Twice a month, we invite you study a talk from the most recent General Conference with us, and hopefully join in on discussion about the principles taught.
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I watched a show recently where a "scholar" laid out all his arguments against the existence of a God. I felt a mixture of disdain and pity. Throughout time, men have argued His presence in the universe, and even among believers there has been an incredible amount of disagreement about His character, His relationship to humanity, and His mind and His will. The scriptures teach us that, "This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God..." (John 17:3), and I'm afraid that mankind has greatly misunderstood how to arrive at such a knowledge.
Elder Robert D. Hales addressed this quest in the most recent General Conference. The talk is called “Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ,” (read it, watch it) and is from the Saturday afternoon session of conference. I like how this talk lays out the basic doctrines about the nature of God and His son that we often take for granted, not realizing how powerful and rarely-understood they are. And mostly I loved his closing testimony as I felt the depth of his love for Jesus Christ, and remembered my own.
“The light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God.”
“With your own testimony of God, you will be able to bless your family, your posterity, your friends, your own life—all those you love.”
We lived with God and we already know Him intimately, but due to conditions of mortality we don't remember. He is not a mysterious being that we have to scientifically research in order to even begin to comprehend. I noticed that many of the paragraphs of Elder Hales' talk began with the words, "We know." Our spirits know God.
The key, then, I believe comes from this piece of counsel: "I testify that the way to know the truth about God is through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, is a personage of spirit. His work is to “testify of [God]”19 and to “teach [us] all things.” It seems to me that when we strive to keep the commandments of God, we invite and qualify for His Spirit, which in addition to the things Elder Hales already testified of, also "brings all things to our remembrance" (John 14:26) The Spirit simply reminds us about the loving Father we already know deep inside. Our love for him is part of our nature. The Holy Ghost helps us to feel, remember, and recognize His love and His reality.
Elder Hales confirms this in his testimony: "Brothers and sisters, you may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with."
The key, then, I believe comes from this piece of counsel: "I testify that the way to know the truth about God is through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, is a personage of spirit. His work is to “testify of [God]”19 and to “teach [us] all things.” It seems to me that when we strive to keep the commandments of God, we invite and qualify for His Spirit, which in addition to the things Elder Hales already testified of, also "brings all things to our remembrance" (John 14:26) The Spirit simply reminds us about the loving Father we already know deep inside. Our love for him is part of our nature. The Holy Ghost helps us to feel, remember, and recognize His love and His reality.
Elder Hales confirms this in his testimony: "Brothers and sisters, you may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with."
How has knowing the doctrine of a Heavenly Father helped you to have a relationship with Him?
When you have felt the Holy Ghost, what have those feelings and experiences taught you about the nature of God?
