written February 20, 2018
Before I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, no one ever told me that I was a child of God. No one pointed out the good in me or told me that I had the potential to be anything that would be of any significance to anyone. I always felt like the focus was more on what a screw up I was than anything else. Sadly, I don’t recall there being much love felt for us kids at home which makes me wonder how it is I ever learned to give love to others. To anyone out there who does not know, let me be the one to tell you-You are a child of God! You are of infinite worth to Him! You have potential beyond all comprehension as you allow Him into your heart and your life. I say this with great certainty and I pray that you know I mean every word I say to you. I testify to you of it’s reality because I see what our Savior has done for me.
Heavenly Father loves and cares for each one of us so much that He patiently instructs us time and time again until we are able to open our eyes and especially our hearts and truly see what He would have each of us know. I am so grateful for His loving patience in my own stubbornness and feel blessed in the knowledge I have that He has never given up on me. I know He will never give up on you either, for in D&C 18:10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. He has such great love for us, His children.
We have been instructed, even commanded if I may be so bold in saying, to liken the scriptures unto ourselves. So, read that verse with me again but this time hear Him speaking to you directly and with so much love, “Remember the worth of your soul is great in my sight.” There is so much power packed in those few words, how do you not feel His great love for you? How then do you not have a deep desire to see yourself even as He sees you?
The feelings of insignificance and no worth I have felt are part of my past, part of who I once was and what has helped shape me into the person I am in part today. My parents do not get credit for the person I have become thus far. No, credit for who I have become, for who I am still becoming is a three part gratitude factor. One part Heavenly Father and all that He truly encompasses. One part our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, His great sacrifice and His all encompassing Atonement.
The last part is me, my acceptance of and receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ into my heart and my life. Alma 5: 12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. My becoming a member of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Being filled with a willingness to love, honor and serve Him with my whole heart, nothing wavering. By being obedient to His commandments, every single one as best as I can. Having a deep desire to align my will with His will for me. The very nature of my faith in our Savior and His ability to truly change me through the Atonement being unshakable. Lastly, completely relying on my Heavenly Father and His love for me and the tremendous blessing and gift of the Holy Ghost.
We are changed through the atonement as we repent and turn away from sin. This is only the beginning of our potential, it begins with a simple desire. My potential began as a small, seemingly insignificant action, my desire to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Secretly, I wanted to know which church was true.
It has been said that small actions lead to great things. This verse in Alma 37:6 by small and simple things are great things brought to pass, certainly holds true. The desire I had for so many years eventually lead to the beginning of a chain of events in my life that remains in motion to this day. From my desire to know truth, Heavenly Father helped me to find it. Our Savior through His infinite atonement softened my heart so that I was able to receive this glorious truth. Once I had received the truth I had long searched for (a quest known only to me) I made the decision to become baptized,(a seemingly small act of faith). I was then blessed , as we each are, to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and was confirmed a member of the Church.
Our Savior does not intend to take anyone of us on a surface journey-where He would have us go requires us to be willing to go out of our bounds, into the uncharted deep waters so that He may show each of us who we truly are. He can’t take us if we don’t want to go and He won’t show us who we truly are if we aren’t completely determined to become who He sees us to be and if we aren’t wholeheartedly committed to Him.
A while back I read this book called The Peter Potential, it’s a short read as you can see but it took me 8 months to finish. I was married at the time (to another man) and sadly I knew my marriage was falling apart. Nothing I seemed to be doing was saving it and this book was stretching me in ways I wasn’t yet ready for so I shelved it for a while.
When I picked it up again months later I was ready for what Heavenly Father needed me to hear. He was asking me to give up what I wanted most, which was to be married and have a family. He wasn’t asking me to give it up because I was not deserving of it, though I did not deserve the marriage I was in then. He was asking me to give it up because He wanted more for me, so much more.
This presented to me an opportunity much like the one Peter had after the Savior was crucified. Though at first Peter went back to what he knew, he was a fisherman who found himself at sea once more casting his nets and coming up empty. We all know that story, its the one where the Savior called to Peter and extended to him one final invitation, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).
I gave Him what I was then, I was completely broken. I felt like a shell of a being. Deep down I thought I was a good person, I felt as though I had so much to offer but why was it I should feel that way?
No one had really ever shown me that there was more to me than what I had to offer in ways that only seemed to benefit them, that’s what my marriage surely felt like. I was useful but that doesn’t say much about my potential, not what truly lies within me. No one really saw me, not the real me. I don’t even know that I knew who I was but I thought I could see a little of who I could be. I just didn’t know how to make it happen.
Our Heavenly Father saw every bit of who I truly was, who I truly am and who I am capable of becoming as I rely upon Him. That was why He had asked me to do such a hard thing. It is in those broken states that we, at times find ourselves in, that He is there for us. It is in those moments our Savior is at our door knocking, hoping that at this moment we will let Him in, that we will make that choice to come and follow Him.
I am grateful for those humbling moments and for His ever present love where He takes us in His arms in a loving embrace and then takes us by the hand and helps us find our way; He helps us to see who we can truly be with His help. He shows us little by little our true potential.
I gave to Him my brokenness. Every piece of my shattered heart, it was all I had to offer. He has blessed it and He made it whole again. He made me whole again and is doing with my life so much more than I ever imagined possible. The changes I had seen in myself over the last 4 years (then), even as my marriage was failing, was only the beginning. He had been helping me to see my true potential from the very start.
D&C 76:10 For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—Psalms 44:21 … for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
If we once again liken this scripture unto ourselves, and expound on it, making it personal to us, “He knows the secrets of your heart…..my heart. What a tremendous blessing that is for us to see that He will enlighten each of us by His power and make known unto us the secrets of His will for us, we need only to have a desire and align our will with His. He already knows who we are, He desires to help us see who we truly are. We are the offspring of God, children of the Almighty King. How great then is our potential in this life?
Heavenly Father has always seen in me the things I was never quite able to see for myself. He knows my inner most desires, that has been proven to me as I have looked back on my life and seen His mighty hand guiding me towards the truth I long searched for. He knows the dreams of my heart; He understands me better than I understand myself. He has heard the prayers not only of my mouth but especially those of my heart. He knows how best to help me, if I will only listen and He has patiently taught me how to hear Him. He shows me how well He knows me as I read and study the scriptures and tells me not only the desires of my heart but gives me the confidence to achieve all that I hope to by telling me that I will.
We all wonder at times, sometimes more often than not, if we have anything of real value to offer to anyone in this life. The scriptures not only tell us but show us that our Heavenly Father has always used beings such as ourselves to bring about and accomplish extraordinary things. D&C 35:13 Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit.
Look at our first prophet Joseph Smith-chosen at the tender age of 14- and the words of praise given to him by our Heavenly Father in D&C 124:1 thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth.
It is by using people like Joseph Smith that has made it feel like less of a stretch to attain such wondrous things as have been accomplished by those who have gone before us because he, like you or I was weak, unlearned and yes despised. I am grateful for his strength, courage and especially his faith, willingness to obey our Father in Heaven and his great trust in Him and the plans Heavenly Father had for his life. I would be lost had it not been for him and the great potential Heavenly Father had always seen in him.
As I have come to truly trust in our Heavenly Father and rely upon Him the easier it has become for me to hear Him and His words for me, even in the most unlikely places. Recently I found that He can speak to me through a movie, it is the most amazing movie I have ever seen for so many reasons but mostly because He was there with me. Opening my eyes to a world that He has always envisioned for me, one that He has at times enlightened my mind to see.
Over time I become discouraged or distracted, thankfully He reveals to me again, His vision for me, each vision greater than the last, bringing about in me a tremendous well of hope and excitement beyond all comprehension showing me that my future is as bright as my faith, “Your future is as bright as your faith.” While we may not understand how bright our faith is nor how bright our future, there is one who does and always has known, our Heavenly Father.
Has anyone ever told you that you are destined for remarkable things, or said that you are extraordinary? Has anyone ever thought to tell you that there is a spark of greatness in you?
Think back to Peter, had anyone ever said those things to him? The answer to each of those questions is, Yes. The Lord has, He surely did with Peter. “He told him who he was. He showed him the possibility of who he could become. Without the Lord, Peter was just a simple fisherman. With The Lord his potential was immeasurable.” We are no different than Peter, without the Lord I am just me and you are you. Wildly great and amazing as we are think of how much greater we can each become as we rely upon Him who created us, who knows us personally, He knows our thoughts, desires and dreams.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
The movie I was talking about is The Greatest Showman. It was so powerful and beautifully overwhelming at times, I cried as they sang the song Come Alive…
But you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day
Sun is up and the color’s blinding
Take the world and redefine it
Leave behind your narrow mind
You’ll never be the same
Come alive, come alive
Go and ride your light
Let it burn so bright
Reaching up
To the sky
And it’s open wide
You’re electrified
Come Alive
Those lyrics, especially the part where it says to come alive, that is where I heard Him, where I still hear Him, every time I hear that song. He knows of the desires of my heart, He knows of my potential and He tells me so in D&C 11:8, 10-13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. 10 Behold, thou hast a gift, or thou shalt have a gift if thou wilt desire of me in faith, with an honest heart, believing in the power of Jesus Christ, or in my power which speaketh unto thee; 11 For, behold, it is I that speak; behold, I am the light which shineth in darkness, and by my power I give these words unto thee. 12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. 13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; 14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.
With all my heart, I know that He knows the desires of your heart, He knows of your true potential, He can and will tell you these same things. Are you willing to let Him in? Will you give to Him all that there is of you, every broken, shattered piece? Will you allow Him to make you more than you ever dreamed possible?
Before I close, I would like to share with you one more scripture from Isaiah 61:3 to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
I testify to you of our Heavenly Father’s great love for each one of us. There are no bounds we can step beyond where He is not able to reach us. I have been outside the bounds He has set before us and He has truly rescued me. I testify to you of our Savior’s great love and sacrifice to save each and every one of us, we only have to choose to follow Him.
I promise you with all of my heart it is a choice you will not ever regret, I don’t, I move forward with great excitement and much anticipation for all that He is willing to bless me with. I testify of His ability to not only help us see our true potential but to help us rise to our true potential.
There is no limit to what our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ can do with a willing heart. I know this to be true, I see them working through me. It is my heartfelt prayer that you will allow them to share with you how they see you, that you will allow them to help you rise to your potential. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
