I love, with all my heart, our Eternal Father. I testify that He not only lives, but He is the creator of our spirits. He is our Father. We are His offspring, and He has endowed us with power—power that can change our lives in dramatic ways.
What I wish to share with you today may be new to you. But I testify that this understanding can change your life in powerful ways. I invite you to allow God’s special witness, His Holy Spirit, to touch you and teach you. This is my fervent prayer.
There are, in our world, two great powers, and God has given us agency so that we might choose between them. First is God’s positive power, and second is Satan’s negative power. Which power we choose will affect our mortal lives in dramatic ways.
More than any other activity, our gazing at the stars brings us a deep sense of awe as we try to gain a better understanding of our Maker and His boundless creations. I have learned that there are great powers and incredible forces at work in the universe. It is also difficult to fully grasp the immense amount of energy being released by our own sun that makes life possible on earth.
Last week in devotional, Brother Kevin Redd taught us about the nature of light and how that source of light is our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the light in the heavens that has so fascinated mankind throughout the ages. As God’s children, we are drawn to the light. Perhaps that is why gazing at the heavens is so mesmerizing to us as we try to comprehend the light that is coming to us from so far away.
Powerful telescopes and other tools have helped us gather this light and better understand the universe and its incomprehensible vastness. With these and other tools, astronomers are able to calculate the total number of stars to be over 400 billion in the Milky Way galaxy.
This number should not be a surprise. The book of Moses explains:
And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.1
I think we can start to get a feel for the magnitude of God’s power. However, as amazing as are the wonders of the universe, God has told us that His true focus is on us, His children: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”2
It is incredible to realize that our loving Eternal Father wants all of us, His children, to be like Him! Often, we look at ourselves and we feel so powerless and insignificant. But I testify to you that we are beings of power—of amazing power! We are heirs of God! It is only the great destroyer, or he who would foil God’s plan, that wants us to think otherwise.
God’s power is the power of redemption, salvation, and exaltation. It is the power to raise and to lift. His is the power of understanding, patience, and compassion. It is the power to build up, to elevate, and to support. God’s power is the power to progress, to change, to mold, to exalt, and to sanctify. His is the power of justice, love, hope, and peace. His power is positive power.
Of the two opposing powers in the universe, one is light, the other dark. One redeems and saves, the other damns and destroys. One is good, and one is evil. All our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions can be categorized as positive or negative, good or evil. Omni teaches us this principle when he says, “For there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord: and that which is evil cometh from the devil.”3
There is no middle ground. We gain further understanding of that in Revelations 3:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.4
According to the Lord there is only good or evil, light or dark. If we aren’t actively engaged in positive efforts and works of good, then we are by default operating under Satan’s negative power.
God, the Father of our spirits, is all-powerful and wants to bless us, both during this difficult mortal journey as well as after this life. Remember that God’s work, His focus, is to bring about our immortality and eternal life.
When I was younger, I struggled being positive, but I convinced myself that being positive all of the time simply wasn’t possible in my imperfect state. However, I started to observe people around me who seemed to be positive all of the time. I assumed that this was because life was going so perfectly for them and that, for some reason, they were just “lucky.” What I didn’t realize at the time is that their positive power was actually affecting their lives in a positive way.
Yes, their lives were going well, but this was the blessing they received for choosing to exercise positive power.
One of these people was a dear sister I met while serving my mission in Ecuador. Her name is Maria. Through her life experiences, she has learned how powerful being positive can be. Maria is a survivor of leukemia, breast cancer, and a brain tumor. With each cancer, she exercised positive power as she continually reassured others that she knew she’d be okay because our loving Father in Heaven would take care of her. She saw each challenge as a blessing because she knew that when she spent time in hospitals undergoing surgery or chemotherapy she’d be able to make many new friends among the other patients, nurses, and doctors. People around her feel her positive power and are deeply affected. This sister finds joy all around her. She exudes positive power and refuses to fall into the trap of complaining or expressing negative thoughts or feelings. She is a strength to all who know her.
I was deeply affected by Maria’s example of positivity, knowing how sick she often was. How could she, along with the many other individuals I met through my youth, keep a positive outlook even in the face of hardship? Eventually, I mustered enough courage to ask a dear friend how he could be so positive all the time. I asked the question hoping to unravel a great life mystery, but his response was simple: “Because,” he said, “I choose to be positive.” At first his response disappointed me, but I have since learned the truth of his simple response. Exercising positive power in our lives is simply a choice.
As I have shared this principle over the years, there are many who resist and tell me that because of the circumstances of their lives it simply isn’t possible to be positive all the time. I understand this because I used to think this way myself. But I have come to learn that Satan’s doctrine is designed to convince us that it just isn’t possible to be positive all the time. Living in a fallen world, it seems natural to have negative thoughts and feelings and to be angry, upset, or frustrated. Maria had every right to have these feelings, but I testify to you that this is not God’s way. In Mosiah we learn: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever.”5
If we succumb to the natural man and allow ourselves negative thoughts and expressions, we are unwittingly drawing on Satan’s power. But as God’s literal offspring, negativity should play no role in our lives. As God’s children, we risk our own happiness when we choose to be frustrated, angry, judgmental, or critical of others because Satan’s negative power will hobble our progress, make us miserable like he is, and influence events in our lives negatively. Remember that Satan’s negative power is the power of damnation and destruction. He would love to have us give in to sullenness, indifference, pessimism, or any other negative emotion or action.
So, how can we overcome the natural man? Returning again to Mosiah 3:19, King Benjamin gives us additional insights about this process of shaking off the natural man. He encouraged us to “[yield] to the enticings of the Holy Spirit . . . and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us].”
That’s it. While Satan’s negative power is anger, self-focus, and criticizing others, God’s positive power is all about embracing meekness, humility, patience, charity, hope, and all things that bring peace. God’s power is seeking light.
Can we really live a life free of negative thoughts and emotions? Don’t be discouraged as you learn to respond to situations more positively. Understand that it is a process to develop this Christlike attribute as we become more positive. It is also important to remember that exercising positive power does not eliminate difficult or challenging experiences in our lives, but, just like Maria, we can affect the outcome of those challenges in a positive way. As we choose to embrace difficult challenges in our lives, it empowers us with a far greater ability to successfully overcome them. Know, too, that our Father in Heaven will help us if we express to Him our sincere desires to change.
Our family knew a young lady who passed away from skin cancer. But even while on her death bed, unable to care for herself, she chose to exercise positive power by expressing love and gratitude to all those that attended her and visited with her. She was a perfect example of grace and Christlike love. She didn’t complain or bemoan her lot in life. She trusted our Heavenly Father and accepted His will. Though in great pain, she was truly an angel, and her positive power has had a lasting impact on the many lives she touched before she passed away. Many people in her situation would be bitter. She was young, vibrant, and newly married to a loving husband, with all the promise of a wonderful life ahead of her. She had every reason to complain, but she was one who had learned the power of choosing to be positive and speaking words that would inspire and uplift. This young woman chose the light of God’s positive power.
As we choose to apply this power in our lives, we will affect events in our lives for the better, whether we are dealing with illness, taking a difficult test, dealing with the effects of a worldwide pandemic, or working with difficult people. As God’s literal offspring and heirs, we have access to His power. This power will always affect our lives and the lives of those around us in a positive and beneficial way.
Perhaps one of the reasons why I used to feel that it was impossible, at least for some of us, to be positive all the time is that I have battled for most of my life an inherited mental health condition that leads to clinical depression. When one battles clinical depression, the world is an indescribably dark and hopeless place. It can be incredibly discouraging and negative. But
because of my own journey of discovery, as I learned about God’s amazing power that is available to us, I can testify that it is possible for us all to choose positive over negative. After all, isn’t the hope of our salvation—the Atonement of Jesus Christ—the greatest example of positive power? This power is enabling and helps us not only overcome sin, but also enables us to choose to be like He is and develop positive Christlike attributes. His attributes are positive in nature. They are attributes of power in our own lives—power to change our natures and influence outcomes in our life.
My dear sister-in-law, Wendi, is another person that has every reason to choose to be negative. You see, she has been in a nursing home for two and a half years after she was struck by a truck while in a crosswalk on a busy street. She has spent most of this time unable to eat, talk, or move much. After coming out of a prolonged coma caused by the trauma to her brain, the only way she could communicate was with her eyes. It has only been recently that she has been able to feed herself and to talk. Though she is still confined to bed, she chooses to be positive. She loves to make video calls to her sister, my wife, and to offer words of encouragement and joy. Her biggest desire is to serve others, and she does so in the only way she can. In every phone call she lifts, encourages, compliments, and prays for those she talks to. Being bed-bound in a care facility would be discouraging to most of us, and she is no exception. She would rather not be there, but she is choosing to do all that she can to make the very most of her time by having a positive influence on others.
I’m not just telling you the stories of these amazing people who have a “sunny disposition.” I share these examples so you can know that we truly can access this same power. Despite difficult circumstances in our lives, I testify that this power is real and it is life-changing and it can improve our lives in dramatic ways.
So, how can we tap into the amazing power that can come to us in our lives as we choose positive over negative? The first step is to develop an unwavering trust in God. If God is a perfect being and His work and glory is to bless us with eternal life, then know that He has our best interest at heart. He wants to bless us and help us.
The second thing we can do is follow the counsel of President Gordon B. Hinckley and develop an attitude of gratitude. This is a powerful tool. In fact, if you find that your outlook in life is generally negative, I would like to challenge you to an experiment. For one week, look for opportunities to genuinely thank those around you and express your gratitude to them. In addition, look for things that you can be grateful for. Keep a list and write these things down. Then each night before going to bed, kneel and pour out your heart in prayer to our Father in Heaven thanking Him and expressing gratitude. As this behavior becomes a part of your nature, you will find that it becomes easier and easier to be consistently positive.
The third thing we can do is follow the counsel in the Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 and “be anxiously engaged in a good cause.” This does not have to be a grandiose act, but we can follow the example of the Savior who took time to talk to others, listen to them, and perform small acts that left an impact on the lives of those around Him.
As we learn to draw on God’s positive power, we can experience true joy in this lifetime. In 2 Nephi 2 we learn that “men” (meaning all of us) “are that they might have joy.”6 Joy is simply not possible when we choose to exercise Satan’s negative power in our lives.
I am so grateful to those of you who participated in this week’s discussion board. Thank you. I loved that you shared examples of service, patience, kindness, and a fervent testimony of Jesus Christ. These are all excellent illustrations of how we can have a positive effect on the events of our lives as we choose to exercise positive power.
Our loving Father in Heaven, the creator of worlds without number, loves us. And with a love that is perfect and all-inclusive, I testify that He stands ready to help us. If we let Him, He will participate in our lives in miraculous ways. I have witnessed many times when He has helped me or my family or friends. Sometimes that help may seem insignificant or inconsequential, but to us we have recognized His influence as the tender mercies that they are.
I invite you to seek ways to embrace life’s challenges in a positive way. Trust God, be grateful, look for ways to do good. If you struggle with feelings of depression or anxiety like I know so many of us do, I invite you to look for triggers in your life where you often respond with negativity. Instead, choose to act with positive power. I promise you that you will be able to influence the outcomes of your life in ways that bless you and those around you in extraordinary ways. I can’t stress enough the incredible power we have to affect life’s challenges so that we can see them as the blessings that they are. We are not just reeds in the wind with no power to exert influence on what happens to us. We are God’s children and we have been promised His power in our lives as we abandon all negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions and choose instead to embrace with positive power all that we face in this life. Of this I testify most fervently, in the name of our beloved Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
1 Moses 1:33, 37, emphasis added.
2 Moses 1:39, emphasis added.
3 Omni 1:25.
4 Revelations 3:15–16.
5 Mosiah 3:19.
6 2 Nephi 2:25.