President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "Lord, Is It I?"

This was my first opportunity to study the talks shared in the Priesthood Session of General Conference. They have all been wonderful, but I especially liked Brother Uchtdorf’s words. I know that I need to turn my eye inward more often and reflect on how I can be a better disciple of Christ. This talk will help me do that.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “Lord, Is It I?”

Read or watch the full talk here

President Uchtdorf began his talk with a reminder of an exchange that took place between Christ and His disciples. On this night Christ told his disciples that one of them would betray Him. What happened next is true evidence of the righteousness of those men. They did not doubt Christ, or question Him. Then, instead of accusing each other they each asked if they were the one who would betray the Savior. 

That is such amazing faith. I hope that I would behave in the same fashion. But I also know that in such an exchange it would be easy for fear to tempt someone, myself included, to look around and judge their companions instead of themselves. 

No one would want to be the betrayer. 

But it is also true that no one likes to feel as if they are not good enough. Satan uses this tendency of the natural man to manipulate us into making unrighteous judgments. 

We must resist this tendency. We must look to ourselves and cast out the beams in our own eyes before we pridefully assume the responsibility of removing the motes in another’s eyes

President Uchtdorf then went on to remind us of the danger of overestimating our actions (not our worth, for we are all children of God and worthy of His love). President Uchtdorf said, “it might not be so significant to overestimate how well we drive a car or how far we can drive a golf ball. But when we start believing that our contributions at home, at work, and at church are greater than they actually are, we blind ourselves to blessings and opportunities to improve ourselves in significant and profound ways.”  

I have to admit that this was difficult to read. I’ve always struggled with knowing how much to do. I can be stubbornly independent. I like to take care of myself. I always have. It is hard for me to accept help and consequently I am less inclined to provide certain types of help. I can’t always understand why someone wants helps with something because I would never ask for that type of help.

Still, I am thankful for this reminder. I want to do what I can to help others. That will require that I help them as they need to be helped, not as I want to help them. 

I’m sure I am not alone when I say that I want to live up to my responsibilities as a disciple of Christ. We can do it, brothers and sisters. 

The other danger the comes when we judge others’ motes instead of dealing with our own beams, is the tendency to think we don’t need the Savior and the blessings of the gospel because we can take care of ourselves. As President Uchtdorf said, we become blind to our own faults and we get trapped by pride.

Brothers and Sisters, we all need Heavenly Father, we all need the gospel. According to President Uchtdorf, “being able to see ourselves clearly is essential to our spiritual growth and well-being. If our weaknesses and shortcomings remain obscure in the shadows, then the redeeming power of the Savior cannot heal them and make them strengths.” 

I don’t know about you, but I want to be strong. I want to be filled with the Spirit of the Lord and I want to follow His will. 

President Uchtdorf’s advice is to approach Heavenly Father with a broken heart and a teachable mind. Brothers and sisters, we can do this. We can remove the beams from our eyes. Heavenly Father will help us. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.