God's Work and Glory

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” -Moses 1:39

“But even though man is nothing, it fills me with wonder and awe to think that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.” -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Matter to Him”, October 2011 General Conference

A Paradox of Man

Ironic, isn’t it?

That we, the incomplete

He will never mistreat.

That we, who can feel sad

Get to call Him our Dad.

That we, who greatly lack

He helps through each set-back.

That we, who often fall

He esteems above all.

That we, who are broken,

Are His greatest token.

That we, the deficient

Are loved by Omniscient.

Wonderful, isn't it?

Charity

“And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily drovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail— But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” -Moroni 7:45-47

“Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.” -Marvin J. Ashton, “The Tongue Can be a Sharp Sword”, April 1992 General Conference

Charity is not an action. It is an attitude--a state of heart. Charity is only associated with doing good works because these actions help develop this state of heart. I think that the best way to have charity is to try to see and treat everyone the way our Father in Heaven sees and would treat them. When we "borrow" Heavenly Father's lens our view becomes purer. Seeing people the way Heavenly Father sees them allows us to look past sins, bad habits, annoying tendencies, and other imperfections and allows us to truly love someone.

Some of the most precious experiences I've ever had have come because I felt the love Heavenly Father had for the people I was working with. Feeling the love Heavenly Father has for one of His children will stop every unkind word, reverse every unkind thought, and change every belittling action. It will enable you to unconditionally give them the benefit of the doubt. It will give you the desire to help that person succeed. It will enable you to give them the best. It will help you see Heavenly Father's children as important, smart, talented, and amazing individuals because you come to realize that they really are. The best part of doing all this is that you begin to realize that Heavenly Father loves you just as much too. Doing these things will lead to true happiness.

Prayer

“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but they are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” -Bible Dictionary, “Prayer”

"Prayer is a supernal gift of our Father in Heaven to every soul. Think of it: the absolute Supreme Being, the most all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful personage, encourages you and me, as insignificant as we are, to converse with Him as our Father. Actually, because He knows how desperately we need His guidance, He commands, “Thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private.

It matters not our circumstance, be we humble or arrogant, poor or rich, free or enslaved, learned or ignorant, loved or forsaken, we can address Him. We need no appointment. Our supplication can be brief or can occupy all the time needed. It can be an extended expression of love and gratitude or an urgent plea for help. He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer . . .

Don’t worry about your clumsily expressed feelings. Just talk to your compassionate, understanding Father. You are His precious child whom He loves perfectly and wants to help. As you pray, recognize that Father in Heaven is near and He is listening.

A key to improved prayer is to learn to ask the right questions. Consider changing from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking what He wants for you. Then as you learn His will, pray that you will be led to have the strength to fulfill it.

Should you ever feel distanced from our Father, it could be for many reasons. Whatever the cause, as you continue to plead for help, He will guide you to do that which will restore your confidence that He is near. Pray even when you have no desire to pray. Sometimes, like a child, you may misbehave and feel you cannot approach your Father with a problem. That is when you most need to pray. Never feel you are too unworthy to pray." -Richard G. Scott, "Using the Supernatural Gift of Prayer", May 2007 Ensign

Prayer is evidence of God's love for us. He does not expect us to do this life on our own. He expects us to come to Him and seek His help. Not only does He command us to do this, but He wants us to because He loves us.

Praying can be intimidating at times because it feels like there are so many rules we have to observe. Of course, we want to be respectful to our Father in Heaven and we should try to follow the patterns of prayer which we have been taught, but when it comes down to it I think the most important thing is doing what Elder Scott counsels us to do: "Don’t worry about your clumsily expressed feelings. Just talk to your compassionate, understanding Father." Sometimes I think it is best to just forget every rule and to talk to Heavenly Father as if He were your Dad, because He is. Say what you feel. Don't just list of things you're grateful for and things you need. Actually talk with Him. Tell Him something funny that happened to you that day. Talk to Him about challenges you are facing. Tell Him the sort of things you would tell any close, dear friend. Does He already know everything which we are going to tell Him? Of course He does. The important part isn't filling Him in; the important part is letting Him know that He's important enough to you that you want to talk to Him and include Him in your life. You want to share things with Him. You want His advise. You want to show your love for Him. Pray to Heavenly Father as if He were a real person, because He is.

He misses us, and whether or not we realize it, we miss Him. Get down, and truly pray. It can make all the difference.

Their Love

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39

“No matter how many balls I had juggled and let fall, no matter how much weight I had gained, how much lack of self-control I demonstrated, and how many regrets I carried from the past, He was bound to love me. Earth life is not merely a way of proving myself to them, but also a way for them to prove their love to me.” -Brad Wilcox, “The Continuous Atonement”, page 133

“As you come to truly know the Lord, you will find an intimate, sacred relationship built on trust. You will come to know He understands your anguish and will, in compassion, always respond to you in love. Receive it. Feel it. It is not enough just to know that God loves you. The gift is to be felt continually day by day. It will then be a divine motivator throughout your life.” -Elder Gene R. Cook, “Charity: Perfect and Everlasting Love”, July 2002 Ensign

How long has it been since you have last felt the love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for you? If your answer wasn’t yesterday or today, it’s been too long. Take time to slow down and remember how much they love you. You are never alone. You are never forgotten. And you are never unloved. You can conquer any challenge you face when you keep this in mind.