by Rosemary M. Wixom
Primary General President
Divinity = the status or quality of being divine
Divine = like God
"God has a plan for each one of us, and our individual purpose began long before we came to this earth."
Have you ever stopped to really think and ponder:
. What is God's plan for you?
. What is your individual purpose?
.What does your patriarchal blessing tell you about your individual reason for being who you am?
From The Family: A Proclamation to the World we are told that "each one of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents'and each has a divine nature and destiny."
I am a Child of God. Therefore, what?
Fill in the Blank!
Fill in the Blank!
What does being a child of God mean to you?
What qualities does a child of God possess?
How does a child of God act?
How does a child of God act?
With this knowledge, what are our responsibilities?
What will you do to live your life as a child of God?
I loved Larry R. Lawrence's talk from the Saturday morning session. He said we can always ask Heavenly Father, through prayer, "What is keeping me from inheriting Thy divine qualities?" or "What should I be doing or not doing to become more like Thee?" The Holy Ghost will then give us a customized answer.
As His child, He loves us more than we can even begin to understand. In fact there is so much love that "Heavenly Father generously shares a portion of His divinity (the quality to become like Him) within us."
This is also known as our divine nature. What is divine nature?
In an article in the October 2014 New Era defines Divine Nature as :
The ability to become like God.
"Through the Atonement, we can ultimately become like our Heavenly Father if we keep our covenants. To become like Him means to take on his nature (His features, characteristics, and attributes) - the divine nature. Associated with this divine nature are certain spiritual attributes. . .taught throughout the scriptures."
"Our divine nature (this ability to become like God) has nothing to do with our personal accomplishments, the status we achieve, the number of marathons we run, or our popularity and self-esteem. Our divine nature comes from God. . ."
We all want to feel special, validated, noteworthy and unique. Sometimes we allow our acceptance, and recognition to come from worldly accomplishments, instead of from God.
I saw a quote on Pinterest that totally illustrates this.
Sister Wixom continues,
"Looking through a window (focusing on serving and lifting others), not just into a mirror (focusing only on ourselves and our accomplishments), allows us to see ourselves as His. We naturally turn to prayer, and we are eager to read His words and to do His will. We are able to take our validation vertically from Him, not horizontally from the world around us or from those on Facebook or Instagram."
In a social media world, I think this is so important to remember. Our worth is still the same whether we have 1000 'likes' or only one 'like'.
"If you ever question that spark of divinity within you, (don't search for it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter), kneel in prayer and ask Heavenly Father: "Am I really Thy daughter, and doest Thou love me?"
I promise he will answer.
"One of the sweetest messages the Spirit will relay is how the Lord feels about you."
Divine Nature breathes into us and ignites in us the desire to:
-serve others
-reach out to others
-find peace
-follow the prophet
-remember our Savior
"Because you are His child, He knows who you can become. He knows your fears and your dreams. He relishes your potential. He waits for you to come to Him in prayer. Because you are His child, you not only need Him, but He also needs you. Those sitting around you right now in this meeting need you. The world needs you, and your divine nature allows you to be His trusted disciple to all His children. Once we begin to see the divinity in ourselves, we can see it in others."