Have you heard of a Potemkin Village?
"In the late 18th Century, Catherine the Great of Russia announced she would tour the southern part of her empire, accompanied by several foreign ambassadors. The governor of the area, Grigory Potemkin, desperately wanted to impress these visitors, and so he went to remarkable lengths to showcase the country's accomplishments.
"For part of the journey, Catherine floated down the Dnieper River, proudly pointing out to the ambassadors the thriving hamlets along the shore, filled with industrious and happy townspeople. There was only one problem: it was all for show! It is said that Potemkin had assembled pasteboard facades of shops and homes...Once the party disappeared around the bend of the river, Potemkin's men packed up the fake village and rushed it downstream in preparation for Catherine's next pass."
Is it possible that at times we are more concerned with how we appear to others than what is really in our hearts?
"There is nothing wrong with shining our shoes, smelling our best or even hiding the dirty dishes before the home teachers arrive! However, when taken to extremes, this desire to impress can shift from useful to deceitful"
President Uchtdorf gave us good news however which can give us a great deal of hope:
"Whether your testimony is thriving and healthy or your activity in the Church more closely
resembles a Potemkin village, the good news is that you can build on whatever strength you have. Here in the Church of Jesus Christ you can mature spiritually and draw closer to the Saviour by applying gospel principles day by day.
"With patience and persistence, even the smallest act of discipleship or the tiniest ember of belief can become a blazing bonfire of a consecrated life. In fact, that's how most bonfires begin - as a simple spark."
Isn't that wonderful? The Lord will accept us as we are now, with whatever we can give. But, we can be assured that if we are not yet the Sister in the Gospel we want to be, then there is a way, there is hope - we can be all the Lord needs us to be - we just have to try and allow the Saviour to help us !
Sisters - none of us are perfect and we don't have to try to be !!! The Church is a place of healing, not hiding!!
"The church is not an automobile showroom - a place to put ourselves on display so that others can admire our spirituality, capacity or prosperity. It is more like a service centre, where vehicles in need of repair come for maintenance and rehabilitation. And are not ALL of us in need of maintenance and rehabilitation?"
We just have to be willing to accept the Atonement each day of our lives, have patience and persistently live the gospel. "Christ has the power to breathe life unto you" - will you let Him?
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