“From Nothing to Something,” For the Strength of Youth, Feb. 2022.
Home Evening Object Lesson
From Nothing to Something
When you feel like your efforts are falling short, look to Jesus Christ to turn your efforts into something greater.
Failure. Falling short. Making a mistake. Even sin. Whatever it is, you’ve probably had experience with feeling like you just aren’t measuring up. As followers of Jesus Christ, we always want to be doing our best, but sometimes we can get down on ourselves for being less than perfect.
The truth is that there’s no way we can be perfect on our own. Perfection is in Jesus Christ (see Moroni 10:32–33). As we come to Him, are humble, repent, and exercise our faith, He will make our “weak things become strong” (Ether 12:27). As President Russel M. Nelson has taught, “With faith in Him, we can move the mountains in our lives.”1
With this object lesson, you and your family can talk about how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can help each of you turn your shortcomings into something better than you supposed.
What to Do
-
Ask a family member to scribble something simple on the piece of paper with the pen. Ask them to purposely try not to draw anything that anyone else would recognize.
-
Pass the paper to another family member and ask them to use the markers or colored pencils to make something new out of the scribble on the paper—an object, a person, a work of art. It could be anything they can imagine. Be creative!
-
When they are done, ask them to share their new creation with the rest of the family. It may be fun for other family members to try.
1
2
3
Letting God Help
Like a scribble on paper, sometimes our efforts to do good don’t amount to much. We may get close to accomplishing our goals, and other times the result of our efforts may just be unrecognizable.
But when we turn our efforts over to the Lord, He can do amazing things! President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) taught: “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.”2
We may get frustrated when our efforts to do good don’t turn out the way we had hoped, but we don’t need to get discouraged. As you “pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee,” your efforts will be “for the welfare of thy soul” (2 Nephi 32:9). Despite our weaknesses, as we are humble and have faith in God, He will help us to become more like Him!