Our Relationship With God

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.

The Power of Music and the Love of God

This morning I have been reminded of the power of music. These songs where ones that particularly touched my heart:

The Lord loves us so much. I testify that He is invested in you. You. He cares so much about you and wants nothing more than to wrap you up in the warm embrace of His tender love. Be patient with yourself and love yourself the way He loves you. Don't give up. There is an end to the turmoil and sorrow in the world, but we do not have to wait for that end, for there is no beginning or end to the peace which comes from the Lord. His peace--His love--is always there for us. Always. Let us do better at seeking it out and accepting it as He would have us do. Let us more readily experience the love of God in our lives.

My Ideology

This is all that really matters:

The church is true and I love being an active member of it.

I'm a daughter of God who loves me dearly and I love Him.

I have a Savior who died for me so that I can have the power to do impossible tasks and overcome my weaknesses.

Temples are vital.

Joseph Smith restored the true church and was a living prophet.

Thomas S. Monson is today's prophet and leads and guides God's church.

The scriptures are the word of God.

I can and want to talk to God through prayer.

People are innately good.

There is right and wrong.

I love and care about those I associate with; especially family, roommates, coworkers and classmates.

I like working hard because it helps me feel purposeful.

I like doing hard things because I love the feeling of triumph and achievement.

I love to serve because it makes me happy.

I love being happy because it feels good and helps me to put things into perspective.

I love taking care of my body because it gives me energy.

Being an amazing wife and mother is very important to me even though neither of these roles have yet become realities.

I'm getting a degree in English Teaching, but ultimately I want to be a homemaker.

I believe there is value in getting an education especially because I'm going to be a mother someday.

I like to be successful so that I can give back to God.

When I fail, I rely on the Atonement to get me back on my feet.

My life is a gift, my life has a plan.

I want to give my whole life to serving God, following His commandments and forwarding His work.

I want God to trust me and to use me as an instrument in His hands.

"This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."

Everything else is secondary to these uncompromising principles.

An Instrument in His Hands

"And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work." -Alma 26:3

"The greatest thing in the world is love. And if we keep that always in our hearts, and give it as a message to those about us, we will be blessed and will be instruments in blessing those with whom we associate."  -Clarissa S. Williams, Sixth Relief Society General President, Daughters in My Kingdom page 74

"The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need. And I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him." -President Thomas S. Monson

"Is anyone sitting there?" I asked the lady on the plane. 

"You are!" she exclaimed. She moved the bag and bottle that had been sitting on the seat and I meandered my way down into the seat. The older lady was sitting on my left and to my right, sitting next to the window, was Kim Low--a girl from my home stake whom I happened to see out in the waiting area before we boarded the plane. I was feeling pretty lucky that the seat next to her was still open by the time I got onto the plane. 

Kim and I said hi to each other and started talking. 

"Why were you in Vancouver?"

"How are things at school?"

"You've graduated already, haven't you?"

"Where are you working right now?"

It occurred to me while we were talking that I should maybe take a second to say hi to the lady sitting to my left. I usually try to at least introduce myself to the people I sit next to on planes. But Kim and I were having a good time talking, and I figured I could introduce myself in a bit.

We were still waiting for the plane to take off when there was a brief lull in our conversation.  

"Do you two know each other?" piped up the lady, filling the pause.

Kim and I looked at each other and then back at the lady. We explained to her that we were from the same stake and also both went to BYU.

"I know the tennis coach at BYU," the lady said. "His name is Pierce. The tennis team is really good. You should look him up."

I asked her how she knew the coach.

"My son does tennis.  But he doesn't go to BYU. I'm not Mormon. But Pierce is really nice." 

I was beginning to feel like the lady really wanted to talk. Not about tennis or BYU or Mormons, necessarily, but that she just needed to talk. So I turned myself towards her, leaving Kim to read her Harry Potter book, and Paula and I talked for the next hour and a half while our plane made its way to Salt Lake City. 

The conversation I had with Paula is one of the best conversations I've had my whole life. It wasn't the content that made it so special, but the spirit that attended it. Throughout the conversation she mentioned that the reason she was in Oregon was because her father had just passed away and that she had been taking care of him and then, once he died, she had to take care of her mother. It seemed like she wanted to talk to someone about it, but I thought it would be good to talk about some other things first. So we did. We talked about her time as a nurse. She asked me what I was studying at BYU. We talked about God and serving people. We talked about Methodists (her choice of religion) verses Mormonism and about how sometimes it's hard for her to live in Utah because there are so many Mormons and she's not one of them. We talked about education. We talked about her son who's in Japan serving in the navy and her other son who's starting his senior year of high school and wants to go to NYU to study film. We talked about her involvement with a program her church does called Family Promise where they help single moms and their kids start over again. We talked about how she met her husband and my own dating life. 

In the middle of our conversation, when I felt like we knew one another a little better, I asked her about the experience with her father, and she was so glad to talk about it. She shared how hard of an experience it had been for her. She told me that her mother had althimers and that it was really hard to place her in a home. She told me about how, right after her father passed away, she went in the other room and suddenly felt a great sense of peace and love and knew that Jesus and her father were telling her it was okay and what she needed to do. She said most people thought she was silly for saying that and I told her it was the least silly thing I had ever heard. She really opened up and told me everything, and I had the sweet opportunity to be able to listen. 

"God sent you here to sit next to me," she told me several times during our flight. "You're not a coincidence, you're a God incident. He's always sending angles into my life. You're one of those angels."

At other times she would laugh and say: "I can't believe God sent me a BYU student to help me!" 

Paula and I laughed. We were serious. We hugged each other. When the plane landed I walked with her out to the baggage claim and pick-up area. 

We said goodbye to each other and gave one another one last hug. 

"Thanks again, Lindsey. You're so sweet. I would have cried the whole plane ride home if it hadn't been for you." 

I left, and that was it.

Now. I haven't shared this experience because I want to brag because I helped someone out who was having a bad day (Alma 26:11-12). I hate self-righteousness. I share this experience first of all, because it's something I want to always remember. I also share it because I want to add my testimony to President Monson's and testify that it is a truly humbling and sweet experience to know that the Lord has used you to help someone in need. I followed the Spirit when he prompted me to talk to Paula, and ended up having an incredible experience. I wasn't there to convert Paula or to shove a Book of Mormon down her throat. I was just there to be a friend. Through the experience, I got to feel the Spirit and the love Heavenly Father has for her. I know that she is special and that she is a daughter of God who is doing her best to be her best.  

I want my life to be filled with Paulas. Like President Monson, I want the Lord to be able to trust and rely on me to answer the prays of others. I cannot describe to you how humbling it feels to know that the Lord used me to help someone who was in need. That He trusted me. That I was an instrument in His hands. 

Seek out those promptings of the Spirit and determine to follow them when they do come. I promise you that   you will live with greater peace and joy when you let the Lord use you to do His work. When you do, some of the greatest experiences of your life will follow.

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with guile."   -Alma 18:23

"If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you."   -Jeffery R. Holland, "An Ensign to the Nations", April 2011

Where do you and I stand in our willingness and determination to follow today's living prophets? 

I love King Lamoni's attitude in this scripture. He is so willing to be obedient. This is because he has gained a testimony that Ammon is a messenger from God and that the words Ammon speaks are from God. Do we realize this? When we listen to a prophet's voice, do we understand that he is merely there to express the thoughts, feelings, and desires from the Lord?

Last week, I had an experience that testified to me that the words spoken by today's general authorities are true. As my ward's Relief Society president, I had been praying to know what the Lord would have me do to help the sisters in my ward strengthen their testimonies. I received the distinct and strong impression that the sisters in our ward needed to read Daughters in My Kingdom. This is the same council that the General Relief Society Presidency has  been giving to the church across the world over the past year. It shouldn't have been a surprise, yet it was still a very humbling experience to realize that the words spoken to a worldwide audience of sisters weren't just general "this-might-apply-to-your-situation" pieces of advise. When Sister Beck testified that learning about the history of Relief Society would strengthen us sisters, it was meant for every single one of us. It was meant, on a very specific and personal level, for the girls in the Provo YSA 41st Ward. Every one of them. Including me.

Having the spirit bring to mind the council of Sister Beck as a way to answer my question has strengthened my testimony that the prophets and apostles in today's world truly are servants of the Lord. Although they may speak to a worldwide audience, their council is meant to provide very personal and direct answers to our questions. I know that God lives, and that because He loves us He has given us wise, loving, good-hearted leaders to help us make our way through today's challenges. These leaders have dedicated their lives to serving in the church as a testimony of their love for us and for God. I desire to be more like King Lamoni. I desire to listen to and follow all the words of God, spoken through today's living prophets.

Who's on the Lord's Side? Who?

“Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad.”   -D&C 128:22

“Guided by the Holy Spirit, we will learn from our mistakes. If we stumble, we will rise. If we falter, we will go on. We will never waver; we will never give up. As a mighty brotherhood of the everlasting priesthood of God, we will stand together, shoulder to shoulder, focused on the principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and gratefully serving our God and fellowman with dedication and love.”   -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Why of Priesthood Service, April 2012 General Conference

Now is the time to step up, unite together, and to be stronger and more determined than we ever have been before. Satan is not going to win. He may win at first. He may win today and tomorrow and many, many days after that; but I promise that he will not win in the end! He cannot win. We already know the outcome of the battle. It is not a question of who will win. God will win. It is instead a question of which side we will chose to fight for.

I chose to fight on God’s side. I want to throw in every last bit of energy I have proving myself and bringing forth good and helping lift up others and advancing the work of God. I want to be strong. I want to be steadfast and immovable. I want to be a solider for the Lord

I know that this church is the true church. I know that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. I know that he restored the true church upon the earth. I know that he was a prophet. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book because when I read it I feel closer to God and I receive inspiration and revelation for my life. I know that God’s priesthood power is once again upon the earth and that this power makes it possible for us to be sealed together as families in the Lord’s temples. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He atoned for our sins, that He died and was resurrected for us, and that He lives and helps each of us daily today. I know that God lives. I know that He is our Father. I know that He knows each and every single one of us more perfectly than we know ourselves. I know that He desires us to succeed and to do well in this life so that we can return to Him. I know that He loves us with an immeasurable amount of love.

I want no one to doubt whose side I’m fighting on. I am for the Lord. He will uplift, and help, and strengthen us all as we dedicate ourselves to fighting more earnestly to serve one another and to become better brothers and sisters in the gospel.

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who? Now is the time to show. We ask it fearlessly: Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?