Welcome to closer to Christ through general conference
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent general
conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today we're going to talk about
Know Who You Really Are. This is by Elder Brick
the Iyer of the Seventy. And he starts his talk
out with a story from his daughter's mission.
He says, As I was looking for the perfect verse,
I thought, what am I doing? This isn't what Christ
would do. This is not a problem that I can solve,
but this is a literal daughter of God who needs
my help. So she says, I closed my scriptures,
knelt beside her and held her while we cried
together until she was ready to stand up and
face this trial. It's pretty wise for someone
who's that age to a missionary to realize, hey,
I'm not anyone's savior. You know, I can help
them. I can lead them to Christ, but I don't
need to take his place. Powerful lesson. I agree,
a powerful lesson for all of us to learn for
her particularly at such a young age as a missionary.
And we can all have answers to worldly problems
that come for someone else when we're at the
outside looking at it. But I think it was special
that the thought that distilled into her mind
was just to fall to her knees and be there and
support that person, this young sister that was
going through her trial. Because sometimes the
most important thing we can give somebody is
our presence, our time, our willingness to mourn
with them until they are then able to gather
their emotions and kind of look at the problem
and be ready to face it. Sometimes, they just
need some time to process what it's going to
take to overcome those things. I also love that
when his daughter turned to the scriptures, that
the references she pointed out were not the ones
that she hoped would solve the problems this
young woman was facing directly. But instead,
she's just trying to point this young sister
towards the knowledge that she is divine worth.
She's a beloved. We're all beloved sons or daughters
of God and that God fills the perfect compassion
for us when we suffer and is ready to assist
us when we kind of stand back up. We make the
choice to carry on even though it's hard. Knowing
this truth is in our very core is the answer
to a lot of life's problems, maybe all of life's
problems. Yes, they can be very serious problems,
but knowing that we're not alone in them, and
that there's going to be some growth and some
moments to walk with God in those trials. It's
great to learn that, like to your core. Totally.
and then carry that with you when when those
times hit because they're going to certainly
hit for all of us. Absolutely, they are. And
you know, it makes sense that our missionaries
throughout the world are encouraged to teach
that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I know
that President Nelson said, you know, when you
understand who you are, it affects every other
decision. So like you were saying, if you understand
that you that everything else you learn in your
gospel study points back to that love. It also
builds on that love and it helps us understand
why we're here and who we can rely on when things
are challenging. And like you said, they come,
right? They're going to come. So it's all of
that is part of the great plan. I like this quote,
Amy. When you know and understand how completely
you were loved as a child of God, it changes
everything. It changes the way you feel about
yourself when you make mistakes. He actually
knew I would make mistakes and made it possible
to be forgiven. And it changes how you feel when
difficult things happen, meaning he knew life
would be difficult sometimes, but through the
atonement actually made it possible to feel in
those difficult period of time that you're still
loved. It changes our view of God's commandments,
meaning they don't look like punishments anymore.
They don't look like handcuffs, but it's just
a clear map to enjoying the most freedom. Uh,
and positive consequences that are attached to
obedience, sometimes more long -term, you know,
sometimes like, well, I did this thing. Why am
I not being blessed? There's eternal benefits
to those things. If he promised you that there's
going to be blessings for following his commandments,
whether you see them in the moment or not, they're
happening for sure. And if everything was transactional
like that, it's not quite, you don't learn as
well like that. It's not like in your bones.
Yeah. Cause the same is true. Sometimes you do
things that are contrary to the commandments
and you don't immediately get the punishment
from it. Sometimes those are way more long -term
and coming. Then you look back on all the years,
you're like, Oh, it was that those micro decisions
that led me to where I am now that you fall to
your absolute bottom worse than have to dig back
from it. But yeah, I love that. Just a reminder,
it's not transactional. Did I say this? It changes
your view of others. Oh, I didn't say this because
I love this part. So good. Yes. It changes your
view of others and your capacity to make a difference.
Maybe my favorite part of the quote, because
if you recognize the others or children of God
and their individuals with divine worth too,
then you can try to use that gift to see others
with those same eyes. It changes the world, it
changes the way that we interact with other people.
When our natural man inclination is to maybe
not feel that way sometimes, especially with
bad, you know, bad, countering bad behavior from
them. Sometimes just reminding yourself they're
a child of God too, try to give them benefit
of the doubt that maybe something difficult is
going on in their life or whatever. Very good,
Abby. One of the best places to learn this from
scripture is as God talks with Moses and also
explains this, Moses, thou art my son, and that
Moses was in this similitude of his only begotten.
So we know that when Moses understood this, he
knew his purpose and role and that he also had
important things to accomplish. It makes me think
about the most clear communication I've had with
God through my patriarchal blessing when I read
through that with a firm understanding that I'm
a daughter of God and that all of their blessings
seem completely plausible. I'm excited to see
what I can accomplish with God at that point.
I think most, most patriarchal blessings in those
opening paragraphs, that's the, that's the key
feature that you want to know of your divine
heritage. If you don't have that solidified in
your mind, I think everything else you read,
you're kind of like, maybe, maybe I'm worthy
of that. Maybe that'll come to me. But if you
know, if you know that first statement to be
true, you know, I am a beloved daughter of God
or son. However, people's read everything else
seems totally factual. And he wants to bless
me with these things because I am so precious
and dear to him. Yeah, I love that. Isn't it
just like the adversary to come into the story
of Moses and immediately after this awesome encounter
with God, try to stamp his own label on us, Moses,
son of man. We are children of God and have his
character running through us. We could do anything.
Satan can only try to pick at weaknesses and
attack us and try to label us with those weaknesses.
We get to choose if we're gonna let those stick
or not. Like that cute story with the Wimix.
You are special. That's a good little story.
Love it so much. The stars and dots. And also
how amazing would it be if we all could be so
prepared for these predictable attacks by Satan
that we could respond just like Moses did. Who
art thou? For behold, I'm a son of God. I love
that. I love the power. Yes, I love the power
and I love the contrast. Like it was so strong
because it was right after there. He knew his
worth and he wasn't broken by a false label.
This was a standout line from the talk. He said
this, we must seek validation vertically, not
horizontally. One of my favorites. Love that.
Spend a minute letting that sink in. When others
try to put labels on us, are we quick to agree
and be taken over by our fears or have we received
validation vertically and know for ourselves
that we are a child of God? This is one thing
I stress with my kids is to say, you know, all
that matters is what God thinks of you. And as
long as you're good with him, then it doesn't
matter whether someone be saying, you're fantastic
and better than you are or above other things
or whether they're saying you're low as the ground,
you know what I mean? Whatever it is. Whatever
labels and opinions they have, it's the validation
that we should be seeking as gods. I love that.
President Russell M. Nelson affirmed vertical,
this truth about this vertical relationship that
he hopes we all know. He said, can we each say,
I'm a child of God, child of the covenant, a
child, a disciple of Jesus Christ. He promised,
as you embrace these truths, our heavenly father
will help you reach your ultimate goal of living
eternally in his holy presence. So, key pieces
of the reason why we came here. It's like, I
don't know, our stake president made some comment.
It was like, you know, what's the purpose of
this life on earth? And people will be like,
you know, so that we can come here and that we
can go back and live with him. He's like, well,
he just wanted us to live with him. He would
have just kept us there. We were living with
him then. We wouldn't have to do all this stuff
here. We would just be living with him also,
again, but the gist of it, to come to grow, to
learn our true nature and our identity, our true
potential, and then return back to him. People
don't like the idea of being co -equal with him,
but any parent would be what you... Let me raise
you up, child. Follow me, watch my example, but
then try to be a little not as awesome as I am.
I never heard a good parent that acted like that,
right? So by virtue of how we know real parent
-child relationships should work, he's just as
excited when we learn those things that make
us more like our savior. God is watching that
gratefully. Thank you for following the example
of your big brother. And that's why I picked
him for you. Seriously. It truly is amazing every
time I think of the plan. So every Sabbath day,
saints around the world gather to partake of
the emblems of the sacrament. And in that prayer,
we get to affirm that we are his children when
he asks. to be referenced in this way, God the
Eternal Father. So if He is our Father, our Eternal
Father, can there be any doubt that His greatest
desire, like you were saying, Abby, is to have
us, His children, return back to His presence
with all the growth we can achieve because of
this life experience? That line hit me quite
hard in a good way, like when I'm really zeroed
in and really paying attention, preparing for
the sacrament and letting it be. bigger experience
than just eating a little bit of bread and water,
really Christ -centered and focused on Him. That's
awesome. That's what we need to be. I love that
that prayer was given to us by revelation. It's
documented how we're going to say it. He could
have chosen any title. Oh, great, magnificent,
wonderful one. All -powerful, supreme, great
being. He asked to be referenced as God, our
eternal Father, as we participate in this most
important prayer of the week. Yeah. Love it.
That's really good, Abby. Elder Patrick Heron.
Love that guy. Taught. Our Father's beautiful
plan, even his fabulous plan. I love it when
he said it, you know, those months ago. And then
when people re -quote him, we get to talk about
the fabulous plan. Is designed to bring you home,
not to keep you out. God is in relentless pursuit
of you. That is so comforting to hear. Elder
Eyring promised us that our lives will fundamentally
change if we better understand who we really
are. How can we come to know these fundamental
truths either more deeply or for the first time?
He gives us two challenges to deepen our understanding
of this powerful truth. The first one being prayer
and then an understanding that Jesus is the Christ.
Do you want to tackle the first one, Amy, like
your insights on prayer? Sure. So, when we come
to know more deeply that we're children of God
by making time each day to truly be with Him,
like not just saying our prayers, but really
be with Him, be in His presence. So when we prepare
our hearts and our minds through pondering, gratitude
and quiet reflection, then we open ourselves
to real communication with our Heavenly Father.
And I do feel like gratitude is a huge component
of that. Gratitude does invite revelation. Gratitude
invites more blessing. It's a way that we get
to really acknowledge His hand in our lives.
Finding a private still place to pray helps us
feel the Spirit and also hear His voice. And
then consistent, sincere prayer combined with
daily study of the Book of Mormon and temple
worship invites revelation and strengthens our
awareness of His love. As we pray more often
and with greater intent, God helps us feel and
remember that we are truly His beloved children.
Maybe a question we could ask ourselves is, what
do my prayers currently look like? And in an
effort to go closer in my relationship with God,
might those conversations look a little bit different
than they are right now? How could they change?
How could they be better? How could they also
sometimes, Abby, I feel like maybe this is just
my life. But sometimes I get thrown into a season
that I didn't see coming. And all of a sudden,
I'm like, oh, things are different. Like, like,
let's say, for example, all of a sudden, your
kids are growing up and one's a teenager. Now,
teenage years are different than the younger
years, you know, and for someone who has, you
know, married children and grandkids and just
things like that. Or when you're a new parent.
But anyways, we find ourselves in new seasons.
And I feel like new seasons require different,
a different set of skills. And so prayer is so
important for that to recognize, Heavenly Father,
I'm in a different season. What do I need for
this? What would, what are the tools I need?
I love that. That's, that's super powerful. Assess
what season you're in in your life. Do you feel
disconnected from him? Is it A, because you're
not making time to spend together or you're making
time, but it's very check the box time and you
move on to other things and don't give any time
to you know, hear the other side of that conversation
and the things that he wants to impress you with.
Mine don't come immediately. Like I always say
the things that are heaviest on my heart, you
know, if I, if I have that conversation, my night
prayers to him, I often wake up in the morning,
like it's very quiet hours of the morning because
we're in that stage of our life where when the
kids are awake, it gets awfully loud. So it's
busy. Yeah. That's where he can find me in the
quietest moments. I would say when your life
gets awfully busy with running kids to the myriad
of chores and sports and activities, your time
might be, you know, the 45 minutes that you're
waiting for that activity to end. That could
be your scripture time and the things on your
heart. Maybe your best communication is in those
quiet, peaceful moments in the temple. Can you
get these answers amidst the chaos and crazy,
you know, crazy life going about you? Absolutely.
He can reach you anywhere that you are. But,
you know, that's for everybody to decide. For
sure. Where they're at and how they're feeling
about their conversations and communication with
them. Yes. And what can we do to change that
if we need a little change? Okay, I think we're
ready for the second part that he suggested.
Sounds good. Which was coming to know and recognize
Jesus in a personal role in our lives as our
Saviour and Redeemer. really emphasizing that
word. Heavenly Father's great expression of love
was sending His Son to help us return home through
experiences that remind us of His mercy and power
to forgive. We learn that Christ's atonement
is not just for others. It is deeply personal.
He knows and saves each of us individually, and
only through Him can we return to our Heavenly
Father. I'll say, it was in this part of the
talk, he was talking about a minor change to
the temple recommend questions, and it was like,
do you believe that Jesus uh, is like savior
and redeemer, something to that effect. And,
and it's specifically, do you believe him to
be your savior and redeemer? Very cool. Cause
you could easily not really feel that worry in
this about yourself and answer that truthfully
and say, yes, I did think that he is people's
savior, but people sometimes are so hard on themselves.
They want the amazing things that the atonement
of Jesus Christ can do to be for everybody but
them. They put up a barrier, they put up a block,
they want to be free of the things the birds
are carrying around, but they just don't see
the possibility, even when they can see it possible
for everybody else. So interesting how we are
as people, right? Before we close with this testimony,
I would like to remind all of our listeners that
if you want to continue this conversation, We
created a Facebook page conference that's about
general conference and we would love your thoughts
on this talk. So we're going to provide a prompt
as though we were in a Sunday school lesson,
let's say, and we'll encourage each of you to
make this space your own and ask your own questions
or share, show your own thoughts. Um, years ago,
we were really blessed by a come follow me study
group and got together with some women that like
strengthen deepened our understanding of, of,
of come follow me topics. We know it's going
to take some time to grow and build, but we'll
get some comments on YouTube. It's really the
only way that we have to communicate with our
listeners and they share some thoughts or some
insights for us. And I would love more people
to be able to just engage and interact with those
comments, especially if you're like us and serving
in the primary or if you have a young woman's
calling and you're not getting to interact and
on the same token, men that are in their different
callings and responsibilities. sometimes it's
nice to have your thoughts on it and just point
out something that you've thought of as you're
listening to us. When I listen back to these
podcasts, sometimes I think of completely different
things. Same. I'm like, whatever the spirit needs
to impress upon me. It's not what we're saying
in this moment. It's what the spirit wants to
teach us because we're in the general conference
talks. And so we know it's going to take some
time to grow and to build that. we know that
it's going to have to require us to just mention
kind of every episode, hey, if you want to carry
on the conversation, we're hoping that you, you
know, you're all welcome to generate a prompt
or we'll try to provide something that's insightful
from the talk and then whatever comments play
off of that. And it could take some real time
to build that. Now's the time to start. So it's
by the same title, Closer to Christ the General
Conference. I might try to put the link in the
notes section if you're listening on a regular
platform. Thank you for reminding everybody of
that. I kind of failed to do that in the last
two talks and we record it in such a way that
I'm like, well, we'll have to fix that mistake
now. Join us on Facebook. I'll close with this
testimony. He said, let us seek Him. Let us study
His divine relationship with the Father and with
each of us. Let us experience the song of redeeming
love that comes personally to each of us through
our Redeemer as we repent, as we come to know
Him who is mighty to save. We will come to understand
that we as children of God are His joy. His most
important focus and we are indeed each worth
saving. I testify that we have a loving Heavenly
Father and we come to know His eternal truth
through mighty prayer, personal revelation and
coming unto Jesus Christ. We can now and always
boldly proclaim, I am a child of God. We say
this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen,
Abby. That was a great one. We'll catch you all
next time.