The Family Is of God

In the words of “The Family Is of God”—sung earlier in this meeting—we are reminded of pure doctrine. We learn not only that the family is of God but also that we are each part of God’s family.

The first line of the song teaches: “Our Father has a family. It’s me! It’s you, all others too: we are His children.” From the family proclamation, we learn, “In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father.”

Do we treat each other as if we believed this truth? That is the mark of how much we follow Christ.

The second line of the song expands on the first. “He sent each one of us to earth, through birth, to live and learn here in families.”

In the premortal life, we learned that we would need a period of mortality. We “accepted [Heavenly Father’s] plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize [our] divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”

Living in families is a key aspect of the plan.

Elder Richard G. Scott explained that “we were taught in the premortal world that our purpose in coming here is to be tested, tried, and stretched.” That stretching comes in as many forms as there are individuals experiencing it. I’ve never had to live through divorce, the pain and insecurity that comes from abandonment, or the responsibility associated with being a single mother. I haven’t experienced the death of a child, infertility, or same-gender attraction. I haven’t had to endure abuse, chronic illness, or addiction. These have not been my stretching opportunities.

So right now some of you are thinking, “Well then, Sister Stephens, you just don’t understand!” And I answer that you may be right. I don’t completely understand your challenges. But through my personal tests and trials—the ones that have brought me to my knees—I have become well acquainted with the One who does understand, He who was “acquainted with grief,” who experienced all and understands all.

Coming to know Christ is the true source of empathy, not simply personal experience.

As we use our time in mortality to study and apply the Savior’s teachings, we become more like Him. We come to understand that He is the way—the only way—we can overcome mortal challenges, be healed, and return back to our heavenly home.

Everyone experiences mortality, the studying comes between those who use the time to become more like our Father and our Savior and those who don’t.