Imagine that tonight you are sitting around the dinner table with your children or grandchildren, and you ask them a very simple question:
“Who are you?”
What would they say?
They might tell you their name.
Their age.
What grade they’re in.
Maybe they would tell you what sport they play, what they like to do, or who their friends are.
If we asked adults the same question, we might answer with our occupation, our family relationships, our accomplishments, our hobbies, or the roles we fill.
But are those things really who we are?
Because every one of those things can change.
And yet we live in a world that constantly encourages us to build our identity on things that change.
How successful are you?
How much have you accomplished?
How do you look?
How many friends do you have?
How many people liked your post?
Did you make the team?
Did you get the part?
Did you get the promotion?
Did your children turn out the way you hoped?
And perhaps the most dangerous question:
How do I compare with everyone else?
We begin looking outside ourselves for someone or something to tell us that we matter.
And if our worth depends upon those things, then our worth becomes incredibly fragile.
Because there will always be someone more successful.
Someone more talented.
Someone with more money.
Someone whose family looks more perfect.
Someone who seems to have accomplished more.
The finish line keeps moving.
I read once, “Everyone seems to be looking for someone or something to tell them who they are and where they belong.”
And perhaps we are asking the wrong people to answer the question.
What Does God Say About Who We Are?
The world has a popular answer:
“You are enough.”
It’s a comforting phrase.
But there’s an interesting contradiction in the way the world uses it.
It tells us:
“You’re enough.”
But you’d be better if you looked like this.
You’re enough—but buy this.
You’re enough—but accomplish more.
You’re enough—but get more followers.
You’re enough—but be thinner, richer, smarter, younger, more successful, more talented.
You’re enough…if.
And suddenly we’re running on a treadmill trying to reach a standard that keeps moving.
The gospel gives us a different answer.
On my own, I am not enough.
I can’t save myself.
I can’t perfect myself.
I can’t work hard enough, serve enough, achieve enough, or check enough boxes to make myself whole.
But Jesus Christ is enough.
And because of Him, I don’t have to be.
That changes everything.
Our Identity Is in Christ
The New Testament repeatedly uses a beautiful phrase:
“In Christ.”
Faith in Christ.
Hope in Christ.
Life in Christ.
Our worth and identity can be found in Christ.
We don’t have to earn that identity.
It is given.
When we come to Jesus Christ, we don’t come to Him after we’ve finally become good enough.
We come because we aren’t.
We bring Him the unfinished person.
The mistakes.
The insecurity.
The weaknesses.
The things we wish we had done differently.
And through His grace, He begins making us into something more.
Here are some truths God gives us about our identity: we are created in His image, His heirs, His chosen people, fearfully and wonderfully made, and loved beyond measure.
That is a very different foundation than likes, accomplishments, appearance, or comparison.
Those things can disappear tomorrow.
Christ doesn’t.
Worth and Worthiness Are Not the Same Thing
I think this is where we sometimes get confused.
There is a difference between worth and worthiness.
Our worth is inherent.
It comes from God.
You don’t become more valuable to God because you had a really good week.
And you don’t suddenly become worthless because you made a mistake.
Your worth isn’t a spiritual report card.
As a child of God, your value is infinite and constant.
Worthiness is different.
Worthiness describes our desire and effort to follow Jesus Christ, keep our covenants, repent, and continue becoming more like Him.
And here’s the part I especially love:
Worthiness is not flawlessness.
Sometimes we imagine God standing at the finish line saying,
“Come back when you’ve fixed yourself.”
But that’s not how grace works.
Christ doesn’t simply wait for us at the end of the road.
He walks the road with us.
Your Best Can Be Enough
Elder Patrick Kearon offered a beautiful message this past week at BYU Education Week Devotional:
“Your best is certainly good enough.”
And he reminds us that our achievements do not define us.
Think about how freeing that is.
Maybe you didn’t accomplish everything today.
Maybe the house isn’t perfect.
Maybe you didn’t finish the list.
Maybe you’re still struggling with something you thought you would have conquered by now.
Maybe somebody else seems to be progressing faster.
Maybe you’re simply tired.
God isn’t asking you to outperform everybody around you.
He’s asking you to turn toward Him.
To offer your heart.
To keep trying.
To repent when you fall.
To get back up.
To allow Christ to change you.
Brad Wilcox teaches that God loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. Christ’s Atonement doesn’t merely cleanse and heal us; through Christ, we can actually become more like Him.
That transformation doesn’t happen overnight.
And that’s okay.
Repentance Is Evidence of Hope
Sometimes we treat repentance like punishment for people who weren’t good enough.
But repentance is actually one of God’s greatest gifts.
It means yesterday doesn’t have to determine tomorrow.
It means mistakes don’t have to become identities.
“I failed” doesn’t have to become “I am a failure.”
“I sinned” doesn’t mean “I am worthless.”
“I’m struggling” doesn’t mean “God has given up on me.”
Repentance is a process.
Growth takes time.
Developing Christlike character requires patience and persistence—not flawlessness.
God isn’t waiting until we’re perfect before He helps us.
He helps us while we’re becoming.
And I think sometimes we desperately need to remember that.
Grace Isn’t the Prize at the End
One of my favorite thoughts is this:
Grace isn’t simply a reward waiting for us after we’ve finally become worthy.
Grace is the divine assistance that helps us become worthy.
We aren’t walking toward Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ alone.
We’re walking with Them.
Think about that image.
You aren’t standing at the bottom of a mountain while Christ waits at the top saying,
“Let’s see if you can make it.”
He’s beside you.
When you stumble, He’s there.
When you’re exhausted, He’s there.
When you’re discouraged, He’s there.
When you need to repent, He’s there.
And when you take another step forward—
He’s there.
I Am a Child of God
Perhaps that’s why one of the simplest Primary songs contains one of the most profound statements about identity:
“I am a child of God.”
Before your accomplishments…
Before your education…
Before your career…
Before your mistakes…
Before your successes…
Before anyone else’s opinion of you…
You are a child of God.
Imagine what might change if our children truly understood that.
Imagine what might change if we truly understood it.
Instead of asking:
“Am I as good as she is?”
We might ask:
“Am I becoming who God created me to become?”
Instead of:
“Why can’t I do what he can do?”
We might ask:
“What gifts has God given me to develop?”
Instead of:
“Do people approve of me?”
We might ask:
“Am I turning toward Christ?”
Instead of:
“Am I perfect yet?”
We might ask:
“Am I still trying?”
Those are very different questions.
Where Are You Looking for Your Worth?
So perhaps today each of us can ask:
Where am I looking for my worth?
Am I looking for it in achievement?
Appearance?
Productivity?
Other people’s opinions?
Comparison?
Social media?
Even church service can become another measuring stick if we’re using it to prove that we’re good enough.
But none of those things can give us what we’re searching for.
Ponder this simple reminder I love:
“Most often the answers to hard questions won’t be found in the world but in the Word.”
When the world tells you that you’re falling behind—
turn to Christ.
When comparison tells you that you’re less than—
turn to Christ.
When your mistakes whisper that you’ve ruined everything—
turn to Christ.
When you’re exhausted from trying to prove your worth—
turn to Christ.
And when you wonder who you really are—
remember the answer you learned perhaps before you could even understand its significance:
I am a child of God.
Your worth was never hiding in your accomplishments.
It was never dependent upon your productivity.
It was never waiting for somebody else to recognize it.
Your worth comes from God.
And your ability to grow, change, repent, heal, and ultimately become who He created you to be comes through Jesus Christ.
So stop trying to earn a value God has already given you.
Instead, bring Him your willing heart.
Bring Him today’s best effort.
Bring Him your mistakes.
Bring Him your hopes.
And then walk with Him.
Because your worth is infinite, your growth is a process, and you never have to make that journey alone.
You are His.
And because of Jesus Christ, there is always hope for who you are becoming.
Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe 