It’s sometimes challenging when we are faced with the unmitigated success of those around us. They seem to have the Midas touch where everything turns to gold. We are sometimes left feeling like an utter failure.

For most of these perfect people, things simply aren’t as idyllic as they portray them–they just cover it well. Other’s just need time for their trials to take root. There are weeds in every garden. I love this quote for the flawed man–championed by Marvin J Ashton.

“Don’t burden the rest of us with your successes.”

In a talk at BYU, Jack Marshall said, “In the Church, we almost persecute families right from the pulpit, with some of the testimonies: we have 12 children, all married in the temple, etc., etc.” He then quoted a story from The Teacher Within by a Dr. Clark: Elder Marvin J. Ashton was being introduced by a stake president, who managed in his introduction to include information about his own children and how well they were doing. Elder Ashton, as he got up to speak, turned to him and said, ‘President, you go home and kneel down in your closet and express thanks to your Heavenly Father, but don’t burden the rest of us with your successes.”

We all have trials and most of us some success. Hopefully our successes will never be burdensome to those down in the weeds all around us.


Sunset Cell-Phone View of Salt Lake Temple from Hotel Utah