CC #13 God Knows and Loves You

The transcription is a podcast episode discussing the importance of knowing that we are children of God and how this knowledge can change our lives. The host shares a personal story of accidentally leaving their child behind and relates it to the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son. The host emphasizes that every soul is valuable to God and that we should find joy in the redemption of others. The host also discusses the tendency to compare ourselves to others and the need to appreciate our own worth. Surely, the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. How blessed we are to have a living prophet today. Brothers and sisters, the Savior declared, whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. Welcome to Conference Chronicles, where we systematically take one conference talk per week from the previous conference and dissect it and learn from it. I'm your host, Taylor Lithgow, and I firmly believe that as we listen to and apply the Lord's teachings through His living prophets, we will fulfill the full measure of our creation and we will be prepared for the Lord at His second coming. So please join with me each week as we take this quest called Conference Chronicles. Hello everybody, and welcome on in to this week's episode of Conference Chronicles. I hope you have enjoyed the Wednesday episodes as well, where we do the discussion format with friends on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It's titled Discuss with Friends, and then colon, and then it will say the topic for the week. So I hope you all have loved those, for any of you that have listened to them, and I hope you continue to enjoy these Sunday weekly episodes as well. The title of this week's talk is God Knows and Loves You, by Elder Alan T. Phillips of the Seventy. I love studying this, and I learned a lot, so I'm excited to dive in. He starts his talk by telling a story. Here's what he says. Six years ago, our family was traveling at night just outside the city of Oxford. As is often the case with young children, we needed to stop, so we found a service station with an array of shops and restaurants. With precision, we filed out of the car, visited the services, and filed back in, resuming our journey. Fifteen minutes later, our eldest son asked a significant question. Where is Jasper? Jasper sits on his own in the back of the car. We assumed he had fallen asleep or was hiding or playing a trick on us. As his brother inspected the back of the car more closely, we discovered our five-year-old son was not there. Our hearts filled with dread. As we made our way back to the service station, we pleaded with Heavenly Father that Jasper would be kept safe. We called the police and informed them of the situation. When we anxiously arrived more than forty minutes later, we found two police vehicles in the car park, lights flashing. Inside one of them was Jasper, playing with the buttons. I will never forget the joy we felt in being reunited with him. Many of the Savior's parabolic teachings focus on gathering, restoring, or striving to find that which has been scattered or lost. Among these are the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. As this incident with Jasper had played in my mind over the years, I have reflected on the divine identity and importance of God's children, the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, and the perfect love of a Father in Heaven who knows you and me. I hope to bear witness of these truths today. As he was telling this story, I put myself in his shoes and I could feel a sense of dread as I was listening. I could feel my heart racing and my anxiety going up, just imagining what it would feel like to be a parent and leave your kid behind. I'm sure many parents have had that feeling before where they've accidentally left their child or forgotten something and they start to panic. But then looking at the spiritual parallel of that, this is a feeling that I'm sure our Heavenly Father has all the time. Elder Phillips goes on to quote from Elder Ballard. He says, There is one important identity we all share now and forever. That is that you are and have always been a son or daughter of God. Understanding this truth, really understanding it and embracing it, is life-changing. Elder Phillips then goes on to say, Do not misunderstand or devalue how important you are to your Father in Heaven. You are not an accidental byproduct of nature, a cosmic orphan, or the result of matter plus time plus chance. Where there is design, there is a designer. Your life has meaning and purpose. You are a beloved child of Heavenly Father. You are the subject matter of all those parables and teachings. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to heal, rescue, and redeem you. I would just like to add my little testimony as well to Elder Ballard's that knowing this truth that I'm a child of God, understanding it and really embracing it, as he says, is life-changing for me. It means everything to me to know that. I pondered on this knowledge and how my life would be different without this knowledge and what it really means to me. I wanted us all to take a moment and ponder that as well. Think about how your belief in yourself is different because of this knowledge. How is knowing that you are a son or daughter of God change the way you think about yourself? How does it change the way you think about others? How does that knowledge change the way you view the challenges you go through in life? How does that knowledge change the way you view God's commandments that He gives us? How does knowing you're a son or daughter of God impact the way you view your Savior and His sacrifice for you? Take a moment and ponder those questions. After we've finished pondering these questions, I kind of wanted to dive into a few of those stories and parables that Elder Phillips mentioned and alluded to earlier. This first one is in Luke 15, where the Savior shares in succession the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Starting in verse 4, the Savior says, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he laith it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And then in verse 8, Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently, till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I have lost. Likewise I say unto you, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. And then in verse 11, And he said, A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said unto his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country. And there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed the swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he had come to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said unto his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. What beautiful parables the Savior shares with us to really highlight and illustrate this point, that the worth of every soul is great in the eyes of God. I've heard this before, and I truly believe that even if the Savior had to go through everything He went through just for me, just for one of us, He would still have done it. How does that make you feel, to know that you, your soul, your very being, is worth an immeasurable price to our Father and our Savior? You mean everything. We mean everything to Him. We are the purpose of this plan. And it does not matter if the ninety-nine sheep are safe in the corral. He will come and look after you and me if we are lost or have gone astray. My mother often said growing up that a mother is only as happy as her most unhappy child. And that is kind of a burden, right, when you think of it as a parent. But it is a burden that our mortal parents and especially our heavenly parents gladly bear because of their love. I did want to point out as well that as that parable of the prodigal son continues, it highlights the way the other son and the brother of this prodigal son felt. He got jealous. He came to his father and said, what is this all about? I've been with you always. I didn't ask to get paid out my portion of the inheritance. I didn't go and spend it on a riotous living. I've been here with you the whole time. I've been serving you. I've been faithful to you, Father. But you never killed the fatted calf for me. You didn't put this robe on me. You didn't have this party and get married with your friends for me. What is this all about? And the father had to remind him, look, your brother was lost. He was dead, but he is found now. And he said, you're right. You have always been there with me and everything I have is yours, everything. But now is the time to celebrate the fact that your brother has new life. So with that being said, I wanted to point out that we live in a weird world where it feels like it's never good enough to have something, but we only feel satisfied if we have more of it than the next person. It's never feeling good enough to just succeed or be good at something, but we need to be better than the person next to us. There's this element of competition and pride. But when it comes to our Heavenly Father's love, He can love all of us perfectly. Just because He loves you perfectly doesn't take away any of the love that He has for me. And isn't that such a beautiful thing? That we need not compete or compare, but we can simply receive God's love because it's always there. Another passage of Scripture that highlights this point is in Mark chapter 5, starting in verse 25. It says, And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciple said unto him, Thou seest a multitude thronging thee, and sayest, Thou who touched me? And he looked around about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. I think this just highlights our Savior and our Father's ability to recognize the One. Even in the midst of all the chaos, right, in this instance, the multitudes were thronging Him. It was a busy, busy marketplace. And then in the world today, it is a busy, busy place with billions of people. And yet God has the infinite capacity to focus on the One, to focus on each of us one by one. Cassidy and I recently went to Mexico, the Cancun area, and we rented a car and took this little expedition. And we went to a place called Senses, with an X at the beginning. And it was really cool. They tried to play on all of your senses, you know, go figure. But there was this cool area where it totally looked like you were walking up a hill. It looked like you were walking up a steep hill, but you were stumbling forward. You were actually going down. It was a crazy illusion. And then they had this mud river area where you just got your whole body in this mud, you know, and went slowly down a river. And then they had an area where you dumped cold water on yourself, and then you walked through like a kind of a sauna, hot area. And then you had this time where you were strapped in, and like flying through the jungle almost felt like you were weightless, like a bird. So there's all sorts of different senses. There's an area where there's a lot of smells, and you could like drink lemonade, you know. So there's all these different senses. But one of the most impactful parts to me was they separated Cassidy and I, and we each walked in our own little tunnel. And it was completely black, pitch black. And the walls were pretty close around you, so you kind of had to feel your way. But underneath you, certain areas you were walking on like rock, and then other areas it was sandy, and then there was some water that you walked under. And the whole time it was pitch black, you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face. But there was these sounds going, like nature sounds, like birds chirping, or you know, the sound of water rushing. And there was different smells that they would introduce as you walked. And it was just this windy path, and at one point you walked over a bridge, you could tell you're walking over kind of like a shaky bridge, there was wood under your feet. It was just so unique. But it lasted for probably 15-20 minutes in just sheer blackness, and you're navigating your way through, just feeling your way through this cave tunnel thing. And then eventually, you kind of turned a corner in this cave, and you could see probably 200 feet away from you, a small light, and you started to make your way towards that light. And as you got closer and closer, the light got bigger and bigger. But this experience was actually very spiritual for me. I was completely alone. I was with nobody else. And for the journey, it was dark and black. And it was eventually kind of peaceful, actually, even in the midst of the darkness, as I was required to feel my way through it, and use other senses besides sight. And then eventually, as I was introduced to that little light far away, I felt the Savior's love wash over me, and it was almost as if it was just He and I together. And I had this knowing that God knew me personally. I felt that we had this intimate moment where we were just together, He and I. It was so special, and I just wanted to testify that I do know that God loves us individually, and He knows us perfectly and individually. So with all that being said, with that story in mind, and with the different parables and stories that we read in the New Testament in Mark and Luke, if knowing that our individual worth is so important, and if knowing that God is our Father and that He knows us perfectly is so important, don't you think Satan would have that at the top of his list to tempt us to not believe in those things, or to challenge our divine identity? Isn't that the route that he took with Moses, right, after Moses saw the vision of the Lord? And then Satan comes, and the first thing he says is, son of man, worship me, right? Tries to tempt him to not believe in his true identity as a son of God. I know that I have definitely felt this in my life, and I would assume that anyone listening has also felt these tempting thoughts telling you that you're not worthy, or trying to distract you from who you really are, and what your divine potential really is. So with that being said, how do we combat that? What are some things we can do in our lives to remind us of who we really are? I thought of three things. Again, this list is not comprehensive, but I thought of three specific things. Number one is prayer. How good can a relationship really be if the individuals that make up that relationship do not communicate with each other, right? It's like the classic go-to thing, if somebody's having marital issues, well, you know, how's your communication, right? How are we supposed to have a relationship with our Father, and be reminded that He is our Father, and we are His child, if we don't talk with Him, and if we don't listen to Him? In April 2019, the Prophet, President Nelson, gave a talk called Come Follow Me, and he says this, If you are not sure you even believe in God, start there. Understand that in the absence of experiences with God, one can doubt the existence of God. So put yourself in a position to begin having experiences with Him. Humble yourself. Pray to have eyes to see God's hand in your life and in the world around you. Ask Him to tell you if He is really there, if He knows you. Ask Him how He feels about you, and then listen. Have any of you ever done that? Have you ever asked Heavenly Father in your prayer how He feels about you? I don't know if I ever have, but I'm going to, and I would invite anyone listening to do the same. So the first point is prayer. That's a beautiful way that we can be reminded of our relationship with God, namely He's our Father, and we're His child. Number two, serve others. When we serve others, something miraculous and beautiful happens. We love ourselves more. We love our Father more. We remember that we're His child. We remember that the person we're serving is our spiritual brother or sister. Something amazing happens when we serve others. We just remember who we are and who God is. We're probably familiar with this account in Matthew 25, starting in verse 34. It reads, Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was inhungered, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in, naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee inhungered, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? Then the king shall answer them and say, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. When we serve others and look them in their eyes, we can see the Savior looking back at us. So that second point is how can we be reminded of God being our Father and us being His children is to serve His other children and our brothers and sisters. And then the third thing I thought of is to worthily partake of the sacrament each week. To highlight this point, I wanted to read from a talk given by Elder Renlund in April 2016. It's entitled, That I Might Draw All Men Unto Me, and he says, The best way I know of to draw closer to God is to prepare conscientiously and partake worthily of the sacrament each week. A friend of ours in South Africa shared how she came to this realization. When Diane was a new convert, she attended a branch outside of Johannesburg. One Sunday as she sat in the congregation, the layout of the chapel made it so the deacon did not see her as the sacrament was passed. Diane was disappointed but said nothing. Another member noted the omission and mentioned it to the branch president after the meeting. As Sunday school began, Diane was invited to an empty classroom. A priesthood holder came in. He knelt down, blessed some bread, and handed her a piece. She ate it. He knelt down again and blessed some water and handed her a small cup. She drank it. Thereafter, Diane had two thoughts in rapid succession. First, Oh, he, the priesthood holder, did this just for me. And then, Oh, he, the Savior, did this just for me. Diane felt Heavenly Father's love. Her realization that the Savior's sacrifice was just for her helped her feel close to Him and fueled an overwhelming desire to keep that feeling in her heart, not just on Sunday but every day. She realized that although she sat in a congregation to partake of the sacrament, the covenants she made anew each Sunday were individually hers. The sacrament helped, and continues to help, Diane feel the power of godly love, recognize the Lord's hand in her life, and draw closer to the Savior. I love this story. Those two thoughts she had in rapid succession, Oh, the priesthood holder, the deacon, he did this just for me. How kind of him. And then, Oh, wow, the Savior, his atoning sacrifice was just for me as well. There's a couple things in the sacrament that remind me of this. The fact that every cup is an individual little cup. And every piece of bread is an individual little piece of bread. It's mine. When I take it, it is my little cup. It is my little piece of bread. It is my connection to the Savior because he sacrificed just for me. And I am partaking of this sacrament in remembrance of him for me to renew my covenants with him and to remember him. There is something beautiful that happens in that process that does remind us that God individually loves us and that we are his. So again, the three things I thought of that can remind us of this relationship is, one, prayer, two, serving others, and three, worthily partaking of the sacrament each week. In closing for this episode, I wanted to get back to the story of Jasper that Elder Phillips told. Towards the end of his talk, he says, For the record, Jasper is witty, affectionate, intelligent, and rambunctious, but the key to this story is, he is mine. He is my son, and I love him more than he will ever know. If an imperfect, earthly father feels this way about his child, can you imagine how a perfect, glorified, loving, heavenly father feels about you? I will add my testimony to his and to all the others that we've read in this episode. I know our Father loves me, and I know that he loves you. He loves us perfectly. This whole plan, the plan of salvation, is designed with us in mind. The Savior Jesus Christ is central to that plan. I know that all things that are done for us are out of love. Understanding this relationship with Heavenly Father helps me know who I am. It helps me view myself differently and others differently. It helps me view life's challenges differently. It helps me view the commandments differently. It helps me view the Savior and His infinite atoning sacrifice differently. I know these things to be true, and I close this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you, everyone, for tuning in. What a beautiful life this is. I'm so grateful for it. Please don't forget to share this episode after you listen to it. Next week's talk will be, How Great Will Be Your Joy? by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I look forward to discussing it with you next week. Thanks, you all. Talk to you soon.