Seeing Ourselves - Principle One

Day 4 - Mosiah 2:21 "I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants."

"In this scripture we are taught that we can never, even if we try with all our energy, return more to the Lord than we are receiving. How does this scripture translate into your everyday life? Does it bring you despair or relief? Write to Him about your feelings."

I used to feel conflicted when reading this verse, and even more when finding it emphasized in this book.  It seems in direct opposition to the "feel good" messages from Young Women's -- i.e. the YW values 'Divine Nature' and 'Individual Worth'.   This verse and question was the main reason I rejected this book and its thought process the first time around.  Now I understand both principles are true, at the same time.

"Though our eternal potential is great, our current mortal state is especially humble in comparison."  (My own quote from another page, how do I rate?)

So what this scripture really tells me now is Heavenly Father didn't give us life and opportunity because we are advantageous to him, like a return on investment in the stock market or goods at a retail store that can be sold for more.  He is gifting us a path, gifting us a way to move up and onward to a higher plane of existence.  We're a lot of work and bother and worry, frankly speaking.  He does it for love.  Tremendous amounts of love.  He WANTS us to succeed.

But we take it for granted, or we're incognitant of the enormity of the opportunity, so we need to be reminded once in a while of where we stand in the grand scheme of things.  And recognizing our current state for what it is, helps us understand where we need to go from here.