Dieter F. Uchtdorf - Forget Me Not

Adapted from Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Forget Me Not, Ensign, November 2011, 12023.

Art direction by Richard Erickson.

Cover and interior design by Sheryl Dickert Smith.

Production design by Kayla Hackett.

Cover and interior illustrations from Shutterstock, Thinkstock, and iStock.

ISBN 978-1-60907-119-6

Printed in the United States of America Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, UT 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

introduction

A while ago I was walking through a beautiful garden with my wife and daughter. I marveled at the glory and beauty of Gods creation. And then I noticed, among all the glorious blooms, the tiniest flower. I knew the name of this flower because since I was a child I have had a tender connection to it.

THE FLOWER IS CALLED

forget-me-not.

Im not exactly sure why this tiny flower has meant so much to me over the years. It does not attract immediate attention; it is easy to overlook among larger and more vibrant flowers; yet it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skiesperhaps this is one reason why I like it so much.

AND THERE IS THE HAUNTING PLEA OF ITS NAME.

There is a German legend that just as God had finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out,

Forget me not, O Lord!

And God replied that this would be its name.

I would like to use this little flower as a metaphor. The five petals of the little forget-me-not flower prompt me to consider five things we would be wise never to forget.

FIRST

forget not to be patient with yourself.

I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to othersusually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Its wonderful that you have strengths. And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths,and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. Its okay that youre not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.

In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of lifes sweetest experiences.

For example, insisting that you have a picture-perfect family home evening each weekeven though doing so makes you and everyone around you miserablemay not be the best choice. Instead, ask yourself, What could we do as a family that would be enjoyable and spiritual and bring us closer together? That family home eveningthough it may be modest in scope and executionmay have far more positive long-term results.

Our journey toward perfection is long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey.

Notes

See Ether 12:27.

See 3 Nephi 12:48.

SECOND

forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.

An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.

Giving up a little sleep to help a child who is having a nightmare is a good sacrifice. We all know this. Staying up all night, jeopardizing our own health, to make the perfect accessory for a daughters Sunday outfit may not be such a good sacrifice.

Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice. Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be.

Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another.

How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most? There are so many good things to do, but we cant do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective. Sometimes, that may even mean nurturing small but beautiful forget-me-not flowers instead of a large garden of exotic blooms.

THIRD

forget not to be happy now.

In the beloved childrens story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the mysterious candy maker Willy Wonka hides a golden ticket in five of his candy bars and announces that whoever finds one of the tickets wins a tour of his factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate.

Written on each golden ticket is this message: Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket... ! Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you!... Mystic and marvelous surprises... will... delight,... astonish, and perplex you.

In this classic childrens story, people all over the world desperately yearn to find a golden ticket. Some feel that their entire future happiness depends on whether or not a golden ticket falls into their hands. In their anxiousness, people begin to forget the simple joy they used to find in a candy bar. The candy bar itself becomes an utter disappointment if it does not contain a golden ticket.

So many people today are waiting for their own golden ticketthe ticket that they believe holds the key to the happiness they have always dreamed about. For some, the golden ticket may be a perfect marriage; for others, a magazine-cover home or perhaps freedom from stress or worry.