I was asked to speak in church on father's day last month. This is what I shared with our congregation:
Good Afternoon brothers and sisters,
I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to speak this father’s day and to testify of Jesus Christ and of our Father in Heaven.
I have been blessed with great examples of fathers in my life. Today I would like to talk about 3 of the ad how their Christlike love for me changed my life.
1. I would like to begin with my own Father. I feel deep gratitude for my loving and hardworking father. He has always had a great attitude of hope towards life. I owe my sense of determination to him. He taught me by example that every goal I set can be attained with hard work and determination. One of the greatest goals I set for myself was to serve a full-time mission and return with honor. My father’s teaching of determination was what kept me from giving up on those hard days. My dad is not a member of the church, but He loves God, he serves Him to the best of his capacities and prays to Him. He trusts God. I know one day he will enjoy every blessing God has in store for Him.
God knew the challenges I would face and the difficulties I would have, and that is why He sent me a loving determined and hardworking father.
2. Another great blessing and example of a Father is my mission president. President N. has the purest and most Christlike love for all of his missionaries. His main goal for every one of his missionaries is to convert them to The Lord Jesus Christ. He has this same goal and focus for all of his children. He taught me by example how a father should treat his children, and how a husband should treat his wife.
God knew the challenges I would face and the difficulties I would have, and that is why I was called to a mission that was presided by a wonderful father.
3. Lastly I would like to speak about the greatest, most merciful and loving father and the focus of my talk today, our Father in Heaven. I testify of His reality, I testify of His mercy and I testify of His individual love for every single one of you.
Let me begin with reading the parable of the lost sheep first:
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
New Testament, King James Version, Luke 15:4-6
I would like to share with you one of the most sacred experiences I had on my mission that revealed to me just how much God knows me and made the parable of the lost sheep become real to me.
My companions and I had the opportunity to take some of our investigators to the Phoenix Arizona temple open house. It was an incredible and awe-inspiring experience. As we finished the tour and were walking away from the temple, I turned back to get one last look of this beautiful temple. As I saw the temple, I was overwhelmed with the spirit and it seemed like time stopped for a little while. In that moment the spirit whispered to me “I found you.” God wanted me to know that He found ME.
He wanted me to that He sent the missionaries to my home, that He had softened the hearts of my parents to allow me to me baptized when I was 12. He wanted me to know that He lowered the missionary age to allow me to serve a full-time mission.
He wanted me to know that He sought after me and that he found me.
Brothers and sisters, I testify that the God of this universe is the Father of our spirits.
God knew the challenges we would face and the difficulties we would have, He knew our weaknesses and our sins would bring us sorrow and that is why He sent us a Savior!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah! I testify that He is the greatest gift our Father in Heaven has given us and we must receive Him as that gift.
I add my testimony to King Bejamin’s when He said:
And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be 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, the Lord Omnipotent.
Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3:17
I would like to finish with a quote from a Mormon message called “Earthly Father, Heavenly Father.” This is a father speaking about his children and about his family and how his relationship to them allows him to comprehend how God feels about him.
I work that they may grow. They trust so deeply. How I yearn to do the same.
They see so little of how it all came to be--never questioning, only trusting.
I will be their protector. I will be their gentle friend. I will be my wife's faithful husband. I am a father.
I am also a son. And while I may not understand all that He does for me, I do know that all that I am and all that I have is because He's a father to me.
I now stand very aware of how it all came to be.
The video ends with the following quote from the quorum of the 12 apostles:
Of all the tittle of respect and honor and admiration that are given to deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father.
I testify that God is our Father and that He lives! I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Living Son of the Living God and because He lives, we too shall live forever.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Here are some links to scriptures I used and the video I quoted:
Mormon message, "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father": https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-002-earthly-father-heavenly-father?lang=eng
Bible Scriptures: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible?lang=eng
Book of Mormon Scriptures: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng
