What a beautiful sight that is, to be among you priesthood
holders here in the Conference Center and with all those
around the globe.
It's an honor and privilege and joy to be
counted among you.
When I was young, falling and getting up seemed to be one
and the same motion.
Over the years, however, I have come to the unsettling
conclusion that the laws of physics have changed--and not
to my advantage.
Not long ago I was skiing with my 12-year-old grandson.
We were enjoying our time together when I hit an icy
spot and ended up making a glorious crash landing on a
steep slope.
I tried every trick to stand up, but I couldn't.
I had fallen, and I couldn't get up.
I felt fine physically, but my ego was a bit bruised.
So I made sure that my helmet and goggles were in place,
since I much preferred that other skiers
didn't recognize me.
I could imagine myself sitting there helplessly as they skied
by elegantly, shouting a cheery "Hello, Brother
Uchtdorf!"
I began to wonder what it would take to rescue me.
That was when my grandson came to my side.
I told him what had happened, but he didn't seem very
interested in my explanations of why I couldn't get up.
He looked me in the eyes, reached out, took my hand, and
in a firm tone said, "Opa, you can do it now!"
Instantly, I stood.
I'm still shaking my head over this.
What had seemed impossible only a moment before
immediately became a reality because a 12-year-old boy
reached out to me and said, "You can do it now!" To me it
was an infusion of confidence, enthusiasm, and strength.
Brethren, there may be times in our lives when rising up
and continuing on our way may seem beyond our own ability.
That day on a snow-covered slope, I learned something.
Even when we think we cannot rise up, there's still hope.
And sometimes we just need someone to look us in the
eyes, take our hand, and say, "You can do it now!"
We may think that women are more likely than men to have
feelings of inadequacy and disappointment--that it
affects them more than us.
I'm not sure that this is true.
Men experience feelings of guilt,
depression, and failure.
We might pretend these feelings don't bother
us, but they do.
We can feel so burdened by our failures and shortcomings that
we begin to think we will never be able to succeed.
We might even assume that because we have fallen before,
falling is our destiny.
As one writer put it, "We beat on, boats against the current,
borne back ceaselessly into the past."
I have watched men filled with potential and grace disengage
from the challenging work of building the kingdom of God
because they had failed a time or two, or even
three or more times.
These were men of promise who could have been exceptional
priesthood holders and servants of God.
But because they stumbled and became discouraged, they
withdrew from their priesthood commitments and pursued other
but less worthy endeavors.
And thus they go on living only a shadow of the life they
could have led, never rising to the potential that is their
birthright.
As a poet lamented, these are among those unfortunate souls
who "die with [most of] their music [still]
in them."
No one likes to fail.
And we particularly don't like it when others, especially
those we love, see us fail.
We all want to be respected and esteemed.
We want to be champions.
But we mortals do not become champions without effort and
discipline or without making mistakes.
Brethren, our destiny is not determined by the number of
times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up,
dust ourselves off, and move forward.
We know this mortal life is a test.
But because our Heavenly Father loves us with a perfect
love, He shows us where to find the answers.
He has given us the map that allows us to navigate the
uncertain terrain and unexpected trials that each of
us encounters.
The words of the prophets are part of this map.
When we stray--when we fall or depart from the way of our
Heavenly Father--the words of the prophets tell us how to
rise up and get back on track.
Of all the principles taught by prophets over the
centuries, one that has been emphasized over and over and
over again is the hopeful and heartwarming message that
mankind can repent, change course, and get back on the
true path of discipleship.
That does not mean that we should be comfortable with our
weaknesses, mistakes, or sins--no.
But there is an important difference between the sorrow
for sin that leads to repentance and the sorrow that
leads to despair.
The Apostle Paul taught that "godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation ...: but the sorrow of the world
worketh death." Godly sorrow inspires change and hope
through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Worldly sorrow pulls us down, extinguishes hope, and
persuades us to give in to further temptation.
Godly sorrow leads to conversion
and a change of heart.
It causes us to hate sin and love goodness.
It encourages us to stand up and walk tall in the light of
Christ's love.
True repentance is about transformation,
not torture or torment.
Yes, heartfelt regret and true remorse for disobedience are
often painful and very important steps in the sacred
process of repentance.
But when guilt leads to self-loathing or prevents us
from rising up again, it is impeding rather than promoting
our repentance.
Brethren, there is a better way.
Let us rise up and become men of God.
We have a champion, a Savior who walked through the valley
of the shadow of death on our behalf.
He gave Himself as a ransom for our sins.
No one has ever had greater love than this.
Jesus Christ, the Lamb without blemish, willingly laid
Himself on the altar of sacrifice and paid the price
for our sins "to the uttermost farthing." He took upon
Himself our suffering.
He took our burdens, our guilt, upon His shoulders.
My dear friends, when we decide to come to Him, when we
take upon ourselves His name and boldly walk in the path of
discipleship, then, through the Atonement, we are promised
not only happiness and "peace in this world" but also
"eternal life in the world to come."
When we make mistakes, when we sin and fall, let us think of
what it means to truly repent.
It means turning our heart and will to God and giving up sin.
True, heartfelt repentance brings with it the heavenly
assurance that we can "do it now."
One of the adversary's methods to prevent us from progressing
is to confuse us about who we really are and
what we really desire.
We want to spend time with our children, but we also want to
engage in our favorite manly hobbies.
We want to lose weight, but we also want to enjoy
the foods we crave.
We want to become Christlike, but we also want to give the
guy who cuts us off in traffic a piece of our mind.
Satan's purpose is to tempt us to exchange the priceless
pearls of true happiness and eternal values for a fake,
plastic trinket that is merely an illusion and counterfeit of
happiness and joy.
Another method the adversary uses to discourage us from
rising up is to make us see the commandments as things
that have been forced upon us.
I suppose that it is human nature to resist anything that
does not appear to be our own idea in the first place.
If we see healthy eating and exercise as something only our
doctor expects of us, we will likely fail.
If we see these things and choices as who we are and who
we want to become, we have a greater chance of staying the
course and succeeding.
If we see home teaching as only the stake president's
goal, we may place a lower value on doing it.
If we see it as our goal--something we desire to
do in order to become more Christlike and minister to
others--we will not only fulfill our commitment but
accomplish it in a way that blesses the families we visit
and our own as well.
Often enough we're the ones who are being held up by
friends or by family.
But if we look around with observant eyes and the motive
of a caring heart, we will recognize the opportunities
the Lord places in front of us to help others rise up and
move toward their true potential.
The scriptures suggest, "[Whatever]
ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."
It is a great source of spiritual power to live lives
of integrity and righteousness and to keep our eyes on where
we want to be in the eternities.
Even if we can see this divine destination only with the eye
of faith, it will help us to stay the course.
When our intention is mainly focused on our daily successes
or failures, we may lose our way, wander, and fall.
Keeping our sights on higher goals will help us become
better sons and brothers, kinder fathers, and more
loving husbands.
Even those who set their hearts upon divine goals may
still occasionally stumble, but they will not be defeated.
They trust and rely upon the promises of God.
They will rise up again with the bright hope in a righteous
God and the inspiring vision of a great future.
They know they can do it now.
Every person, young and old, has had his own personal
experience with falling.
Falling is what we mortals do.
But as long as we are willing to rise up again and continue
on the path toward the spiritual goals God has given
us, we can learn something from failure and become better
and happier as a result.
My dear brethren, my dear friends, there will be times
when you think you cannot continue on.
Trust the Savior and His love.
With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power and hope
of the restored gospel, you will be able to walk tall and
continue on.
Brethren, we love you.
We pray for you.
You should hear President Monson pray for you.
Whether you are a young father, an elderly priesthood
bearer, or a newly ordained deacon, we are mindful of you.
The Lord is mindful of you.
We acknowledge that your path will at times be difficult.
But I give you this promise in the name of the Lord: rise up
and follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer and Savior, and
one day you will look back and be filled with eternal
gratitude that you chose to trust the Atonement and its
power to lift you up and give you strength.
My dear friends and brethren, no matter how many times you
have slipped or fallen, rise up.
Your destiny is a glorious one.
Stand tall and walk in the light of the restored gospel
of Jesus Christ.
You are stronger than you realize.
You're more capable than you can imagine.
You can do it now!
Of this I testify in the sacred name of our Master and
Redeemer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.