Religion is an extremely touchy
topic to speak of. I think perhaps that
it’s because we all have deeply personal and often, strong beliefs. I don’t think we’re wrong to hold to our
beliefs, and my purpose here is not to discourage, criticize, or debase any
system of belief or faith. Faith is one
of the things that bring us together, with our faith we laugh, cry, and
strengthen each other. On the flip-side
though, we can also drive people apart with our beliefs and faith. My purpose here is to encourage the
former. To quote C.S. Lewis, he said that
faith or belief “is more like a hall out of which doors open into several
rooms. If I can bring anyone into that
hall I shall have done what I attempted.
But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs
and meals. The hall is a place to wait
in…. not a place to live in.” I simply
seek to bring you into the hall of faith.
I won’t pretend to not be pleased if you were to follow me into my
chosen room of belief. But my purpose is
to help you develop faith, and develop a stronger belief. C.S. Lewis also said that “IF you are a
Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religious are simply
wrong all through. . . If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all
those religious, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the
truth.”
Central to almost every system of
belief is a faith in a God. But who is
He? It’s a question that people have
been asking for a long time. It’s a
question that I’m sure people will continue asking. If I may, God is our Eternal Father and we
His children. And because we are His children, that means He loves us. I’ve always thought that as a Father, he is intensely
interested in our daily activities, much like my own father. My own father wants nothing more than for me
to succeed, and why would God be any different?
God being our Father, created us in His image, so thus He also has a
body of flesh and bone, it’s just simply perfected and glorified. We can even find evidence of this in Genesis
1: 26, where God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….”
We can even see the same law take place today, have you ever seen a dog have a
kitten? Or an apple seed produce a cherry
tree, or even a human being have a cow? (Now admittedly I have seen this….) God created mankind after the pattern of His
own body. More of a reason to love us? I think so.
As our
Father, he wants us to communicate with him, and we can do so through
prayer. He wants to hear of our
struggles, and our triumphs. Being at
college right now, I can say that my parents love when I call them, except when
I’m asking for money, and want to hear of the things going on in my life. Our Father in Heaven is no different, and
wants us to express our fears and our hopes.
He wants to bless us.
Our
Father in Heaven has provided us a way to return to Him after this life through
His Son Jesus the Christ. In the Book of
Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, it states that “…there is no other
name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the
children of men, only in and through the name of Christ….” (Mosiah 3:17) It is through the suffering and atonement of
Christ that we can return back to live with God, and it is through the
atonement of Christ that we can become clean to live in His presence.
Getting
to know God is a lifelong pursuit, it’s not something that we can do
overnight. It’s a process, and not
something that I or anyone else can teach you.
To know God, to gain a relationship with Him, one must first obey His
commandments. When one does that, they
must receive knowledge of God, His existence and personality through revelation. Jesus Christ spoke of this when He asked His
disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?”
Simon Peter then boldly proclaimed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” Whereas to that reply the
Savior said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 16: 15-17)
To close, I bear similar testimony. I can’t convince you that there is a God, or
that He is our Father. But I can bear my
own witness that I know that He is there.
That He loves us and cares for us.
I encourage all to gain this knowledge, as I know that it can bless
lives and heal broken hearts. It’s
through prayer that we gain a correct understanding of God and His love for us,
and I wish you luck in finding that knowledge for yourself.
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