Years ago on Saturday mornings, a TV news programs aired a segment entitled “Everybody Has a Story”. Someone threw a dart at a map of the United States and wherever the dart landed was the city where they would find "somebody". They would then travel to that city, open the phone book and select a person. This was the person whom they interviewed for the TV segment. This segment was based on the premise that everyone really does have a story. Every story I saw was unique, incredible and sometimes unbelievable. And whether or not you believe it, you also have a story that is also unique, incredible and unbelievable. Everybody has a story-including you!
I believe that the majority of us feel rather ordinary most of the time and only on rare occasions feel special. Sometimes we don’t even like ourselves! Why? As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are taught in The Family: A Proclamation to the World that we are “beloved spirit sons and daughters of heavenly parents, and as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” If we are truly divine and have a divine destiny, why do we only feel special occasionally? The problem lies in our faith. Do we really believe that we are divine? Faith is the first principle of the gospel. The fourth Article of Faith states, "We believe the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." It is listed first of all the Young Women Values: “I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father, who loves me, and I will have faith in his eternal plan, which centers in Jesus Christ, my Savior.
I have a favorite talk given by Sister Virginia Pearce at a General Young Women’s Meeting that addresses faith. I have relied upon it for strength, direction and comfort; especially on those days when the hair is so bad there is no way I could be divine! She says, "When we bring the Young Women definition into everyday language, faith means that I really believe that:
· Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live, and they are in charge of this world.
· They know me.
· They love me.
· They have a plan for my future.
· I will obey the commandments, work hard, and trust in their plan. Sooner or later, everything will be okay.”
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and they are in charge of this world. They know me. They love me. This is self-worth. Self-worth comes from Heavenly Father. There is only one way to feel better about you. You can know these three things and it isn’t by asking your friends, reading worldy magazines, following the latest trend, or watching Oprah. This knowledge only comes by way of personal experience and personal revelation through the Holy Ghost. Only the Holy Ghost, acting as the Testifier, can tell you that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and they are in charge of this world, and that they know you and love you. "And that ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men..."
How can we receive that witness of the Holy Ghost? Experience and revelation. Seek to have experiences with Heavenly Father and Christ. Attend your meetings, fast and pray on Fast Sunday, pray morning and night, read your scriptures, live worthy of a temple recommend and use it to attend the temple often.
When I was 15 years old, I had a burning desire to know if the Book of Mormon were true. I developed a plan to read daily and did so earnestly. I followed Moroni's exhortation to read and ask and the truth of it was manifest to my young teenage heart. Through that experience, I heard the voice of the Lord and have sought after it ever since. Seek and learn to hear the voice of the Lord.
They have a plan for my future. There have been several times in my life when my plan didn't coincide with Heavenly Father's plan for me. I often think about Joseph of Egypt and that he probably wondered at the purpose of being sold into Egypt by his brothers and spending two years in prison. We know Moses wondered. In Exodus 3:11, Moses said, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharoah, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" They do have a plan for each of us and we need to believe them and trust them.
I will obey the commandments, work hard and trust in their plan. Sooner or later, everything will be okay.
The Nephites, including the Army of Helaman, had regained several of their cities which needed to be maintained and they needed more warriors and provisions to regain the city of Manti and continue to fight off the Lamanites. They poured out their souls in prayer and in Alma 58:11 it states, "Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him."
I was single for what seemed like a long time and Heavenly Father didn’t answer my prayers when I wanted or how I wanted, but He gave me assurances that He would deliver me. He spoke peace to my soul. He granted unto me great faith. And gave me cause to hope for deliverance in Him.
Each of us has a story-a divine story. Have faith to live the story as Heavenly Father has planned. Pres. Hinckley said, “Each of us has a small field to cultivate, while so doing, we must never lose sight of the greater picture, the large composition of the divine destiny of this work. It was given us by God our Eternal Father, and each of us has a part to play in the weaving of its magnificent tapestry…Weave beautifully your small thread in the grand tapestry, the pattern for which was laid out for us by the God of heaven. Hold high the standard under which we walk. Be diligent, be true, be virtuous, be faithful, that there may be no flaw in that banner.” (Ensign, Nov. 1989)
3 comments:
Its amazing!! I was at a meeting last night where we talked about the fact that knowing you are a child of God, really knowing, is the bedrock to everythingwhen you are trying to change your life. And then here I find this beautiful post from you, a stranger--TENDER MERCIES. THanx for sharing!
Thanks for your kind words! Knowing who you are is the bedrock to everything ALL THE TIME, but remembering is hard!
Hi Belinda! Randomly just found your blog while doing an internet search. It's been wonderful to read what you have to say!
I love this topic. . . everyone really does have a story. Finding that story, the DIVINE story, is key in feeling at peace with life. At least, that's what I think. When we truly understand who we are and WHOSE we are, it gives greater purpose and meaning to everything we do. Choosing to live each day for the Savior as we "write our story" brings a deeper sense of contentment and joy to life.
I think that a large part of writing our story lies in being willing to lose our lives to find them. . . truly submitting to the will of the Lord and, as you mentioned, recognizing that He has a plan for our future and everything will be okay.
I don't know if I ever told you this story, but when I was called on a Spanish speaking mission after having spent so many years learning French, I was a little sad. I remember sitting by my bed, packing all my French books, and crying. . . grieving the "loss". I felt like speaking French was the only talent I had, and I had to give it up.
I served my mission, had many great experiences, came home and couldn't speak a word of French without the Spanish getting in the way. I spent many months frustrated in my French classes as I had to translate from French to
Spanish to English and back. By the time I had the correct phrase in my head, the class was three topics ahead of me.
Anyway, one day I was speaking to an Institute instructor. In the middle of a COMPLETELY unrelated sentence, he said, "Dawn, you don't know who you are. The Spirit testifies to me that you have many talents, but you don't know what they are. I'm your teacher, and I'm going to give you a homework assignment. This week, I want you to list 10 of your talents."
I was completely taken aback. This wasn't what I had gone to talk to him about. Besides, I didn't truly believe I had any talents. French had been my talent, and because of my mission, it felt like it was gone. I told him that I didn't think I could think of 10. He assured me that I could, then challenged me to make the list and report to Heavenly Father with gratitude each night how I was using the talents he had given me. I hesitantly agreed to look for 10.
He then requested that the following week, I find 10 more. And the following week, and the following week, and the following week. My assignment was to search for what I was good at for 6 weeks, thanking Heavenly Father for the talents, and reporting back. (I discovered through this process that admitting you are good at something isn't the same thing as pride. . . as long as you remember who is the giver of the gift).
Well, I did it. And it took a lot longer than 6 weeks. I worked on it for 6 months. But in the end, I discovered that I had more talents than I originally thought (and that some things, like reading a recipe, could be counted as a talent:-).
One night, I was studying in Matthew and I came upon the scripture about losing your life to find it. A moment of clarity came as I realized that I felt I had lost my life when I had to give up the French. But in reality, it was truly the only way for me to find my life. Heavenly Father had to take away the one thing I felt I was good at so I would find other strenths. He had to take it away so I would turn to Him. He had to take it away so I could learn who I truly am.
That night, I thanked Heavenly Father for the first time, for the opportunity to serve a Spanish speaking mission. The next day, I went to French class and found that I could speak it again with ease. It wasn't until I lost my life, and TRULY submitted with gratitude to the Lord's will, that I was able to find it. I think we truly learn who we are when we submit to Him because we are His children. As we learn of Him, we learn who we are and who we can become. When we lose our lives, we find them.
So, this is WAY longer than I intended. . . but obviously it sparked a lot of thought within myself (thank you). Just one more thought. . .
Over the past several years, I've spent a lot of time trying to understand the concept of self-worth-- what it is, and how to help others find it (and find it within myself). One of my favorite quotes about it is from Elder Maxwell, "Brothers and sisters, our individual worth is already divinely established as "great"; it does not fluctuate like the stock market."
After thinking a great deal, I realized that the main struggle I was having was with the word itself. Implied within the word "worth" is the possibility that it can increase or decrease.
The reality, as Elder Maxwell said, is that it doesn't change. We are of worth because we ARE. The mere fact that we exist, and that we are children of God means we are of infinite, eternal and UNCHANGING worth. I love that.
Thanks for your blog! It's great!
Dawn Sheen
Post a Comment