Highly Favoured

Mary received God’s grace.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to her, his first words were, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured” (Luke 1:28). The phrase “thou that art highly favoured” is a translation of a single Greek word, kecharitomene (κεχαριτωμένη), which is a derivative of charis (χάρις), the Greek word for “grace.” So that word could also have been translated “recipient of grace” or “one who has received grace.”

Gabriel reiterated this point immediately afterward: “Fear not, Mary” he reassured her, “for thou hast found favour [charis, or grace] with God” (Luke 1:30).

Did she need to be told that she was favored? The reminder was undoubtedly comforting, especially since she lived in humble circumstances. She subsequently marveled that God had “regarded the low estate of his handmaiden” and “exalted them of low degree” (Luke 1:48, 52). It must have been comforting during her subsequent experiences, including giving birth in a stable and fleeing with her young child to Egypt, to know that she had received and would continue to receive God’s enabling power.

The prophet Nephi used the same phrase as he wrote about his life experiences. “Having seen many afflictions in the course of my days,” he wrote, “nevertheless having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days” (1 Nephi 1:1).

Commenting on this passage, Elder Jorge F. Zeballos said:

All his days! Even the days that Nephi suffered during the incomprehension and rejection of his own brothers, even when they tied him up on the ship, even the day that his father, Lehi, passed away, even when Laman and Lemuel became mortal enemies of his people. Even in those difficult days, Nephi felt highly favored of the Lord”

“Building a Life Resistant to the Adversary,” General Conference, October 2022

Elder Gary E. Stevenson applied this sentiment to all of us. “I pray,” he said, “that…we can acknowledge the afflictions in the course of our days while at the same time recognizing that we are highly favored of the Lord” (“Highly Favored of the Lord,” General Conference, October 2020).

Today, I will be grateful for the grace of God through Jesus Christ which is so abundantly evident in my life and in the lives of my loved ones. I will be grateful for His sustaining influence in my life and will trust Him to carry me through whatever challenges I may experience.