Wednesday's Word

"Thou has loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity." (Ether 12:33-34)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland wrote: "True charity has been known only once. It is shown perfectly and purely in Christ's unfailing, ultimate, and atoning love for us....It is as demonstrated in Christ that 'charity never faileth.' It is that charity—his pure love for us—without which we would be nothing, hopeless, of all men and women most miserable. Truly, those found possessed of the blessings of his love at the last day—the Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise—surely it shall be well with them" (Christ and the New Covenant, 336).

Having experienced the love of God in our lives through his forgiveness and his divine enabling power, we are in a position to reach out, lift up, and liberate those who struggle with life's challenges. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another....We love him [and our brothers and sisters], because he first loved us" (1 John 4:11, 19).

(When Ye Shall Receive These Things, 380)

Romans 8:16-17

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

I am a child of God — this song is well known and well beloved by every 3 year old I teach in nursery class on Sunday. It is a crucial principle of the gospel that explains the "why" of so many doctrines the prophets have taught. God provided a Savior for us, and Christ accepted the call to be our Savior, because we are His children and He loves us. He pours blessings upon us because we are His children and He loves us. He gives us weakness and challenges because we are His children and He loves us. We are heirs of the kingdom of God. That means, if we suffer with Christ, or take upon ourselves His name and His commandments, we are eligible to receive "all the Father hath", just as Christ will. We are eligible to receive of His glory and of His power. Why? Because we are His children, and He loves us.

Psalm 1

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

I love this psalm. It describes so well the character of a righteous person. I use this psalm as a personal standard, and for self analysis to see how I am doing as a disciple of Christ. The blessings of this psalm especially give me comfort – "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water...whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Have you ever seen trees that grow along riverbanks? Their roots are thick and strong, and well established through the ground. They grow tall and beautiful because they have an unending supply of water. That is what we can be like when we plant ourselves in the Gospel's fertile soil. We are forever watered and nourished by Christ's atonement and mercy, which is like a river of water that never dries up. This is what I want to be like.