Thank you for brining such a beautiful spirit to the meeting here, tonight.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I know there are 70 countries represented here, so I am feeling very inadequate that I can only do those [languages]. But we are so glad to be with you [and] so grateful for the spirit is here. So grateful for these last two days meeting so many of you and feeling of your goodness at the temple with the missionaries at the PCC and here on campus. We are grateful for familiar faces in the congregation for family and friends. And just grateful for this beautiful day.
Recently, Elder Gong and I visited members in Kansas City. An adorable little nine years old girl, looked excited to meet Elder Gong. Then, she shyly handed me a little picture, a painting, and she said, “I painted this picture of you, Sister Gong!” You see the picture!
Then she said, a little embarrassed, "I painted her a little bit skinnier than you really are." Which fits perfectly in my feelings of inadequacy with a sign that I had seen recently that said, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall. What happened?"
I shared this experience with another group of people, and a man handed me a note after the meeting and [it] said, “I think that Jesus sees us all a little bit skinnier than we see ourselves.” I think that may be true.
In a day when so much [attention] is focused on superficial images, on being “insta” perfect, it’s easy to become self-conscious, insecure, even depressed. It feels impossible to live up to the expectations of social media, and the world in general.
Gratefully, the scriptures teach us that God is not concerned about superficial things. God teaches Samuel, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”[1]
That God cares more about what is in our heart than what we look like is a profound and important truth. It lifts us above the superficial to focus on things that matter most: our character, how we treat others, our relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
But this understanding about God's nature is not all we need to know about our Heavenly Father. Because sometimes, don’t you find that our hearts are even messier than our outward appearance.
Sometimes I’m prone to pride, or, ingratitude, or self-absorption. Now, you may have different weaknesses, but we all have faults and failings. So, what does God see when He looks on your heart?
Some people think of God is a harsh master, always looking for something to criticize. Some think of him as vengeful or punishing.
As a missionary in Taiwan many, many years ago, I had an experience that changed my life. I served for six months with a companion with whom I had a really difficult relationship. She thought I was arrogant, demanding, and impatient. Maybe she was right. I thought she was pretty petty and overly critical. One day we were teaching together, and, in the middle of our lesson, she embarrassed me when she said out of the blue, "Well, Sister Lindsay, you're not a very good person. You're not Christ-like." On the bus on the way home to our apartment, I told her she should never criticize me like that in front of people again. She told me I was a bad companion. She said she was embarrassed to go anywhere with me. She said, "Kindergarteners speak better Chinese than you do. Well, she had a point because when I tried to say things to her that I wanted to say at that moment, I realized the MTC had not taught me the words that I needed.
When we got back to our little apartment, I slammed the door to one room and flopped to my knees. I really said this prayer. “Heavenly Father, I hate my companion. She’s mean. She's horrible and ...”
In the middle of my tirade, more tirade than prayer, I felt a voice that said, “She is my daughter, and I love her. Don’t speak of her like that.”
Now, in that moment, I felt I was being corrected by God. But surprisingly, the feeling in my heart was one of love. I felt His great love for her, my companion, and I felt His love for me and for all of us.
Scriptures tell us so we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. [2]
God is love. He is a loving Father. This is what we most need to understand about the nature of Heavenly Father. He understood me. He understood my companion, he understands my insecurities. He knows everything about me I don't want anybody to know and still He loves us. He stands ready to forgive— even the prodigal son. [3] Even the woman taken in sin. Even you. Even me. To all of us, his message is “go and sin no more.” [4]
Life is a test, and God understands that. But it is also a process, and He understands that too. We are meant to learn from our mistakes, and we all make mistakes. That is why, in great love for us, He sent his Only Begotten Son to earth to teach us, to show us how to live, to experience mortality so His compassion for our challenges and difficulties is complete. He sent His Son to atone for our sins. Knowing of the great love of God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, knowing they have this love for us, is not an excuse to make excuses for our own mistakes. It is a reason to try harder with all our heart, might, mind, and strength to follow our Savior, to be the people He knows we can become. To love as He loves. To be a force for good in the world.
Let’s not take the sacred Atonement of Jesus Christ for granted. Let us accept this greatest of gifts, the gift of grace, with humility and gratitude and a renewed effort every day to follow Him.
I testify that God lives and that we are His children. That this world is His creation for our opportunity to come and to learn and to grow. To help each other and to lift each other and learn to love.
I say these things in the sacred name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes:
[1] 1 Samuel 16:7
[2] 1 John 4:16
[3] Luke 15:11-32
[4] John 8:3-11