Marleen S. Williams wrote the following which I think is rather apropos in light of my previous post on same-sex attraction; of course, it is applicable to everyone, as all people struggle with temptations and weaknesses:
Christ Is the Finisher of Our Faith
Although we are required to do our part by coming to Christ, having faith in His word, keeping His commandments, continuing to grow through the process of repentance, and enduring to the end, the Atonement has sufficient power to heal us of all that mortality can inflict upon us. We are promised that the Atonement can make up for those things that cannot be healed in mortality. Nephi, who had personally experienced great suffering and sacrifice, wrote, “Be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).
Sometimes healing in mortality may come from receiving greater understanding of our problem or being given enough strength to endure and grow from it. Christ promised that if we will make our problems to him. He can comfort us: “Come unto me . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
The Apostle Paul stands as an example of one who turned a mortal struggle into an opportunity to grow spiritually. He spoke of a “thorn in the flesh” that troubled him greatly. Although we do not know the nature of his affliction, we can learn from his patience in enduring it. Three times be begged the Lord to remove this “thorn” that Satan used to buffet him. He asked God to heal him of this affliction. The Lord chose not to release him from this mortal experienced but counselled him, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Paul learned to “glory in [his] infirmities” because he knew that the power of Christ was with him. He realized that humbly depending on Christ and having faith in the Atonement is what made him spiritually strong. Paul continued to stay faithful and was able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, italics added). Christ and the Atonement did for him what he could not do by himself. Christ was the “author and finisher” of his faith (Hebrews 12:2; see also Moroni 6:4).
The Jaredite prophet Ether witnessed much suffering during his mortal life. He left us his testimony of the power of faith to sustain us in the trials of mortality: “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast” (Ether 12:4).
Christ has the power to heal all infirmities, whether in mortality or hereafter. He may release us from the “thorns in our flesh,” teach us how to overcome them, or help us to continue to grow and learn from them. As we draw closer to Christ during the challenges of mortal experiences, exercising faith in His word, we can receive the strength we need from understanding the Atonement. Because Christ overcame the world (see John16:33), we have justifiable reason to never lose hope, regardless of where we are now. (Marleen S. Williams, “The Sustaining Power of Faith in the Mortal Trial of Same-Sex Attraction” in Understanding Same-Sex Attraction (LDS Edition): Where to Turn and How to Help, eds. Dennis V. Dahle, A. Dean Byrd, Shirley E. Cox, Doris R. Dant, William C. Duncan, John P. Livingstone, and M. Gawain Wells [Salt Lake City: Foundation for Attraction Research, 2009], pp. 86-102, here, pp. 100-1)
