This morning, I read a talk by Elder Holland posted on the LDS.org homepage titled: "Knowing the Godhead." This quote stuck out to me:
"A God who cares about
[us] as tenderly as a parent cares for a child cannot be an ethereal mist or a
vague philosophical First Cause or a deistic absentee landlord. He must be
recognized for what He truly is—a merciful, compassionate Father, in whose image
every one of His children has been made and before Whom all of us will one day
again stand—and then kneel!" -Elder Holland
As I read this quote in a talk
this morning, I felt grateful to have a testimony and a knowledge of this God,
the God, our God who loves and cares for us each individually as a parent cares
for His children. I know that God is real, that we are made in His image, and
that because He loves us all very much, His purpose is to bring us back home to
Him.
Thinking of returning home to
Him someday makes me think of another quote, this one said by President Benson:
“Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other
side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is
to us.” I love some of what this quote implies--that before we came to this
earth, we knew Heavenly Father very personally.
However, I admit that the more
I think about this quote, the more part of it bothers me. I don't want to be
startled at how familiar Heavenly Father is when I get up to Heaven! I don't
want it to be a moment of shock, like someone coming out of a lifetime of
amnesia! Rather, I want to live my life in a way that I come to know Him again
in this life, and if possible, to know Him better than I did before. That way,
when I do get up to Heaven and see His face, instead of thinking: "Oh my
goodness! How could I have ever forgotten?" I can think: "Oh my
goodness! I'm so grateful I remembered!"
Once again, I bear my testimony
that God is real, and that He really does love us. I know from personal
experience that He hears and answers prayers and that He sends angels--often in
the form of friends and family--to lift us when we're low. I know that He wants
the best for each of us, and that as we come to know Him better, our lives will
be enriched.
I end my thoughts with a
scripture found in John 17:3: "And this is life eternal, that they might
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
Eternal life doesn't start tomorrow, or next month, or next year, or in the
life after this one. Eternal life starts right now, and that means our
relationship with God has to start right now too. Kneel to Him in prayer
tonight with real intent, and I promise that it will.
