Dear Friends,
This past week, someone asked me:
"How do you feel about God's Plan of Salvation?"
At first, I gave a quick, almost automatic reply:
"Well, it's perfect! It allows me to have a premortal life, choose to come to Earth, be tried through my agency, live a good life, avoid harming others, and then return to God's presence in the Celestial Kingdom."
It was a textbook answer—doctrinally sound but emotionally shallow. As I reflected more deeply on the question, I began to ask myself something greater:
What does it really mean to be in and surrounded by God's plan? Have I truly surrendered to the way of life Christ lived? Am I doing enough to receive the privilege of being in God's presence—and His Son’s?
As I’ve sat with those questions, I’ve come to understand this: Striving to be Christlike is not about achieving flawlessness. It’s about staying willing. It’s a process, not a pass/fail test.
As SweetyZee so beautifully puts it: “We do not have to be perfect, self-assured, and untarnished, to be accepted and loved.”
We only need to be actively making the effort—to keep surrendering, one day at a time, to God’s will. When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of the Comforter—the Holy Ghost—we are guided along the path. We may not always see the way, but we are being led.
Michael J. Fox once said: “One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.” That quote strikes a deep chord with me. I believe it’s a reminder that we are born as beloved children of a loving God, and nothing—not trauma, addiction, weakness, or doubt—can steal that truth from us unless we give it up.
Even when we falter, we are never far from His love. The atonement of Jesus Christ doesn’t require us to be spotless before we approach Him. It invites us to return, And every return is welcomed.
Through Christ’s atonement, we are offered a way back, again and again. If we’ve harmed others, acted against our conscience, or stepped away from the path—we can repent, and be restored.
"God's love for us carries forgiveness with each renewed effort to be like Him."
That love is not conditional on perfection. It rests instead on honesty, humility, and the courage to return.
As the Apostle John reminds us:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9
Let me return to the heart of this message: We are not asked to be perfect before we are welcomed.
We are not required to have all the answers before we belong.
And we are certainly not expected to arrive at the foot of grace spotless and shining.
The truth is—we are loved as we are.
✨Additional Reflections That Speak to This Truth:
“Each time we let go of fear and surrender to God’s love, we deepen our ability to forgive ourselves and others.”
— Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son-
“We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”
— C.S. Lewis -
“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”
— Doctrine & Covenants 58:42 -
“God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.”
— Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel
You are enough—not because you have completed the journey, but because you are still walking it.
Let today be another step forward.
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