God among Us | Dieter F. Uchtdorf | April 2021

throughout the ages god has spoken through his servants the prophets this morning we have had the privilege to hear the prophet of god speak to all the world we love you president nelson and i encourage everyone everywhere to study and heed your words my dear brothers and sisters before i reach my 12th birthday our family had been forced twice to flee our home and start amid the chaos fear and uncertainties caused by war and political division it was an anxious time for me but it must have been terrifying for my beloved parents my mother and father shared little about this burden with us four children they bore the strain and suffering as best as they could the fear must have been oppressive and consuming their hours and dampening their hope this time of bleakness after world war ii left its mark upon the world it left its mark upon me back then in the solitude of my loneliest hours i often wondered is there any hope left in the world as i pondered these questions i thought about our young american missionaries who served among us during those years they had left the safety of their homes have rolled away and traveled to germany land of their reasoned enemies to offer divine hope to our people they came not to blame lecture or shame they willingly gave off their young lives without thought of earthly gain wanting only to help others find the joy and peace they had experienced to me these young men and women were perfect i'm sure they had flaws but not to me i will always think of them as being bigger than life angels of light and glory ministers of compassion goodness and truth while the world was drowning in cynicism bitterness hatred and fear the example and teachings of these young people filled me with hope the gospel message they offered transcended politics history grudges grievances and personal agendas it gave divine answers to important questions we had during these difficult times the message was that god lived and cared about us even in these hours of turmoil confusion and chaos that he actually appeared in our time to restore truth and light his gospel and his church that he speaks to prophets again that god is among us and is personally involved in our lives and actively guiding his children it is astonishing what we can learn when we look a little closer to our heavenly father's plan of salvation and exaltation the plan of happiness for his children when we feel insignificant cast off and forgotten we learn that we may be assured that god has not forgotten us in fact that he offers to all his children something unimaginable to become heirs of god and joint heirs with christ what does this mean that we will live forever receive a fullness of joy and have the potential to inherit thrones kingdoms principalities and powers it is so humbling to know that this magnificent and supernal future is possible not because of who we are but because of who god is knowing this how could we ever murmur or remain embittered how could we ever keep our eyes on the ground when the king of kings invites us to take flight into an unimaginable future of divine happiness because of god's perfect love for us and the eternal sacrifice of jesus christ our sins both great and small can be blotted out and remembered no more we can stand before him pure worthy and sanctified my heart overflows with gratitude for my heavenly father i realize that he has not doomed his children to stumble through mortality without hope for a bright and eternal future he has provided instructions that reveal the way back to him and at the center of it all is his beloved son jesus christ and his sacrifice for us the savior's infinite atonement completely changes the way we may view our transgressions and imperfections instead of dwelling on them and feeling irredeemable or hopeless we can learn from them and feel hopeful the cleansing gift of repentance allows us to leave our sins behind and emerge a new creature because of jesus christ our failures do not have to define us they can refine us like in musician rehearsing scales we can see our missteps flaws and sins as opportunities for greater self-awareness deeper and more honest love for others and refinement through repentance if we repent mistakes do not disqualify us they are part of our progress we are all infants compared to the beings of glory and grandeur we are designed to become no mortal being advances from crawling to walking to running without frequent stumbles bumps and bruises that is how we learn if we earnestly keep practicing always striving to keep god's commandments and committing our efforts to repenting enduring and applying what we learn line upon line we will gather light into our souls and through and though we may not fully comprehend our full potential now we know that when the savior shall appear we will see his countenance in us and shall see him as he is what a glorious promise yes the world is in turmoil and yes we have weaknesses but we do not need to hang our head in despair because we can trust god we can trust his son jesus christ and we can accept the gift of the spirit to guide us on this path toward a life filled with joy and divine happiness i often wondered what would jesus teach and do if he were among us today after the resurrection jesus christ fulfilled his promise to visit his other sheep the book of mormon another testament of jesus christ speaks of such an appearance to the people on the american continent we have this precious record as a tangible witness of the savior's work the people of the book of mormon lived on the other side of the globe their histories cultures and political climates were vastly different from the people jesus taught during his mortal ministry and yet he taught them many of the same things he taught in the holy land why would he do that the savior always teaches timeless truth they apply to people of every age and in any circumstance his message was and is a message of hope and belonging a testimony that god our heavenly father has not abandoned his children that god is among us 200 years ago the savior again returned to earth together with god the father he appeared to 14 year old joseph smith and ushered in the restoration of the gospel and the church of jesus christ from that day forward the heavens opened and heavenly messages descended from halls of immortal glory light and knowledge poured from forth from the celestial throne the lord jesus christ spoke once again to the world what did he say to our blessing many of his words are recorded in the doctrine and covenants available to anyone in the world who wishes to read and study them how priceless are these words to us today and we should not be surprised to find that the savior again teaches the core message of his gospel thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart with all thy might mind and strength and in the name of jesus christ thou shalt serve him he inspires us to seek god and live by the teachings he has revealed to his servants the prophets he teaches us to love one another and to be full of charity towards all men he invites us to be his hands to go about doing good let us not love in word but indeed and in truth he challenges us to heed his great commission to love to share to invite all to his gospel and his church he commands us to build holy temples and to enter and serve there he teaches us to become his disciples that our hearts should not strive for personal power wealth approval or position he teaches us to lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better he urges us to seek joy enlightenment peace truth happiness and the promise of immortality and eternal life let us take this a step further suppose jesus came to your ward to your branch or to your home today what would that be like he would see right into your heart outward appearances would lose their importance he would know you as you are he would know your heart's desires the meek and the humble he would lift the sick he would heal the doubting he would infuse with faith and courage to believe he would teach us to open our hearts to god and reach out to others he would recognize and honor honesty humility integrity faithfulness compassion and charity one look into his eyes and we would never be the same we would be forever changed transformed by the profound realization that indeed god is among us i look back with kindness on the young man i was during my growing up years if i could go back in time i would comfort him and tell him to stay on the right track and keep searching and i would ask him to invite jesus christ into his life for god is among us to you my dear brothers and sisters my dear friends and to all who are searching for answers truth and happiness i do offer the same counsel keep searching with faith and patience ask and you will receive knock and it will be opened unto you trust the lord in our daily life it is our paramount task and blessed opportunity to encounter god as we set aside pride and approach his throne with a broken heart and a contrite spirit he will draw near to us as we seek to follow jesus christ and walk the path of discipleship lined up online the day will come that we will experience that unimaginable gift of receiving a fullness of joy my beloved friends your heavenly father loves you with a perfect love he has proven his love in endless ways but above all by giving his only begotten son as a sacrifice and as a gift to his children to make the return to our heavenly father to our heavenly parents a reality i bear witness that our heavenly father lives that jesus christ leads his church that president ruslan nelson is his prophet i extend to you my love and blessing at this joyful easter season open your hearts to our savior and redeemer no matter your circumstances trials sufferings or mistakes you can know that he lives and that he loves you and because of him you will never be alone god is among us of this i testify and bear witness in the sacred name of jesus christ amen you

Channel: General Conference

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Length: 15min 45sec (945 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 03 2021