Former social worker Richard Whiting has been humbled and impressed throughout the years with people rising above their difficult circumstances.
“When someone overcomes addiction or someone has survived years of … abuse … and they’re now able to function and maybe even give back and help others, those kinds of experiences truly humble you and [you] recognize how blessed you are,” he said in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio.
It’s experiences like these that also helped Whiting recognize the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. He bore his testimony that if people give their adversities to God, He can make them strong and whole.
“His arms are continuously outstretched,” he said. “He is always willing to take us wherever we are. It’s never too late to approach the Savior.”
Whiting now teaches at BYU-Idaho as a part of the Sociology and Social Work Department faculty. The professor gave a talk in today’s weekly, campus-wide devotional, titled “Weakness: A Condition of Mortality.”
In the talk, he shared an experience from his mission in South Africa, where he was anxious to invite the father of a baptized family to join his family in also getting baptized.
Whiting said the Spirit was prompting him to extend that invitation while he was riding in a car with the man, Oom Piet, on an hour-long drive.
Nervous, Whiting never mentioned baptism, only asking in Afrikaans if he could have another piece of Oom Piet’s smoked sausage.
“It was a little troubling,” he said in his devotional talk. “I had faith in Christ. I was on my mission. What happened? Why didn’t I say the words? Why couldn’t I say the words? The Lord had shown me my weakness. That weakness, that moment, has been a reminder to me for the last 46 years of my need for Christ in my life.”
Whiting invited listeners “to see weakness as a catalyst for change.” He promised them that as they turned to the Savior, they would be made strong.
You can listen to more messages from upcoming devotionals on KBYI 94.3 FM or stream them live on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. here.