Seeking God with All Our Hearts

"Since 'God is love' (1 John 4:8), the closer we approach Him, the more profoundly we experience love. But because a veil separates this mortality from our heavenly home, we must seek in the Spirit that which is imperceptible to mortal eyes."Heaven may seem distant at times, but the scriptures offer hope: 'Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart' (Jeremiah 29:13)."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 23

Love, the Source of Both Blessings and Burdens

"Since the beginning of time, love has been the source of both the highest bliss and the heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery from the days of Adam until today, you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will find the love of good things."And the greatest of all good things is God."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 22

Topics: Love

Love, the Defining Characteristic

"We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 22

Topics: Love

HEAVENLY FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST LOVE ME

Take a closer look at the words to the song "Thanks to Our Father". Look closely at what the song teaches us about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love for us.

"Thanks to our Father we will bring,
For he gives us everything;
Eyes and ears and hands and feet,
Clothes to wear, and food to eat;
Father, mother, baby small,
Heav'nly Father gives us all.
Thanks to our Father we will bring,
For he gives us ev'rything."

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ show their love for us by giving us everything we have. I bear my testimony that they love me, and they love you. One way that I know that they love me is because they gave us the scriptures. The scriptures are a great guide for us to know how to return to them. 1 Nephi 11:22 reads, 'And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.' I know that this is true, I have felt the love of God and it is a great feeling. I also know that when we do the things that are pleasing to our Father in Heaven, like going to church, reading the scriptures, and choosing the right we can have that feeling of love with us constantly.

JANUARY WRITER'S CHALLENGE

Love More, Try Harder

It often seems that the harder one tries to do what’s right, the more trials and obstacles one faces. It is somewhat comforting to know that the Savior himself was tempted and tried just as we are, although he obviously has the greater advantage. St. Matthew 4: 1,10 &11 says, “Then was Jesus ^aled up of the Spirit into the wilderness ^bto be ^ctempted of the devil. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, ^aSatan: for it is written, Thou shalt ^bworship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, ^aand, behold, ^bangels came and ministered unto him.”

While it is often easier said than done to follow Christ’s example, His example remains the sure and only way to eternal life. As I often fall to my knees to plead for guidance, I find that many of my prayers are answered by the whisperings to either love more or try harder.

Love More

In Matthew 22:37&38 we read, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt ^alove the Lord thy God with all thy ^bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy ^cmind. This is the first and great ^acommandment.” We also know that the second great commandment states in verse 39, “Thou shalt ^alove thy neighbour as thyself.” Our love for our Father in Heaven is obviously most important. If we love him, we keep his commandments, and we begin to care more easily for our brothers and sisters. But, it is also often a fact that the person who needs our love most is the one that is hardest to love. It can be trying to our relationships and personal growth if we let hurt feelings, mistakes, weaknesses, and grudges come between us. So how can we love others when it is most difficult? Probably the easiest way to change our hearts and frame of mind toward some one is to serve them. Recently I heard a story of a family that as they sat around the dinner at night, the father would ask them, not what they had done that day, but what they had done for someone else. Asking our family or ourselves this daily is a great way to change our mindset and to expand our compassion.

Try Harder

There is ALWAYS, ALWAYS something more we can do. As humans, we are often weaker than our spirits. We tend to look for the easy way out, the path of least resistance. When a particular trial stands in my way, I often find that as I pray, it is revealed to me that I haven’t yet done all of my part. There seems to be always something more to try or do. Sometimes we see what must be done right away, but are too scared to follow through, or we start looking for the easier path. 1 Nephi 3:7 “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” May we each find the courage and obedience to first do all that we can on our own, THEN go to our Father in heaven with what we truly lack.

As the New Year begins, I find that these two things are something that I can really spend more time developing and working on. I would like to be able tell my Father in Heaven that yes, in my life, I learned to love more and I tried my hardest.