"That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus." (Philemon 1:6). There are many times that we are called to testify of Christ or labor in the Lord's work when we feel inadequate and unworthy. All of our weaknesses and flaws and the memories of past mistakes shout and scream at us every time we take a step down the covenant path. It is perfectly natural and completely understandable to say, like Moses, Lord, I am slow of speech, or, like Moroni, Lord, they will mock us because of our difficulty in writing. It will almost always be obvious to ourselves and perhaps to others all of the reasons why trusting us to carry out the Lord's work is a bad idea given our skillset and our track record. But if we want the communication of our faith to be effectual, then we have to acknowledge every good thing that is in us thanks to the wisdom and grace of our Savior Jesus Christ. Acknowledging all of our flaws and weaknesses is only half of what it means to be truly humble. It requires great humility to be honest with ourselves that we can't do this on our own and that there are so many reasons that we will need the constant assistance and guidance of our Savior, but it takes even greater humility to recognize and acknowledge and above all to be grateful for and eager to employ in the service of our fellow brothers and sisters and our God all of the strengths and virtues and capacities with which the Lord has blessed us. We are called to this work because our Heavenly Father has given gifts and capabilities and sensitivities and insights to us and to no one else because He needs each of us, specifically, to do a work that we alone can do with the gifts that He has given us. Of course we should always recognize our constant need for the enabling power of the Atonement in our lives but if we want to be effective at sharing our faith with others and inspiring and edifying and lifting them up, then we have to embrace the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus.
