Continuing from yesterday’s post, writings from the book “Protecting Against Eternal Identify Theft:”
. . .This love for self might be more palatable to some when it is labeled self-respect. Elder Neal A. Maxwell penned, “This is one of the great but unappreciated blessings of the restored gospel. It richly assures us of our value and of our eternal and ultimate worth” (Men and Women of Christ [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1991], 128). A testimony of the gospel should, in theory, bear the fruit of a healthy self respect because the fruit of His Spirit is love (see Galatians 5:22). Even when we have sinned, the Spirit will not give us the feeling of hating ourselves but will give us a desire to be reconciled to God—and thus better than we “naturally” are. It is Satan who influences us to hate ourselves when we have fallen short.
In practice, it takes time to conform our lives and our views to our testimonies, but in reality, only God’s love can change our hearts. So when we don’t feel good about ourselves, it may be because we need to seek the Spirit. And just as we gain a testimony that the restored gospel is true, we can likewise gain a testimony of who we are, collectively and individually.~Barbara D. Lockhart, Wendy C.Top, Brent L.Top, Protecting Against Eternal Identify Theft (Salt Lake City: Covenant Communications, 2013), p.60-61 (see Protecting Against Eternal Identity Theft)
