God Knows You More Than You Know Yourself

I am a daughter of God. And he knows me too well. He answers my prayers, helps me through my concerns, and gives me comfort when I need it. What a great blessing! A way I can communicate with my Father in Heaven is through sincere prayer. And when I come unto Him and express the feelings of my heart, He will grant unto me the things I stand in need of.
I was reading in the ensign this morning and came to a talk written by President Monson titled, "Come unto Him in Prayer and Faith." As I pondered on this message, it brought me so much peace and comfort. It reminded me of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, declared, "Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith." (Jacob 3:1) I was reflecting back to my prayers and my faith. And Jacob’s advice has truly helped me as I go through the challenging times in my life.
President Monson says, "As we offer unto the Lord our family prayers and our personal prayers, let us do so with faith and trust in Him. Let us remember the injunction of Paul to the Hebrews: 'For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.'" (Hebrews 11:1) When we diligently seek God and come unto Him through sincere prayer and having great faith, we will be rewarded with many great blessings. Sometimes we may not want the answer to our prayers. And as much as we have prayed with faith, God knows what is best for us and will reward us with it. Elder Richard G. Scott gave a great counsel which answers that concern that we all have.

"With even your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow."

Wherever we may be, our Heavenly Father can hear and answer the prayer offered in faith. During those darkest moments of our lives, we often lose faith. And instead of praying for help in dealing with the situation, we pray for solutions to our problems. This past couple weeks I have been feeling just indifferent about some things. And this week I was encountered by a challenge that I never thought I would face. And through sincere prayers and putting my faith in the Lord, my prayers were answered. And even though the answer I received was not something I wanted, I know that God knows what is best for me. All I need to do is to continue in nourishing my faith by doing the small and simple things He has commanded me to do. He has poured His spirit upon me to give me peace and comfort. I know that God hears and answers prayers. He loves and cares for each and every one of us. And through our Savior, Jesus Christ we can be healed because He knows us more than we know yourselves!

He Is Risen...He LIVES!!!

President Monson gave a great Easter message on April 2010 General Conference. He talked about Job and how he had this question in his mind that we may all have pondered about some time in our lives. "If a man die, shall he live again?" (Job 4:14) A question that I have once asked myself before. Heavenly Father has a great plan for each and everyone of us and central to that plan is our Savior, Jesus Christ. And through Him we can live again. Jesus Christ came and accomplished the great Atonement. He laid down His life for our transgressions, iniquities, and even "breaketh the bands of death." (Mosiah 15:8)

"No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when, on the first day of the week, they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord. Spoke the angel:
“Why seek ye the living among the dead?
“He is not here, but is risen.” 12
Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed." (President Monson)

"That empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job's question, "'If a man die, shall he live again?'" After Christ was crucified and killed, his body was taken by Joseph wrapped with linen and laid in a sepulchre. Three days, later Christ was risen from the death and was a resurrected glorified being. His spirit and body were once reunited again and perfected. And through Him we can all live again. Loosing a loved one is challenging. I have had a personal experience of loosing someone very special and dear to me, my father. A year and a half ago my dad was really ill and had to fly to Hawaii for medical care. They came to find out that half of his organs had failed and he had only six months to live. With this heart breaking news, I had to fly there to visit him. I got my trip all situated and was all set and ready to see my father, whom I hadn't seen for about two years. A day before my trip, I received the most devastating news of my entire life. My dad was taken back home to where he belonged. And that his last dying words were, "I want all my kids to seek God and come closer to Him so we could all be together again" is a great testimony that motivated me to be where I am today. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and because he lives all of us, including my father, will live again. A verse that brought me peace and comfort is found in Revelations 21:4, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." I know this to be true. Christ did His part and if I come unto Him and obey His commandments, I can live with Him and my family again and forever. In the hour of our deepest sorrow, we can find hope from these two verses found in the Bible, "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be mad alive." (1Corinthian 15:21-22) Christ lives, He is Risen!