Generally, we don't think of losing as a good thing. But when it comes to one aspect of the gospel, losing is the best possible outcome.
“Loser!”
I’ll never forget the sting I felt the first time someone called me that. It was in junior high school. It hurt.
“You’re such a loser!”
It made me feel excluded, unappreciated, and unable. And it was easy to find ways to reinforce the image. I wasn’t good at sports. Loser. I wasn’t good at talking to girls. Loser. I didn’t have a lot of friends. Loser. (In reality, these don’t make someone a loser, but it was hard to see that at the time.)
Then one day in ninth-grade seminary it dawned on me that I could be good at something: Losing!