And This Is Life Eternal

There​ is plenty of good stuff here but the chaos at home is such that I can’t write.

Come to know God for yourself.

Jesus Christ taught many truths that explain Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness and your place in it. I’ll focus on two of these to help you understand your identity as a child of God and know your purpose in life.

First: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Second: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Please keep these truths in mind—they teach why—as I seek to describe how you and all of us can come to know God.

My young friends, we can begin to know God through prayer.
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When you pray with faith, you will feel God’s love as His Spirit speaks to your soul. No matter how alone or uncertain you may feel at times, you are not alone in this world. God knows you, personally. As you pray, you will come to know Him.

As you study the scriptures, you not only learn about the Savior, but you can actually come to know the Savior.

In April 1985, Elder Bruce R. McConkie spoke in general conference—just 13 days before he died. He concluded with this testimony:

“I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

“But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.”

Those of us who heard Elder McConkie speak that day have never forgotten how we felt. As he began his talk, he revealed why his witness was so powerful. He said:

“In speaking of these wondrous things I shall use my own words, though you may think they are the words of scripture. …

“True it is they were first proclaimed by others, but they are now mine, for the Holy Spirit of God has borne witness to me that they are true, and it is now as though the Lord had revealed them to me in the first instance. I have thereby heard his voice and know his word.”

I was only 8 at the time of that talk and i Don’t remember hearing it live (I doubt I was paying attention to it at that age) but I do remember Mom commenting afterwards that it was the most powerful talk she had ever heard. I have since come to feel the same way as I have both read and listened to the talk multiple times. It was truly a seminal witness in church history and especially my lifetime.

In addition to our praying and studying the scriptures, we need to do God’s will.

The Savior is our perfect example. He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

When the resurrected Savior appeared to the Nephites, He said, “Behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”

You and I do the will of the Father by honoring our covenants, keeping the commandments, and serving God and our fellowmen.

It’s hard to believe that married men were called to serve missions recently enough that children of such men are still with us.

The Savior tells us that the very best way to know God is to become like Him. He taught: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”

Worthiness is essential to becoming like Him. He commanded, “Sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands … that I may make you clean.” Starting on the road to becoming like Him, we repent and receive His forgiveness, and He cleanses our souls.

Through our faith in His atoning sacrifice, the Savior cleanses us, heals us, and enables us to know Him by helping us become like Him. Mormon taught, “Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, … that ye may become the sons [and daughters] of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him.” As we strive to become like God, He can make of us more than we could ever make of ourselves.

To help us in our striving, God has given us role models and mentors. I want to share my feelings about one of mine, Elder Neal A. Maxwell. He constantly sought to submit his will to the will of the Father in his effort to become like God.

More than 20 years ago, he shared his feelings with me after he had just been diagnosed with cancer. He told me, “I want to be on the team, on this side [of the veil] or that side. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines. I want to play in the game.”

I am jealous of his close association with Elder Maxwell.

My young brothers and sisters, knowing God is the quest of a lifetime. “And this is life eternal, that [we] might know … the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [the Father] hast sent.”

“Shall we not go on in so great a cause? … Courage, [my young friends]; and on, on to the victory!”

God knows you and invites you to know Him. Pray to the Father, study the scriptures, seek to do God’s will, strive to become like the Savior, and follow righteous mentors. As you do, you will come to know God and Jesus Christ, and you will inherit eternal life. This is my invitation to you as an ordained special witness of Them. They live. They love you. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.