Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

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Ribble
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Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Ribble »

I have a lot of weaknesses. One of which, is a terrible memory. It has always been with me and has hampered me my whole life. I believe it is a form of dyslexia and I have tried just about everything to improve it. Studying memory, I have found some techniques that help; like visualization, associating and linking. Nonetheless, even with daily practice, I fear this will always be a frustrating obstacle.

The Serenity Prayer reads: "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

I can't help but wonder if some of my weaknesses will always be with me, and perhaps, I should just accept them and move on?

But then I read the words of Moroni in Ether 12:27:

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 unto 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.

My question is this: I understand how weakness can be beneficial to us in a variety of ways; such as, humility, bringing us to Christ, encouraging us to turn to others to connect and work together.
But in a literal sense, have you or do you know of anyone, who has asked the Lord and has had a real weakness turned to strength? And I'm talking REAL weakness here, not just learning a new skill or being nervous about something (like speaking in front of a group) and finding out that you can do it. I'm asking, "has the Lord ever,like, rewired your brain" kind of healing? For instance, you've never had a mind for math, but through fasting, prayer and study, suddenly the concepts make sense and you actually begin to do very well in math.

Anyway, I understand that weaknesses, like strengths, are part of mortality and everyone has a plethora of both. And, like the apostle Paul, sometimes our weakness is to remain with us throughout our lives, like a "thorn in our sides." I'm just hoping that there are also cases of real divine intervention where we are literallly blessed with the strength to overcome our weakness.

I would appreciate reading about your experiences concerning this topic.

embryopocket
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by embryopocket »

I'm a lazy person. I've struggled for the past few years to turn this into a strength. I have got better, but I'm not at the point where I would like to be.

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marc
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by marc »

Before I went on my mission, I was an introvert and afraid of people. Because of physical and emotional abuse, I had no self esteem, though I readily made friends with anyone who wanted. I was also afraid of speaking my mind for fear of what people thought about me. I valued attention and craved praise (something I severely lacked from my dad growing up).

On my mission, it occurred to me that nobody knew me or my hang ups. I had a choice to break out of my shell and redefine myself or forever remain in it and afraid. I took that leap of faith. I spoke boldly. At first it felt like somebody else. it was like I was playing a role and practicing my new self in another country halfway around the world. I left home a boy and came home a man who stood his ground and was firm. This translated into all other aspects of my life afterward. I am strong because in the Lord I can do all things.

firefly
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by firefly »

Improving Memory. There are many reasons why your mind may not work as well as others.

There are physiological reasons such as maintaining a healthy body through proper diet and exercise and getting plenty of sleep. There are a number of things we eat that cause our minds to underperform. Some of these foods are specific to only a group of people who are sensitive to certain foods. They are not allergic to foods they just have food intolerances that cause mild things such as brain fog. While there are foods that hurt memory, there are foods and vitamins that reportedly improve memory like omega-3. This aspect touches the word of wisdom promises that result from healthy eating.

How to determine if you have a food intolerance? You could try to remove foods known to cause problems, but the most certain way to identify problem foods is to do an elimination diet. In this diet there is a short 2 week period where you abstain from all but the most basic nonallergenic foods. If your systems improve then you add foods until you find out which foods causes you problems. A woman on facebook was looking to solve a physical ailment through a gluten free diet found that her active memory improved as well.

Those are the physical aspects, then there is the mind training. One part of training the mind is learning to control our thoughts. To remember the mind makes connections, the more focused we are the better the connections in our minds. If we study while stressed, our minds are not focused on the task at hand and therefore we are not making those connections properly... we could end up taking hours to remember something where for someone else it may take only half an hour. There are whole areas of in the field of meditation dealing with controlling the mind and separating out the noise (eg stress) in our minds.

Then there are the methods which you are applying to remember. Simple mnemonics such as ways to remember the order of planets and how to spell neighbor and weigh only get you so far. Memory champions know of many ways to remember a long, long string of numbers, but not all methods are equal. There is the plain verbal trail and error method, a story method, journey method... In a book by a BYU professor on memory, he talked about a study where people were tested on how well they could remember a string of numbers. they were brought in every week and tested. Usually it was in the 7 to 8 digits where they would begin to fail, but one day this one person came and was able to remember something like 80 digits in a row. Amazed, the examiners asked him how he did it and said that he was a runner and just converted the numbers into running times and imagined people coming in with those different times. It's not the best method out there since today's memory champions can memorize a string of 400 digits in five minutes. For the most part they use variations of what they call the journey method. The point of this is that having a good method can take ordinary minds to do extraordinary things. To do that though takes a bit of willingness to follow their methods and training.

The hands down best place to learn about the about memory is from http://www.pmemory.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They apply the techniques to different subjects and help with your individual obstacles when trying their approach. They have a 60 lesson train course which is expensive, $300, but they have a free ebook that you can request. You can get a lot of info from that. What I enjoyed from the book is it explains why certain methods are better than others and how to create mental databases to organize and store information in your mind. Much of the information they teach is taught by a Russian Professor, but his books are in Russian so that won't be of much help for most people here.

Ribble
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Ribble »

firefly wrote:Improving Memory. There are many reasons why your mind may not work as well as others.

There are physiological reasons such as maintaining a healthy body through proper diet and exercise and getting plenty of sleep. There are a number of things we eat that cause our minds to underperform. Some of these foods are specific to only a group of people who are sensitive to certain foods. They are not allergic to foods they just have food intolerances that cause mild things such as brain fog. While there are foods that hurt memory, there are foods and vitamins that reportedly improve memory like omega-3. This aspect touches the word of wisdom promises that result from healthy eating.

How to determine if you have a food intolerance? You could try to remove foods known to cause problems, but the most certain way to identify problem foods is to do an elimination diet. In this diet there is a short 2 week period where you abstain from all but the most basic nonallergenic foods. If your systems improve then you add foods until you find out which foods causes you problems. A woman on facebook was looking to solve a physical ailment through a gluten free diet found that her active memory improved as well.

Those are the physical aspects, then there is the mind training. One part of training the mind is learning to control our thoughts. To remember the mind makes connections, the more focused we are the better the connections in our minds. If we study while stressed, our minds are not focused on the task at hand and therefore we are not making those connections properly... we could end up taking hours to remember something where for someone else it may take only half an hour. There are whole areas of in the field of meditation dealing with controlling the mind and separating out the noise (eg stress) in our minds.

Then there are the methods which you are applying to remember. Simple mnemonics such as ways to remember the order of planets and how to spell neighbor and weigh only get you so far. Memory champions know of many ways to remember a long, long string of numbers, but not all methods are equal. There is the plain verbal trail and error method, a story method, journey method... In a book by a BYU professor on memory, he talked about a study where people were tested on how well they could remember a string of numbers. they were brought in every week and tested. Usually it was in the 7 to 8 digits where they would begin to fail, but one day this one person came and was able to remember something like 80 digits in a row. Amazed, the examiners asked him how he did it and said that he was a runner and just converted the numbers into running times and imagined people coming in with those different times. It's not the best method out there since today's memory champions can memorize a string of 400 digits in five minutes. For the most part they use variations of what they call the journey method. The point of this is that having a good method can take ordinary minds to do extraordinary things. To do that though takes a bit of willingness to follow their methods and training.

The hands down best place to learn about the about memory is from http://www.pmemory.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They apply the techniques to different subjects and help with your individual obstacles when trying their approach. They have a 60 lesson train course which is expensive, $300, but they have a free ebook that you can request. You can get a lot of info from that. What I enjoyed from the book is it explains why certain methods are better than others and how to create mental databases to organize and store information in your mind. Much of the information they teach is taught by a Russian Professor, but his books are in Russian so that won't be of much help for most people here.
Thanks for the reply. Honestly, I've tried pretty much all of the above. I've been off processed foods for years...and no gluten or dairy. I exercise 5 days a week, both weights and cardio. I've tried meditation, and 4 years ago I purchased the pmemory system. I still work with it...but like I said, my memory has improved, but still stinks.

I do believe this is above my pay grade. I'm just wondering if I can be healed? I'm curious to know if anybody has had a similar problem where they have been healed? This, I believe, would increase my faith. I guess my best bet is to bring it to the Lord and ask him if It is "right" for me to be healed, or if perhaps this is a cross the I will just have to bear during my mortality?

JohnnyL
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by JohnnyL »

Ribble wrote:
firefly wrote:Improving Memory. There are many reasons why your mind may not work as well as others.

There are physiological reasons such as maintaining a healthy body through proper diet and exercise and getting plenty of sleep. There are a number of things we eat that cause our minds to underperform. Some of these foods are specific to only a group of people who are sensitive to certain foods. They are not allergic to foods they just have food intolerances that cause mild things such as brain fog. While there are foods that hurt memory, there are foods and vitamins that reportedly improve memory like omega-3. This aspect touches the word of wisdom promises that result from healthy eating.

How to determine if you have a food intolerance? You could try to remove foods known to cause problems, but the most certain way to identify problem foods is to do an elimination diet. In this diet there is a short 2 week period where you abstain from all but the most basic nonallergenic foods. If your systems improve then you add foods until you find out which foods causes you problems. A woman on facebook was looking to solve a physical ailment through a gluten free diet found that her active memory improved as well.

Those are the physical aspects, then there is the mind training. One part of training the mind is learning to control our thoughts. To remember the mind makes connections, the more focused we are the better the connections in our minds. If we study while stressed, our minds are not focused on the task at hand and therefore we are not making those connections properly... we could end up taking hours to remember something where for someone else it may take only half an hour. There are whole areas of in the field of meditation dealing with controlling the mind and separating out the noise (eg stress) in our minds.

Then there are the methods which you are applying to remember. Simple mnemonics such as ways to remember the order of planets and how to spell neighbor and weigh only get you so far. Memory champions know of many ways to remember a long, long string of numbers, but not all methods are equal. There is the plain verbal trail and error method, a story method, journey method... In a book by a BYU professor on memory, he talked about a study where people were tested on how well they could remember a string of numbers. they were brought in every week and tested. Usually it was in the 7 to 8 digits where they would begin to fail, but one day this one person came and was able to remember something like 80 digits in a row. Amazed, the examiners asked him how he did it and said that he was a runner and just converted the numbers into running times and imagined people coming in with those different times. It's not the best method out there since today's memory champions can memorize a string of 400 digits in five minutes. For the most part they use variations of what they call the journey method. The point of this is that having a good method can take ordinary minds to do extraordinary things. To do that though takes a bit of willingness to follow their methods and training.

The hands down best place to learn about the about memory is from http://www.pmemory.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They apply the techniques to different subjects and help with your individual obstacles when trying their approach. They have a 60 lesson train course which is expensive, $300, but they have a free ebook that you can request. You can get a lot of info from that. What I enjoyed from the book is it explains why certain methods are better than others and how to create mental databases to organize and store information in your mind. Much of the information they teach is taught by a Russian Professor, but his books are in Russian so that won't be of much help for most people here.
Thanks for the reply. Honestly, I've tried pretty much all of the above. I've been off processed foods for years...and no gluten or dairy. I exercise 5 days a week, both weights and cardio. I've tried meditation, and 4 years ago I purchased the pmemory system. I still work with it...but like I said, my memory has improved, but still stinks.

I do believe this is above my pay grade. I'm just wondering if I can be healed? I'm curious to know if anybody has had a similar problem where they have been healed? This, I believe, would increase my faith. I guess my best bet is to bring it to the Lord and ask him if It is "right" for me to be healed, or if perhaps this is a cross the I will just have to bear during my mortality?
You might be exercising too MUCH. Exercise->protein->ammonia, which can cause problems with the brain barrier and memory. Google it!

I'd use muscle testing and energy healing to find out what was causing it/ overcome the problem.

Some problems will be overcome, some will get better, some will stay the same, some will get worse. If we only knew which was which!

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Rose Garden
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Rose Garden »

The way my seminary teacher explained it, when weaknesses become strengths, it's not because the areas you are weak in change and you gain skill in that area, it's because the weakness is made to work for you.

So if this is true, then the Lord will not make your memory better. He will instead use your bad memory to help you fulfill your righteous desires. This may already be happening if you have spent a great deal of time in prayer over this. You might pray and ask if this is what the Lord intends.

By the way, I also have a terrible short-term memory. I know what a struggle it can be.

Ribble
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Ribble »

Called to Serve wrote:The way my seminary teacher explained it, when weaknesses become strengths, it's not because the areas you are weak in change and you gain skill in that area, it's because the weakness is made to work for you.

So if this is true, then the Lord will not make your memory better. He will instead use your bad memory to help you fulfill your righteous desires. This may already be happening if you have spent a great deal of time in prayer over this. You might pray and ask if this is what the Lord intends.

By the way, I also have a terrible short-term memory. I know what a struggle it can be.
I appreciate your response and I agree. I was just hoping for an "exception" to the rule. ;)

I like Ether 12: 27, the "weakness turned into a strength" scripture. Notice how even though Moroni is fearing that the gentiles will mock them (the Nephites) due to their "weakness" of writing, nonetheless, the Lord does not HEAL and Perfect their writing. (At least not in the way I'm sure Moroni would like). Instead he uses their weakness as a strength in gathering sheep to the fold via the spirit of the work and not due to writing technique or style.

This has always made sense to me, yet it is a point often missed in Gospel Doctrine. But I am so "chaulk full" of weaknesses that I was just hoping to read of experiences from others where their faith and effort were rewarded in overcoming extreme weakness.

Ribble
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Ribble »

JohnnyL said:

"You might be exercising too MUCH. Exercise->protein->ammonia, which can cause problems with the brain barrier and memory. Google it!

I'd use muscle testing and energy healing to find out what was causing it/ overcome the problem.

Some problems will be overcome, some will get better, some will stay the same, some will get worse. If we only knew which was which!"

Thanks, JohnnyL. I have tried various levels of fitness regiments and the outcome really doesn't change much. Dyslexia seems to run pretty strong in my family. My mother, grandmother, brother, son, all deal with it in varying degrees.

I love to learn, it's just so frustrating how difficult it is for me to learn certain subjects and to retain information. Things are always on the "tip of my tongue," and at work, I am often embarrassed when a co-worker asks me about a person I worked with the previous day...and I can't recall? My memory is very spoty. Sometimes when someone asks for my phone number or what kind of car I drive, obvious everyday things like that, I draw a blank...very embarrassing.

e-eye
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by e-eye »

I have a hard time memorizing things and it's always been this way for me. I have a quick mind but very slow to memorize. When I was in the MTC I had to learn spanish and in our district I worked and worked and worked at it and had the worst spanish out of anybody because I was not very good at memroizing. However, I worked at it and studied and was blessed and became a very good spanish speaker if not probably one of the better ones out of those I served with.

I still have a hard time memorizing scriptures but I don't worry about it too much it would be great to be able to quote like some people do but I have learned the Lord blesses us with what we need when we need it as long as we are doing our part.

Ribble
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Ribble »

e-eye wrote:I have a hard time memorizing things and it's always been this way for me. I have a quick mind but very slow to memorize. When I was in the MTC I had to learn spanish and in our district I worked and worked and worked at it and had the worst spanish out of anybody because I was not very good at memroizing. However, I worked at it and studied and was blessed and became a very good spanish speaker if not probably one of the better ones out of those I served with.

I still have a hard time memorizing scriptures but I don't worry about it too much it would be great to be able to quote like some people do but I have learned the Lord blesses us with what we need when we need it as long as we are doing our part.
Thanks for that, it gives me hope. :)

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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Thinker »

Ribble wrote: August 20th, 2013, 11:28 am The Serenity Prayer reads:
"God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

…have you or do you know of anyone, who has asked the Lord and has had a real weakness turned to strength?...
As RoseGarden/CalledtoServe explained, there’s another meaning of the scripture:
  • And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; & my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, & have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”–Ether 12:27
Consider “the horse whisperer.” My dad told me about this man who grew up witnessing horses being abused and he - being a more sensitive type rather than repeat the abuse - developed extra empathy to understand and get along well with horses. The hardship he experienced became a strength. I think that is similar to how the scripture is applied.

A theory offers more detail of this:
Spoiler
I put this kind of hidden as a spoiler because it could be misinterpreted, & most people are not interested in this type of thing - partly because it’s not part of mainstream stuff & partly because it can feel like hell going through it.

Positive Disintegration:

“Suffering, aloneness, self-doubt, sadness, inner conflict; these are our feelings that we have not learned to live with, that we have failed to appreciate, that we reject as destructive and completely negative, but in fact they are symptoms of an expanding consciousness. Dr. Kazimierz Dąbrowski has spent 45 years piecing together the complete picture of the growth of the human psyche from primitive integration at birth; the person with potential for development will experience growth as a loosening of the stable psychic structure accompanied by symptoms of psychoneuroses. Reality becomes multileveled, the choices between higher and lower realms of behavior occupy our thought and mark us as human. Dąbrowski called this process positive disintegration, he declares that psychoneurosis is not an illness and he insists that development does not come through psychotherapy but that psychotherapy is automatic when the person is conscious of his development.
To Dąbrowski, real therapy is autopsychotherapy; it is the self being aware of the self through a long inner investigation; a mapping of the inner environment. There are no techniques to eliminate symptoms because the symptoms constitute the very psychic richness from which grow an increasing awareness of body, mind, humanity and cosmos. Dąbrowski gives birth to that process if he can.
Without intense and painful introspection and reflection, development is unlikely. Psychoneurotic symptoms should be embraced and transformed into anxieties about human problems of an ever higher order. If psychoneuroses continue to be classified as mental illness, then perhaps it is a sickness better than health.
“Without passing through very difficult experiences and even something like psychoneurosis and neurosis we cannot understand human beings and we cannot realize our multidimensional and multilevel development toward higher and higher levels.” - Dąbrowski
I LOVE the serenity prayer. It is such a good thing to regularly be reminded of. So much suffering is from trying to control “the things we cannot change.”
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Ado
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Ado »

Early into my mission, I was anxious for a variety of reasons and wanted to go home. I was able to deceive myself into believing it was God who wanted me to go home, and I told my mission president I was determined to leave. He met with me and said “I know what your problem is. God doesn’t want you to go home. He just wants you to know you’re weak.” He quoted Ether 12:27 to me and promised if I had faith, recommitted myself to my call and forgot myself, God would make my weakness strengths. I agreed, recommitted myself, and finished my mission wishing I could stay for even longer.
However, not one day of it was easy. The anxiety never left me. It often hindered me. I’d try to mask it by being excessively strict with myself and the rules. I went through periods of just mourning my own shortcomings, alternating between feeling sorry for myself and hating myself. Nightmares never stopped. I had a companion tell me I cried in my sleep. I remember an entire week I worked through insane vertigo. My companion held me up and we pretended it wasn’t happening because I didn’t want to be sent home. One time I went completely blind in one eye for a whole day. I lost a ton of weight because I insisted on walking everywhere instead of taking tricycles or jeepnies. The exercise relieved my tension. My hair started to fall out. My mission president’s wife was frequently checking up on me. And yet when it was time to go home, I begged for an extension. I wanted to stay. But sister missionaries don’t get extensions, and my body was shutting down. So I left feeling truly grateful for every minute of that terrible, awfully painful 18 month experience. I can’t explain it. It beat me up inside and out, and I loved it.
I don’t just have anxiety. I have ptsd from a traumatic childhood. I have extreme social anxiety that I’m only so good at hiding. I have major depressive disorder. Sometimes I come across as passive aggressive in person, when I’m not meaning to be - I just am dying inside a little from every moment of human interaction - all is well. If God were to rewrite my brain chemistry, He’d have to just reincarnate me and let me start over in a less abusive family. But through faith and learning and a lot of clumsiness, I persisted until the end of my mission and loved every person I met. I experienced miracles not a few. As I was promised, God made my weakness into strength, but it wasn’t to MY strength. Certainly not. My weaknesses were magnified if anything. Instead, He made my weakness HIS strength. The weaker I was, the stronger God was. The more exhausted I was, the more the miracles rolled in. The more dangerous the area, the more obvious His shield of protection around me became. When I was weak, then He was strong. He just let me be witness to it. And it’s glorious. And I hope I can be as brave to let Him do that for me again some day. Maybe He is. It’s less obvious in “real life.”

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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Reluctant Watchman »

I think a simple example could be any of the natural man tendencies or weakness of the flesh. For example, through fasting, denying ourselves of things that literally allow our bodies to subsist, creates many “strengths.” Increased faith. A greater capacity to deny the natural urges or aggression. The ability to not overreact. We find the Spirit in greater measure, etc., etc.

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John Tavner
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by John Tavner »

Ribble wrote: August 20th, 2013, 11:28 am I have a lot of weaknesses. One of which, is a terrible memory. It has always been with me and has hampered me my whole life. I believe it is a form of dyslexia and I have tried just about everything to improve it. Studying memory, I have found some techniques that help; like visualization, associating and linking. Nonetheless, even with daily practice, I fear this will always be a frustrating obstacle.

The Serenity Prayer reads: "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

I can't help but wonder if some of my weaknesses will always be with me, and perhaps, I should just accept them and move on?

But then I read the words of Moroni in Ether 12:27:

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 unto 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.

My question is this: I understand how weakness can be beneficial to us in a variety of ways; such as, humility, bringing us to Christ, encouraging us to turn to others to connect and work together.
But in a literal sense, have you or do you know of anyone, who has asked the Lord and has had a real weakness turned to strength? And I'm talking REAL weakness here, not just learning a new skill or being nervous about something (like speaking in front of a group) and finding out that you can do it. I'm asking, "has the Lord ever,like, rewired your brain" kind of healing? For instance, you've never had a mind for math, but through fasting, prayer and study, suddenly the concepts make sense and you actually begin to do very well in math.

Anyway, I understand that weaknesses, like strengths, are part of mortality and everyone has a plethora of both. And, like the apostle Paul, sometimes our weakness is to remain with us throughout our lives, like a "thorn in our sides." I'm just hoping that there are also cases of real divine intervention where we are literallly blessed with the strength to overcome our weakness.

I would appreciate reading about your experiences concerning this topic.
I know of a few. God just healed them. They had done so many drugs that they couldn't comprehend/read sentences well at all. They repented and God opened up their mind. I know of a few others because of drugs this has happened to.

My two cents on Paul - His thorn was his being beat in every town He was in and being in chains... it wasn't a sickness - he mentions getting beat repeatedly in the verses preceding his "thorn" comment" - it was the suffering he had to endure for the Lord's namesake- that was the thorn, not a "weakness" or "sickness.".

I believe or want to believe the Lord can heal all things. I think He can and will heal you. The key is to be ok during hte time it takes for us to grow in that faith. I'll pray on your behalf so that the weakness is made strong. Now, that said, I don't believe the Lord was talking about individual weaknesses, I think the Lord was talking about our weakness of hte flesh in teh sense of "temptation". Regardless though, God is a God of life and does Heal. He can make whole. He will.

Lykos
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Lykos »

Having only been endowed a year or so previously, I struggled for 5-6 months trying to learn the initiatory ordinance as a newly set apart ordinance worker.

I am admittedly a stubborn fool sometimes and in my weakness could not do this myself. As I sat waiting in a different assignment, I prayed in my mind for help, for understanding of why I was struggling to complete this assignment, and what I could do if God would yet help me.
The voice of the Lord came to my whole mind and soul two simple words: Trust me.

Then the Holy Ghost reminded me of a scripture

"And it shall be given thee in the very moment what thou shalt speak"

And so I humbled myself and prayed for this to happen.

And it did. From that time forward I no longer struggled with this assignment. I wasn't perfect every single time, but it was like night and day in terms of experience for the patrons, especially for those receiving their own endowment.

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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by oneClimbs »

Imagine all of your weaknesses are instantly reversed, what would you see? If God intends for the weaknesses that he has given us to become strengths, then this could drastically alter the way we look at weaknesses. What if we saw our weaknesses as dormant strengths just waiting to be awakened? Would this not increase our faith and intensify our desire to approach humility?

When God does give us strength, what form are we expecting it to take? When we get this strength, is it possible that we don’t recognize it? Do we imagine a flow of supernatural power that provides instantaneous change?

Under the word “strong” the Webster’s 1828 dictionary mentions “active power” and “passive power.” Active power is the ability to exert great bodily strength like Samson, Nephi, or Ammon, but passive power is the ability to bear or endure like Job, Abinadi, or Jesus.

Note that God doesn’t say that he will eliminate the weakness, but that his grace is sufficient to make the weak thing strong unto us. That strength could take the form of active or passive power. The purpose of this strength is also essential to understand. These strengths may make our lives easier, but that doesn’t seem to be their fundamental purpose.

It is more likely that these strengths will help us to fulfill our purposes in life and allow us not only to see the hand of God but to access his mind.

And to think of how much time is spent mourning over our weaknesses, being embarrassed, or feeling guilty about them.

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Wolfwoman
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

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I’m bummed that 9-10 years later, the pmemory we sure doesn’t exist anymore. The link takes you to a spammy list of dating websites.

JohnnyL
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by JohnnyL »

Ribble wrote: August 20th, 2013, 11:28 am I have a lot of weaknesses. One of which, is a terrible memory. It has always been with me and has hampered me my whole life. I believe it is a form of dyslexia and I have tried just about everything to improve it. Studying memory, I have found some techniques that help; like visualization, associating and linking. Nonetheless, even with daily practice, I fear this will always be a frustrating obstacle.

The Serenity Prayer reads: "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

I can't help but wonder if some of my weaknesses will always be with me, and perhaps, I should just accept them and move on?

But then I read the words of Moroni in Ether 12:27:

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 unto 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.

My question is this: I understand how weakness can be beneficial to us in a variety of ways; such as, humility, bringing us to Christ, encouraging us to turn to others to connect and work together.
But in a literal sense, have you or do you know of anyone, who has asked the Lord and has had a real weakness turned to strength? And I'm talking REAL weakness here, not just learning a new skill or being nervous about something (like speaking in front of a group) and finding out that you can do it. I'm asking, "has the Lord ever,like, rewired your brain" kind of healing? For instance, you've never had a mind for math, but through fasting, prayer and study, suddenly the concepts make sense and you actually begin to do very well in math.

Anyway, I understand that weaknesses, like strengths, are part of mortality and everyone has a plethora of both. And, like the apostle Paul, sometimes our weakness is to remain with us throughout our lives, like a "thorn in our sides." I'm just hoping that there are also cases of real divine intervention where we are literallly blessed with the strength to overcome our weakness.

I would appreciate reading about your experiences concerning this topic.
I know of a few, but if it were really true--all that strengths to weaknesses--I believe I should know a lot more.

I believe that part of the answer lies in the verses after that:

28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.

29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith [and hope and charity--I left a few verses out];

34 And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

35 Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly.


I believe most of "will I make weak things become strong unto them" refers to God only being able to save those who find themselves weak before Him, and therefore are humble, which allows them to have faith, hope, and charity (see also Moroni 7). So the weak will be made strong through Jesus Christ.

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Now, just a few examples of answers to your question:

The words of the Book of Mormon prophets are seen as weak to the world, but to the person who reads as Moroni instructs in Moroni 10 can find them so strong as to be overpowering; given the situation in Ether 12, it makes sense.

I know that some people greatly fear things like performing or speaking before others, most who mention it mean it, it's definitely a weakness for some. But it can have wonderful results, especially... as the people listening listen by the Spirit.

I know a man who was kind of eccentric, a nerd, weak and ignorant of the gospel in many ways, etc. After seeing him again after a decade, I could not believe the change in him. EQ president who truly cared for, loved, reprimanded, and taught gospel principles to his Q members. I could feel his power.

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I have found that many people's talents and/or spiritual gifts are the polar opposites of their weaknesses, and sometimes in the same degrees. The weakness might remain, but the strength can be discovered, cultivated, strengthened... or remain the same, but nevertheless be awakened and used by the Spirit for God's purposes.

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Mindfields
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

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The church would have you believe that you need to follow all of the (their) commandments before you can obtain God's help. The simple truth is you just need to surrender your will and heart to God and he will cause a mighty change to occur within your life.

Juliet
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Re: Have You Ever Had A Weakness Turned into A Strength?

Post by Juliet »

If human beings were perfectly sound minded we would have a language which would read the same forwards and backwards.

When we speak, our brains generate reverse speech automatically. Try it yourself, get a reverse speech app and listen to yourself backwards. It is undeniable that clear sounding words and phrases and even story lines come out.

This means, we are not sound minded.

I believe this is the mystery of Babylon... that we think and do things in a forward way, not knowing that we do so out of balance, and by every forward thought we create, we also create a backwards thought. If our forward and backwards thinking do not match, then we are not single minded but double minded.

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