Know Him, Know You

I recently have been feeling slightly lost in the craziness and uncertainty of life. I felt like I wasn't exactly where I wanted to be in my life. As I watched a devotional here on campus, I felt prompted that I need to understand and find out who I am and who God is.

I was amazed that that very week, this was the exact topic we studied in my Christ and the Everlasting Gospel class.

I think the passage we studied in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price teaches so much about who we truly are and who God is (an introduction to what the book "The Pearl of Great Price" is can be found here: https://www.lds.org/topics/pearl-of-great-price?lang=eng).

At this time, God came to visit Moses and to teach Him. He says,

"Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?

And behold, thou art my son. . .And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.

And now, behold, this one things I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee." {Moses 1:3-4, 6, 7}

I love this so much. I believe that just as He shows in this event, our Heavenly Father knows our names. We are not just a work of His hands--we are His children. And as my religion professor pointed out, what do children do? They grow up to become like their parents. So when our Father in Heaven says that He is "Almighty," "Endless," and "without beginning of days or end of years," He isn't just describing Himself. He is describing our potential.

If God is willing to give us all that He has, He must care about us. I marvel at the love and patience that He shows to us. I know that we are literally spirit children of our Heavenly Father. He loves us. He knows us. He wants us to reach the great potential that He has given us. He wants us to have the greatest happiness now and in the eternal future. And when we use our agency to heed His words and do what He counsels us to, He will do whatever it takes to help us reach that seemingly unattainable potential. And I love Him for that.

We can't do it alone. And we can't forget Him. Because the moment we forget Who our Heavenly Father is, who we are doesn't make much sense anymore. Our identities cannot be separated from Him. For, as Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a modern-day apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, said, "You are truly royal spirit daughters [and sons] of Almighty God. You are princesses [and princes], destined to become queens [and kings]." If we forget that our Father is a King, we forget that we are princes and princesses who are meant to become something.

After seeing the Lord, Moses "fell unto the earth. . .And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed," [Moses 1:10}.

But, as Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "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."

The more I learn about my nothingness, the more I remember my need to rely on God to help make my weaknesses strong {Ether 12:25, Book of Mormon}. I know that there is no way to reach my eternal potential without the grace and strength of my Friend and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the more that I study God, the more I remember His love for me, and the more I can hold my head high, knowing He cares about me, wants me to succeed, and, like He did for Moses, has a work for me to do.

I hope you all remember this week how loved you are and how much you mean to God. His work and glory is to bring about your immortality and eternal life {Moses 1:39}--an eternal life of joy and perfection and purpose. I am so excited to learn about Christ this semester. I know that the more we learn about Him, the more purpose and understanding we will feel in our daily lives.

If you ever need to remember your worth, pray and ask God for peace. And always feel free to come talk to me.

Lots of love, <3

Abby