The above clip is a deleted scene from the movie Gattaca.
I think we often talk about our weaknesses and problems as things that just need to be overcome and eradicated. And often, yes. But here’s what I’m not so sure about: imperfection. I’m not talking about imperfection as in things that draw us away from God, I’m talking about things like depression, illness, deformity, disability, anxiety, heartbreak, failure, broken dreams, lost love, and on and on. I think that all of these things, these imperfections we have, are things that can teach us, things that can allow us to become the noble and great souls we were meant to be. Our Father in heaven taught us that “all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 122:7). I think, I believe, that we become. We don’t just make it suddenly one moment when everything is going well. We become the persons we truly are as we grow stronger and learn more. I think that it is not in spite of these imperfections that we become. I think that it is because of them. The things we struggle with are no coincidence. They can’t be. They are meant to help us grow stronger and more perfect. Perfection doesn’t mean being the same as everyone else—it means being a perfect version of yourself! I have countless (seriously) examples of people that this is true for. The people shown in the clip are a few of those. I can’t swallow words saying that those struggles were for nothing. They were, they are, everything! The greatest hardships can be the times that open our hearts the very most to possibility for greatness. Those imperfections make us. They make us beautiful. They make us great. They make us whole, if we let them.