Belated Sunday School Sundays

This past week my assignment at church changed. I am now the Primary (children’s Sunday School) Music Leader. This is something I love doing! I love to sing and the best part about teaching children to sing is that they don’t judge you if your voice may crack or may be not Carnegie Hall worthy. And children love to sing! It is amazing to me!

The reason this is the first, albeit, very late post for Sunday School Sundays is because the first song I get to teach the children is my favorite Primary song, “I Know Heavenly Father Loves Me!” I have loved the lyrics since I was an itty bitty and now that I am an adult and have seen so much of this amazing world that was created for us and the images the Hubble Telescope has sent back....I am even more in awe of the majesty of Our Heavenly Father’s power and amazed that He truly loves me. The first lesson in the Gospel Principles manual is “Our Father in Heaven.”

“Whenever I hear the song of a birdOr look at the blue, blue skyWhenever I feel the rain on my faceOr the wind as it rushes byWhenever I touch a velvet roseOr walk by our lilac treeI’m glad that I live in this beautiful worldHeav’nly Father created for me.
He gave me my eyes that I might see 
The color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I may hear
The magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:
I thank Him rev’rently for all His creations,
Of which I’m a part.
Yes, I know Heav’nly Father loves me.”

I believe in God, the Eternal Father. I believe that he has a perfected, immortal body of flesh and bones, just as you and I do. I believe that we are made in his image just as it is recorded in Genesis where we are taught about the Creation. I know that I am His child. I love the scripture in The Book of Mormon that states:

“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)

One of the basic tenets of the Mormon faith is stated in the First Article of Faith. The Articles of Faith were written by Joseph Smith, Jr in response to a query about what we believed. The very first statement says,

“We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”

If you’ve read my blog for a while now, most of you know that “Fiddler on the Roof” is my favorite movie. One of the neatest things to me is the relationship Tevye has with God. As I have gotten older, I realize that Tevye’s example has taught me a great deal about prayer, why we pray, and what my personal relationship is to my Father in Heaven. Tevye talks to God as if He were standing right there and as if He truly cared about Tevye. The Supreme Creator is Tevye’s best friend. And each one of us can have that type of relationship with Him. 

How do we do this, you ask?

Well, there are several things you can do on your own.

First, desire to know if there is a God and what His relationship is to you. If you don’t want to know or feel a need to know who God is or if He exists, then why would you believe?

Secondly, believe He exists and that He loves you. Simply “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend.” (Mosiah 4:9)

Thing the Third: Study the Scriptures. Read the Bible. Read The Book of Mormon. Read what prophets have to say to you concerning the existence of God. In 2 Timothy, in the New Testament, we are told “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)

But, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can know yourself by doing....

Thing #4: Praying! How cool is it that we are invited to speak with God? Just like Tevye, there is no reason we can not speak to Him as if He were our friend! Simply find a quiet place where you can be alone and ask Him what is in your heart. The main reason The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exists today is because a teenage boy was reading the Bible and decided to ask God a question, believing He was real and that He would answer. James teaches “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:5-6)

The 5th thing we can do is be obedient to His commandments to the best of our ability. It is by keeping His commandments that we become more and more like Him. And by becoming more like Him, we gradually come to know Him better and better.

A really good talk to read is entitled “Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ” given by Elder Robert D. Hales in the 2009 October LDS General Conference.

“If you cannot remember believing in God or if you have ceased to believe or if you believe but without real conviction, I invite you to seek a testimony of God now. Do not be afraid of ridicule. The strength and peace that come from knowing God and having the comforting companionship of His Spirit will make your efforts eternally worthwhile.”

As a closing thought, I have had the lyrics to this song floating through my head recently. I get choked up when I sing it because there have been some dark days here for me personally. But, I know that God has not gone away and He does not hide His face from his children. He waits with outstretched arms for us to notice the workmanship of His hands so that we may look further and see His face and hear His voice.

"The Power of God" By Steven Kapp Perry

“Listen to the wind blow, lonely as a sigh.
Nothing overhead but empty sky.
Look up at starlight on a dark night;
Are we all alone 
An island in space?
Or is there a plan 
Where I have a place?
Could it be that heaven is man’s imagining,
Reaching out for hope in childish dreams?
Stories so old then, we’ve outgrown them?
Has God gone away or hidden his face?
Have miracles ceased to be?
But the power of God is plain to see,
There are wonders on every hand
To those who will see through eyes of faith
Beyond the mind of man.
For how could we hope
To see his face
Who never could see His hand?
Some may see a rainbow
As nothing more than light.
Others see a promise and a sign.
Everyday wonders, without number
Are here all around and wait to be found
By those who have eyes to see.
Listen to the wind blow,
Then listen once again.”

• Why do you think it is important to know God?

• What things around you do you see that testify to you that there is a God?