“Lord, is it I?”

"Once there was a man who enjoyed taking evening walks around his neighborhood. He particularly looked forward to walking past his neighbor's house. This neighbor kept his lawn perfectly manicured, flowers always in bloom, the trees healthy and shady. It was obvious that the neighbor made every effort to have a beautiful lawn.

But one day as the man was walking past his neighbor's house, he noticed in the middle of this beautiful lawn a single, enormous, yellow dandelion weed.

It looked so out of place that it surprised him. Why didn't his neighbor pull it out? Couldn't he see it? Didn't he know that the dandelion could cast seeds that could give root to dozens of additional weeds?

This solitary dandelion bothered him beyond description, and he wanted to do something about it. Should he just pluck it out? Or spray it with weed killer? Perhaps if he went under cover of night, he could remove it secretly.

These thoughts totally occupied his mind as he walked toward his own home. He entered his house without even glancing at his own front yard which was blanketed with hundreds of yellow dandelions" . . .

we must put aside our pride, see beyond our vanity, and in humility ask, "Lord, is it I?"

And if the Lord's answer happens to be "Yes... there are things you must improve, things I can help you to overcome," I pray that we will accept this answer, humbly acknowledge our sins and shortcomings, and then change our ways by becoming better.... May we from this time forward seek with all our might to walk steadfastly in the Savior's blessed way—for seeing ourselves clearly is the beginning of wisdom.

As we do so, our bountiful God will lead us by the hand; we will "be made strong, and blessed from on high."..... a first step on this wondrous and fulfilling path of true discipleship starts with our asking the simple question:

"Lord, is it I?"

Dieter F. Uchtdorf