By Marie Tiller
There is a God“All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
God is the Supreme and Absolute Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is “the Great Parent of the universe,” and He “looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 39).
The nature of God
God is perfect. He is a God of righteousness, with attributes such as love, mercy, charity, truth, power, faith, knowledge, and judgment. He has all power. He knows all things. He is full of goodness.
Coming to know God
We can know God if we will:
- 1. Believe that He exists and that He loves us (see Mosiah 4:9).
- 2. Study the scriptures (see 2 Timothy 3:14–17).
- 3. Pray to Him (see James 1:5).
- 4. Obey all His commandments as best we can (see John 14:21–23).
In this lesson we were talking about the nature of God and his attributes. We also discussed how we should strive for these attributes and how if we did we would be greatly rewarded. I felt it important to point out that Heavenly Father does what he does for each of us not for any reward. These characteristics are bi products of his love. He knows that for many of us his actions are lost and he will only receive heart ache and pain, yet he continues to love us, care for us, and help us in any way he can. He does this with no reward in mind. If we are truly striving to be more like our Heavenly Father, then we too should act on things with only true love in our heart. Not for the rewards that follow. Sometimes things become so much of "this is what I am suppose to do so let me check it off my list" rather than I feel in my heart so much love for this person "I so desire to". Think of how much we could be like our Heavenly Father if we were able to react to things because we have so much love for one another that our heart wouldn't have it any other way. I imagine this being something like our relatinship with our children. Not focused on faults, mistakes, querks. Loving each other unconditionally. I know this is how Heavenly Father loves each of us and I know he so wishes we too could love one another that way.
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