Developing a Personal Relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ

This week I have been thinking about the last general conference and trying to finish the conference issue Ensign before the next one comes out. Going through it so fast with a highlighter was really amazing. Do you know there was a major underlying theme in most of the talks? It was that Heavenly Father knows and notices us. He knows our trials, sorrows and our joys. He remembers us and wants to help and bless us. He is waiting for us to develop a personal relationship with Him and to come to Him in prayer to ask for the things that we need. Those ideas were in almost half the talks in the November 2011 General Conference.

I talked to my husband about it last night and about how it was such a reoccurring theme throughout the conference. He said that in our minds we know that it’s true that Heavenly Father loves and cares about us but sometimes it is hard to feel it in our hearts. I had that problem once and then I was called into the stake. I found that in order to serve the Lord, I had to have that personal relationship because it was a calling that I was unable to do on my own. It seems that it takes going through times of difficulty and hardship that forces us to develop a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father

As I read through the talks it seems there are steps to developing this relationship. First you must have sincere prayer. Like any relationship communication is so important and when we communicate with Heavenly Father we do it through prayer. Sometimes we think that we can only pray for big things but if you go to Alma 34:17-27 it says to pray for your houses, flocks, fields, crops and basically everything. Things may seem small and trivial to others, but what is important to you is important to the Lord.

Another thing we need to do is study the scriptures. That is were we find revelation and where our Heavenly Father can speak personally to us. I love reading the Doctrine and Covenants because the Lord seems to speak to me through the Doctrine and Covenants. I can put my name in the place of whosever name is mentioned. D&C 6 has become a special section to me because as I was reading it, it was if the Lord were saying the same words to me. It is through the scriptures where we really learn about our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. I love the Book of Mormon too. I love Nephi, Moroni, Alma, all the wonderful prophets and their teachings. I think if I were on Survivor, my personal item would be the Book of Mormon with a picture of my family taped inside.

Then finally you need to keep the commandments and serve others. We tend to be drawn to people who like the things we do, and who are like us. If we are like our Heavenly Father or if we are trying to be like Heavenly Father we will seek Him more. When I think of the Savior I think of his love, care and compassion. He took time to bless those in need. He called children to come unto him and he blessed them. He taught, rebuked with love, and cared for each one individually. He still does that now! The personal relationship you develop with your Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ will help you to overcome any trial or adversity that may be in your way.

"A Hair of His Head Shall Not Fall to the Ground Unnoticed" D&C 84:116

The other day I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants. A scripture popped out at me, as scriptures tend to do sometimes. It was such a random scripture and one that you would usually pass over in your reading. The scripture was; "Let him trust in me and he shall not be confounded; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed" D&C 84:116. I thought about a hair from your head. Have you ever noticed the amount of hair that you pull from your hairbrush after brushing your hair? You really don't miss them from your head and you wouldn't know they were gone if you didn't find them in your brush. But the Lord notices, a hair is such a little thing but He notices when it falls. That thought stuck in my mind for a few days and every time I would see a hair I would think that the Lord has noticed this hair.

Yesterday just as we were sitting down to dinner the phone rang. The call display said the call was from Utah but I didn’t recognize the number. When I answered, it was an Elder Lund calling from Lisbon, Portugal. At first I was worried about Sister Thomas. She has been serving a mission in Lisbon and has been there for only two weeks. Elder and Sister Lund are also serving a mission in Lisbon. They told me that they had spent the evening with Sister Thomas and what a wonderful sister she was. Sister Lund had given her a hug and fed Sister Thomas and her companion brownies. They also told me that she looks good and has a sweet spirit about her. Sister Lund also asked about what kind of cake Sister Thomas likes because she wants to make a cake for her and make sure that she gets her birthday parcel on her birthday next Tuesday. The joy that filled my heart after talking to the Lund’s was indescribable. I had been so worried about my daughter, in a new country, learning a new language and being alone. There in the mission field was a senior couple from Utah with loving hearts taking care of my daughter and the other missionaries in Lisbon.

I thought again about the lost hairs in a hairbrush. The Lord notices us; He knows when we need a little help or comfort. Having someone in Lisbon who would love and care for my daughter may have been just a little thing in the eyes of the world, but to me it was a big concern. I am so grateful for senior missionaries who serve around the world and the love and support that they offer to young missionaries.  “A hair of his head will not fall to the ground unnoticed.”