The First Great Truth of Eternity

I love the undeniable evidences that Heavenly Father knows us and loves us individually. While there is always evidence of God’s love, sometimes we are blessed to have such profound evidences that our lives are touched in such a way that we are never quite the same. I was blessed to be part of one of those a few weeks ago. A dear friend of mine asked me to speak at her stake girls’ camp. The theme for camp was “A Perfect Brightness of Hope.” Their acronym for bright was “Being Righteous in Gaining Heartfelt Testimony” and was the topic she wanted me to talk about.

The Saturday before camp, while I was out pulling the weeds from my flower garden, I found myself thinking about someone close to our family who had struggled for several years to gain a testimony. She didn’t grow up in the best situation. Abuse was all too familiar to her. So to protect herself, she shut off her feelings. Doing so, however, made it so she didn’t feel much of anything, especially spiritual things. She couldn’t remember ever feeling the Holy Ghost. Ideally, we learn to understand that our Heavenly Father loves us because we have an earthly father who shows us unconditional love. Sadly, this was not her experience. Imagine trying to gain a testimony without understanding such important things! That morning in the garden, the Spirit sweetly reminded me that even though my friend was doing all the things she had been taught to do to gain a testimony it wasn’t until she truly understood that she had a Heavenly Father who loved her that she was able to gain a testimony.

I left the garden and called my friend and shared this experience with her. Was this a spiritual impression to change my talk? Were there young women in her stake that needed to hear this? Were there girls who were trying to gain a heartfelt testimony but hadn’t and didn’t know why? She and I agreed this was indeed the direction Heavenly Father wanted me to go. Over the next three days, I prayed a lot! And studied a lot! When I began to write down my thoughts, they came so clearly and so quickly. And that never happens! I study, study more, stress over, write and rewrite every talk or blog I ever do! So of course there would be a catch! While my husband and I were driving up to camp, I had a very clear impression that I was not to read what I had prepared. Rather, I was to look at these young women and speak to them from my heart! And so I did. What an incredibly tender experience it was. When we got to camp, the dark clouds were gathering! Soon the rain came. It was obviously going to be impossible to meet at the amphitheater. The only covered place was the pavilion where the girls had just finished their dinner. Under less than favorable circumstances, we had an incredible spiritual experience.

Before I began, I asked if we could all stand and recite the Young Women theme – with a small change. I asked them to replace the word “we” each time with the word “I.” There was such a sweet spirit that came over me, and I hope each person there felt the same, as I proudly proclaimed, “I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me! And I love Him!” After the theme, I shared with them the experience that I had in my flower garden. I won’t share everything I said that night, but I do want to share a couple of things that should be significant to each of us. In April’s general conference Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “The first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life.”1 I believe knowing that Heavenly Father loves us is the foundation stone of our testimony. It is the first crucial step in gaining a heartfelt testimony.

The perfect evidence of Heavenly Father’s love for us is the gift of His Beloved Son! Jesus Christ is our older brother. He is our Savior. He is our example. President Howard W. Hunter said, “There is but one guiding light in the universe, only one truly infallible light, one unfailing beacon to the world. That light is Jesus Christ!”2 Gaining heartfelt testimony of that reality will change your life!

Another gift we have been given which evidences our Heavenly Father’s love is the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has many jobs – comforter, teacher, protector. It is the Holy Ghost that will testify of the truthfulness of the gospel, that God is our Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Do whatever you have to do to be worthy of that precious gift!

With tears falling down my cheeks, I read these sweet young women some of the most encouraging words I’ve ever heard, once again from Elder Holland, “If we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow – and every other day – is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don’t always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a plan predicated on the truth ‘that all things work together for good to them that love God.’ So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow and forever.”1

Life’s experiences have made me love and rely on my testimony! Because of those experiences which have deepened my convictions, I think of myself as an old soul. So at times I feel a little out of place with the young women. But not this night. There was such a beautiful spirit! I could see in their eyes they were really listening, really understanding. I brought the beautiful painting by Simon Dewey of the Savior holding the oil lamp. I asked the girls to look at the painting as I played the song from “Tangled.” Soon they were quietly singing along. “Standing here it’s all so clear I’m where I’m meant to be. And at last I see the light, and it’s like the sky is new. And it’s warm and real and bright. And the world has somehow shifted. All at once everything looks different – now that I see you.”

Life is going to be hard! We will have challenges. There will be things happen that will test our faith. But when we know Heavenly Father loves us, when we trust Him and His timing, when we rely on the Savior and His Atonement, and when we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, then life will be different! It will be warm and real and bright!

Being righteous in gaining heartfelt testimony was the challenge given to these young women at camp and it is a worthy goal we should each strive for. If you don’t have a testimony, it is never too late. Do whatever you need to do to get it. If you have one, do whatever it takes to keep it. A heartfelt testimony requires time and attention every day. Harold B. Lee cautioned, “That which you possess today in testimony will not be yours tomorrow unless you do something about it.”3

When the young woman came up to give the closing prayer, she couldn’t speak for a minute. Then with tears in her eyes, she said, “Sorry! I just really needed to hear that.” After her prayer, I had so many young women hug me and say, “Thank you! I needed that.” Here was a perfect example of Heavenly Father loving His children! He knew what these young women needed to hear! He wanted His precious young daughters to know He loves them and that is why I had the experience in the garden that I did.

He knows us individually. He loves us individually. He is our loving Father. That is the first great truth of eternity.