith’s teachings about women.
To learn more about how to focus on the essential, read or watch President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk “It Works Wonderfully.”
Check out Sophia Parry’s Mormon Insights article “A Woman’s Potential: What God Sees” to learn more on how God feels about his daughters.
Wonderful article! Social media has felt particularly overwhelming as of late. It’s such a comfort to be reminded I’m not alone in my lack of photogenic children + lipstick skills.
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