I had the chance to go visiting teaching today! Sometimes it is difficult to get it all set up, but when I actually go it is always like a breath of fresh air for me. The sister that I visited today is so incredible; I feel like the Lord inspired the Relief Society presidency to make me her visiting teacher so that I could catch a glimpse of the kind of woman I should strive to be. She has many gifts, but one that has been blatantly clear and quite personal to me is her uplifting nature.

I cannot leave this sister's presence without feeling uplifted, loved, and more happy than I was before our interaction. I don't know how she does it, but she truly does have a gift. And I want to have that gift too! As I left her house today, I started pondering about the power to uplift. This is the conclusion that I've come to: I believe that this gift or power is something that is available to all of us.

Just as it is with other gifts, it is something that comes more easily to some people and not as easily or naturally to others. Thank goodness we are not left to our own devices as we strive to develop divine attributes and become like our Father in Heaven! Who better to teach us how to develop this gift than our Father in Heaven? He is truly the source of all joy and can teach us how to uplift one another if we will ask Him and then listen for His answer.

I have found, through personal experience, that more often than not prayers like this are answered with an opportunity to exercise the trait that you are seeking to develop. In other words, God probably won't all of a sudden just bless you with this awesome gift that you are asking for. Rather, He will give you an experience to develop it yourself. Certainly He will not leave you helpless, but He will also require you to do your part. I find the unfaltering faith that He has in His children and His high expectations in them to be the crowing pinnacle of His beautiful parenting style.

Heavenly Father has given us an all too often untapped power - the power to develop divine traits and become more like Him. He has truly given us the power to become who we want to be, and given us this unfailing promise:

"Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened." ~3 Nephi 27:29

 He will open doors for us and give us opportunities to develop any trait that we desire to have, all we have to do is ask for His help. He will help us to become as good as we want to be. That means that we have so many miracles that are just waiting to happen within us! I love the scripture in Luke 6:45:

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

 It is a miracle that we can have the power to uplift one another, and I hope for more opportunities to develop this gift within myself. In fact, I hope to have a whole collection of good treasures in my heart by the time I bite the dust! I know that we can have any treasures that we want if we will just ask the Lord, "for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:31)