The scriptures teach us that we are children of God (Acts 17:28-29; Romans 8:16-17; Hebrews 12:9). Of all the names or titles prescribed to God I cannot imagine a more fitting or meaningful title than Father.
I have had many discussions with family and friends recently
who have questioned the existence and role of God as our loving Heavenly Father.
Here are some thoughts that have helped me to resolve some of my doubts and
reconcile some of my concerns with this issue (Yes I have doubts and
concerns…we all should and do!!!).
Nephi
In the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ,
Lehi has a vision about the tree of life. In subsequent chapters, Nephi, he son
of Lehi asks to see what his Father saw and is shown another similar dream. In
the dream an angel or the spirit asks him a question and I love his response:
1 Nephi 11:16 Spirit: [Nephi], Knowest thou the
condescension* of God??
1 Nephi 11:17 Nephi: And I said unto him; I know that he (referring
to God) loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all
things.
Nephi was a great, obedient prophet and yet he didn’t know
all the answers to the tough questions of life. What he did know is that God
loved his children and that seemed to be enough.
*Note. Condescension is often used in a derogatory sense. I like this definition from Merriam Webster: "A voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in relations with an inferior." Though I don't think God sees us as inferior, he does voluntarily descend from his Godly throne to save and help us. Through his Son he came among us and descended below all things.
Joseph
When Joseph Smith was in liberty jail, he was at an all time
low and felt to ask:
D&C 121:1 O God, where art thou? And where is the
pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall they hand be stayed…
Joseph was the prophet of the restoration and yet he found
himself questioning the love of God, like many of us do (it’s normal!!).
Here
was God’s reply:
D&C 121:7-10 My son [or daughter] (I imagine him
addressing Joseph by name here), peace be unto thy soul; thine afflictions
shall be but a small moment…thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail
thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job.
And later…
D&C 122: 8-9 All these things shall give thee experience
and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man (the savior) hath descended below
them all. Art thou greater than he? …therefore fear not what man can do for God
shall be with you forever and ever.
*Note. Job lost everything…his family and friends, his home,
land, and all his worldly possessions. And yet, he didn’t lose his faith in
God. The beautiful thing about this story is that Job had everything restored
to him. He remarried and had a family, he received new lands and wealth. Whether
in this life or the next, God will compensate us for our losses.
You and Me
In a recent church meeting, Michelle and I were reminded we
sometimes misunderstand God and His love in a few important ways:
1.
First we think, “If God loves me, why does he allow
bad things to happen to me and the people or things I love?
·
The thing we forget here is that because God
loves us and wants us to be happy he gives us agency or the ability to choose.
Satan wants us to be “miserable, like unto himself” and wanted to take away our
agency…now he seeks to cause us to misuse it. Many of the problems we
experience in this life are a result of the poor use of our agency or other’s
poor use of theirs.
·
One of the underlying principles that makes
agency possible is opposition. Trials and temptations test us and allow us to
grow but most importantly they allow us to choose whether or not we will return
to God…we aren’t forced…how loving and merciful is that!??!
2.
Second, we sometimes misunderstand God’s love
and think “If he loves me, he won’t judge me and will overlook my sin.” In this
setting love and consequences seem incompatible. This often leads to the faulty
argument that if we truly love others we must be “tolerant” to their sins (when
in reality we should despise the sin and love the sinner-much like the Savior
did with the woman taken in adultery-see .
·
As I have watched my parents and others it is
obvious that a parent can give commandments and consequences from a place of
love. These commandments are designed to help their children be safe (don’t
touch the hot burner) and grow (do be kind to your brother). Consequences are
often natural or logical and help us learn. That is our Father in Heaven’s
goal. He doesn’t want to punish us, he wants us to learn and grow. *
·
God does judge but he is both just and merciful.
He has given us a way to repent and start over at any time. He will be much
more merciful than any of us can comprehend; however, he has clearly laid out
his law and will measure us against how well we lived it ACCORDING TO OUR
abilities, experiences, etc. He will consider it all.**
*Note. There was a great talk given by Elder Oaks of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called Love and Law that explains how God, in the
scriptures, can both hold the ancient Israelites accountable (with
consequences) and yet Love them.
**Note. See the Parable of the Divers in Stephen Robinson’s
book Believing Christ to better understand God’s mercy in judgment.
3.
Lastly, we often mistakenly think that if God
doesn’t deliver WHAT we want, WHEN we want it, he either does not love us, or
does not love us as much as he loves others who seem to have perfect lives.*
·
First God is omnipotent and omniscient meaning
he knows all things and is all powerful. He can see what we need and when we
need it more clearly than we ever could.
·
Second, when there is distance between us and
God, it is almost always created by us through sin or guilt. Satan loves to
tell us we are not worthy to speak to God or we have been away from him so long
that it would be too uncomfortable to approach him again. It’s like when we are
out of touch with a friend and keep getting the feeling to call them but keep
putting it off. The longer we wait the harder it is to call, the more guilt we
feel, until we decide we probably ought to just not call at all. The scriptures
teach that God’s arm is “lengthened still…” meaning he is closer than we think,
waiting for us to pick up the phone and call. We need not feel uncomfortable or
as if it is too late.
*Note. No one has a perfect life. The people you think are
better off than you likely have hidden trials equal to our surpassing your own.
Let God be the judge.
I know I have had a hard time with this principle at times
in my life. When we do not have perfect earthly parent or spouse, the principle
that God is our loving Heavenly Father is even harder to comprehend.
Having said that, I do know this, learning and gaining faith
in this simple, foundational principle: That God is our Loving Heavenly Father
has made all the difference in my life.
No trial has been insurmountable, no amount of guild or self
pity has been able to weigh me down, because I know I have divine worth as a
child of God, that he loves me, and that if I do the best I can (this does not
mean perfection) I can return to live with him again.
Garrett
Prologue:
A few other thoughts came to me as I was writing this post. Particularly, I was struck by the question, why do we need to have a correct understanding of the nature of God, especially that he is our Father? What does believing you are a child of God do for you?
Here's a few ideas:
1. Read Moses 1. Knowing he was a child of God with divine potential allowed Moses to resist temptation and ultimately fulfill his mission as the prophet who brought the children of Israel out of bondage (with God's help of course).
2. Read 1 Nephi and contrast Laman and Lemuel with Nephi. Nephi was able to put his trust in God because he had a true understanding of who he was. Laman and Lemuel feared man more than God (even when Nephi reminded them that God was more powerful "than Laban and his 50") and they ended up dissenting, digressing and ultimately causing the demise of the whole Nephite race.
3. Read the story of Job or accounts of the Martin/Willy handcart companies. They were able to endure great trials, loss, and hardship because they knew God was their loving Father. One man from this company said it was worth the price they paid to come to know God.
The scriptures are rife with examples of why it helps to know God is our Father. At then end of the day it just helps me remember that no matter how crappy this life can be, things will turn out okay in the end. God will make right all the things that we think are wrong about this life. And "that's all I have to say about that." --Forrest Gump
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