A Prayer of Faith

This article was written by Mary A., one of our guest writers.

In the October 2003 General Conference, Elder Jeffery R. Holland gave a talk that has stayed with me, even as it resonated with me at the time. Its title was “The Grandeur of God” and in it, Elder Holland spoke of coming to know our Heavenly Father and to love Him.

Elder Holland speaks of the role of Jesus Christ in teaching us to know and love Heavenly Father:

“Of the many magnificent purposes served in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, one great aspect of that mission often goes uncelebrated. His followers did not understand it fully at the time, and many in modern Christianity do not grasp it now, but the Savior Himself spoke of it repeatedly and emphatically. It is the grand truth that in all that Jesus came to say and do, including and especially in His atoning suffering and sacrifice, He was showing us who and what God our Eternal Father is like, how completely devoted He is to His children in every age and nation. In word and in deed Jesus was trying to reveal and make personal to us the true nature of His Father, our Father in Heaven.”

We might ask why we need to know God the Father. Elder Holland explains that

[we] need to know God more fully in order to love Him more deeply and obey Him more completely. As both Old and New Testaments declare, “The first of all the commandments is … thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first [and great] commandment” (Mark 12:29–30; see also Matt. 22:37–38; Deut. 6:5).

Little wonder then that the Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God.” “I want you all to know Him,” he said, “and to be familiar with Him.” We must have “a correct idea of his … perfections, and attributes,” an admiration for “the excellency of [His] character.” [From Lectures on Faith (1985) pp. 38, 42]

Elder Holland spoke of how Jesus Christ set an example of service and good works and also specifically mentioned that He said the things His Father had said and did the things His Father had done. (See, for example, John 14:10; John 5:19; John 8:28, 38; John 6:38.)

This talk awoke in me an admiration for my Heavenly Father and a desire to truly know and love Him. It has helped me to see Heavenly Father in a more real way. My prayers began to be to Someone I knew, at least a little. It is a process over time to come to know God and to love Him, but I have started down that path and find it fulfilling and satisfying.

I wish that I could say that I have achieved this goal of knowing and loving Heavenly Father. I have not. I pursue this goal, however, thinking that it probably won’t be complete until the next life, but knowing that in the meantime, I will gain a great deal in the way of knowledge and blessings - and love.

Perhaps the most touching portion of Elder Holland’s talk was this: “…the view of the Father so movingly described in the Pearl of Great Price.”

There, in the midst of a grand vision of humankind which heaven opened to his view, Enoch, observing both the blessings and challenges of mortality, turns his gaze toward the Father and is stunned to see Him weeping. He says in wonder and amazement to this most powerful Being in the universe: “How is it that thou canst weep? … Thou art just [and] merciful and kind forever; … Peace … is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?”

Looking out on the events of almost any day, God replies: “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands. … I gave unto them … [a] commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood. … Wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (See Moses 7:29–33, 37.)

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and is so interested in our individual and collective lives that He weeps over us. This leaves me overwhelmed.

Mary A. was born in Oklahoma and has lived there all of her life, except for the six months that she lived in Snowflake, Arizona, where she learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and joined it. Mary is a commercial lines insurance underwriter and has a B.A. in English. Her ward callings are Gospel Essentials teacher and visiting teacher. She loves to write and to study many different subjects.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 5:42 am and is filed under True and Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.