March Stake Relief Society Message

Dear Sisters,

I often wonder why, out of all the millions of people who have lived on this earth, I was chosen to be born into the gospel.  The truths that we know because of the gospel give our lives so much meaning and direction.  One truth in particular that has been on my mind lately is the nature of our Heavenly Father.  Much of the world have no idea what our Heavenly Father' is like.  They don't know of His love for them.  They don't know of His plan for them.  They don't even know that they are His children.  But we do.  How is your life different because you know this?

Because of the veil being over our minds we can't remember what it was like to be with our Heavenly Father.  So to have a relationship with Him, we have to work at it.  Think of the times you felt closest to Him, what were you doing?  When you pray to Him, how do you remember that you are talking with someone who loves and cares about you deeply?  When times are hard, what can you do to feel His comfort and remember that He has a plan for you?
 
Words from our latter-day prophets can help us remember things the veil has taken from our minds.  Listen to what some of them have to say about our Heavenly Father:

• Pres Monson:  "God's love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love.  It is simply always there."

• Pres Uchtdorf:  "To strengthen our relationship with God we need some meaningful time alone with Him quietly focusing on daily prayer and scripture study, always aiming to be worthy of a current temple recommend.  These will be some wise investments of our time to draw closer to our Heavenly Father."

• Elder Holland:  ". . . all of us need to know God more fully in order to love Him more deeply."

• Pres Ezra Taft Benson:  "And now we're here - our memories are veiled - and we're showing God and ourselves what we can do.  And 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."

• Pres Gordon B. Hinckley - "You are His child all the time, not just when you are good, you are His child when you are bad.  You have within you a portion of Divinity that is real and tremendous and marvelous and wonderful."

Studying our scriptures will also strengthen our relationship with Heavenly Father.  Please take some time to look up and study the references listed on the next page.  Add more of your own and use them to remind you often how important you are to your Heavenly Father.

Love, Sister Dana Call, Stake RS Sec

How can I know my Heavenly Father better?

If I were to see Heavenly Father, what would I expect to see?
    Genesis 1:26-27
    D&C 20:17-18
    D&C 76:20-23
    Moses 2:26-27
    Moses 7:4
    Joseph Smith - History 1:17
     
How do I know Heavenly Father loves me?
    John 3:16
    Acts 17:28
    Hebrews 12:9  
    1 Nephi 11:17
    2 Nephi 2:24  
    3 Nephi 13:26-33   
    Moses 2:29-31
    Moses 7:28, 32-33, 40
     
What blessings can I gain by strengthening my relationship with Heavenly Father?
    Psalms 8:26 
    John 17:3
    1 Corinthians 2:9
    Ephesians 4:6
    1 John 3:1-3 
    Alma 26:35
    D&C 88:63-64
   
"The Grandeur of God" by Jeffrey R. Holland