Abraham Lincoln

My friend who also appreciates history sent me some info on one of my heroes whose birthday we celebrate today.

A wise and very thoughtful man had this to say about Mr. Lincoln:

"Abraham Lincoln was a gangling figure of a man, with a long and craggy face. There were many who looked only at the imperfections of his countenance. There were others who joked over the way he walked, and kept their eyes so low that they never saw the true greatness of the man. That enlarged view came only to those who saw the whole character—body, mind, and spirit—as he stood at the head of a divided nation in its darkest hour, lacing it together ‘with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God’ gave him to see the right." —President Gordon B. Hinckley (Teachings, pp. 430-431.)

From an article in an old magazine we learn of two other qualities of Abe Lincoln's:

The value of perseverance and persistence as illustrated in the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Age:
22 Failed in business
23 Defeated for Legislature
24 Failed in business again
25 Elected to Legislature
26 girlfriend died
27 Had a nervous breakdown
29 Defeated for Speaker
31 Defeated for Elector
34 Defeated for Congress
37 Elected to Congress
38 Defeated for Congress
46 Defeated for Senate
47 Defeated for Vice President
48 Defeated for Senate
51 Elected President of the United States

We now realize that Heavenly Father had a mighty purpose for Abraham Lincoln. It is equally obvious the enemy worked hard to turn him from it. The perseverance was Abe's part. Many times we confuse success and progress. We naturally assume we are not progressing if we are not successful by a worldly view. We ignore the experience gained or the lesson learned, only seeing failure as a mark of a bad person, because 'good people' have success in whatever they undertake.

Technically, one might consider Jesus a failure. He was only in business three years and he got crucified for it. But, because he stuck to his purpose, mankind may come back into the presence of God. The reality is; the only true success through Christ is finding out His purpose for you and doing it wholeheartedly, regardless of the outcome. Success is determined by Him, not by man's standards.