Heavenly Father Quotes

This Sabbath day has been designated as a day of thanksgiving, a day of gratitude-even a day of prayer. We pause, we ponder, we reflect on the blessings an all-wise Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us, His children, by bringing peace to the battlefield of war and comfort to the hearts of so many in this wonderful world where we live and which we call home ~ Thomas S. Monson

Once I look at the story of the prodigal son with the eyes of faith, the "return" of the prodigal becomes the return of the Son of God who has drawn all people into himself and brings them home to his heavenly Father. As Paul says: "God wanted all fullness to be found in him and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth. ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

The heavenly Father is a hope to the hopeless. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

Is it a fact that those who believe in a Heavenly Father do so because or partly because their earthly fathers were inadequate? I doubt it. If it is a fact, however, it is of psychological rather than theological interest. It may help us understand theists, but it tells us nothing at all about the truth of their belief; to that it is simply irrelevant. ~ Alvin Plantinga

For the first time in my life, I fully realized that I was not in charge. I knew that I needed to submit to Heavenly Father's will. I couldn't have what I wanted when and how I wanted it just because I was keeping the commandments. The purpose of prayer was not to tell Heavenly Father what to do, rather to find out what He would have me do and learn. I needed to align my will with His ... Prayer is less about changing our circumstances and more about changing us. It is about seeking His will and asking for His help to do what we need to do."
June 2013 Ensign, "Improving Your Personal Prayers ~ Kevin W. Pearson

Leaving home is living as though I do not yet have a home, and must look far and wide to find one. Home is the center of my being, where I can hear the voice that says, "You are my beloved. On you my favor rests," the same voice that gave life to the first Adam and spoke to Jesus, the second Adam. The same voice that speaks to all the children of God and sets them free to live in the midst of a dark world while remaining in the light. I have heard that voice. It has spoken to me in the past and continues to speak to me now. It is the never-interrupted voice of love speaking from eternity and giving life and love wherever it is heard. When I hear that voice, I know that I am home with God and have nothing to fear. As the beloved of my heavenly Father, "I can walk in the valley of darkness: no evil would I fear." As the beloved I can "cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils." Having "received without charge," I can "give without charge." As the Beloved, I can confront, console, admonish, and encourage without fear of rejection or need for affirmation. As the Beloved I can suffer persecution without desire for revenge and receive praise without using it as a proof of my goodness. As the Beloved I can be tortured and killed without ever having to doubt that the love that is given to me is stronger than death. As the Beloved I am free to live and give life, free also to die while giving life.
Jesus has made it clear to me that the same voice that h ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another. ~ M. Russell Ballard

In our search to obtain relief from the stresses of life, may we earnestly seek ways to simplify our lives. May we comply with the inspired counsel and direction the Lord has given us in the great plan of happiness. May we be worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost and follow the guidance of the Spirit as we navigate this mortal journey. May we prepare ourselves to accomplish the ultimate purpose of this mortal test-to return and live with our Heavenly Father. ~ L. Tom Perry

Heavenly Father, we thank You for preserving Jayden's life," Telford prayed. "Heal him physically and heal him spiritually as well. Jayden's a good child, but his heart is prone to wander. Even though he hasn't yet believed in You, we know that He's Yours. Help us as his friends and family to help him through his confusion and pain. However, we can't save him - only You can do that, and so we pray that You'll open his eyes and heart to Your love. Have him to ~ Juliette Duncan

The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts - what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts - what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. ~ Layne Packer

It doesn't matter if it's in my class or around the world, anywhere, the first thing I say is "First of all guys, I want to give my Heavenly Father credit for all I do and the Lord Jesus Christ to give me the opportunity to go out and reach and save lives." To me, that's the most important thing. ~ Billy Blanks

The pure love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment and wrath from our eyes, allowing us to see others the way our Heavenly Father sees us: as flawed and imperfect mortals who have potential and worth far beyond our capacity to imagine. Because God loves us so much, we too must love and forgive each other. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The ways of God "Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."1 Holy Scripture never orders and never counsels us to do the impossible. By these words, then, the Lord Jesus does not command us to accomplish the very works and ways of God, which no one can attain in perfection. But He invites us to model ourselves on them, as much as is possible, by applying ourselves to imitate them. We can do this with the help of grace and we should do so. And as the Bishop John said, nothing is more suitable to man than to imitate his Creator, and to carry out, to the degree that he is able, the will of God. ~ Thomas Aquinas

Our heavenly Father understands our disappointment, suffering, pain, fear, and doubt. He is always there to encourage our hearts and help us understand that He's sufficient for all of our needs. When I accepted this as an absolute truth in my life, I found that my worrying stopped. ~ Charles Stanley

Assistance will come unto you through the Holy Ghost as spiritual guidance. It is a power, beyond your own capability, that a loving Heavenly Father wants you to use consistently for your peace and happiness. ~ Richard G. Scott

We Let the Boat Drift

I set out for the pond, crossing the ravine
where seedling pines start up like sparks
between the disused rails of the Boston and Maine.

The grass in the field would make a second crop
if early autumn rains hadn't washed
the goodness out. After the night's hard frost
it makes a brittle rustling as I walk.

The water is utterly still. Here and there
a black twig sticks up. It's five years today,
and even now I can't accept what cancer did
to him -- not death so much as the annihilation
of the whole man, sense by sense, thought
by thought, hope by hope.

Once we talked about the life to come.
I took the Bible from the nightstand
and offered John 14: "I go to prepare
a place for you.""Fine. Good," he said.
"But what about Matthew? 'You, therefore,
must be perfect, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.'" And he wept.

My neighbor honks and waves driving by.
She counsels troubled students; keeps bees;
her goats follow her to the mailbox.

Last Sunday afternoon we went canoeing on the pond. Something terrible at school had shaken her. We talked quietly far from shore. The paddles
rested across our laps; glittering drops
fell randomly from their tips. The light
around us seemed alive. A loon-itinerant-
let us get quite close before it dove, coming up
after a long time, and ~ Jane Kenyon

It is a happy moment when our desire crosses with the will of Heavenly Father. ~ C.S. Lewis

We are Heavenly Father's children. He wants to be a part of our lives, to bless us, and to help us. He will heal our wounds, dry our tears, and help us along our path to return to His presence. As we look to Him, He will lead us. ~ Carl B. Cook

According to Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36, God promised to impart His law into us, to change our heart, to regenerate our spirit, and to put His Spirit within us. As a result, we have the inward law, which is actually God Himself, to produce in us not only what God requires, but also what God is. This was the reason the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). When the divine life within us grows to perfection, we shall be perfect even as our Father is perfect. ~ Witness Lee

Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of his servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in power to save than our narrow finite minds can comprehend. ~ Orson F. Whitney

Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously. ~ Richard G. Scott

Heavenly Father - take to thee The supreme iniquity Fashioned by thy candid Hand In a moment contraband - Though to trust us seem to us More respectful - We are Dust - We apologize to thee For thine own Duplicity. ~ Emily Dickinson

But the Christian also knows that he not only cannot and dare not be anxious, but that there is no need for him to be so. Neither anxiety now work can secure his daily bread, for bread is the gift of the Father. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Until we are sure, until we settle the issue of forgiveness once and for all, two things will always be true. First, we will never have much confidence when we petition our heavenly Father. We will always feel that God is holding something against us. Second, we will put others on the same scale we put ourselves on. Since we are always trying to do something to ensure our forgiveness, we will subconsciously pressure others to perform to gain our forgiveness. We will have a tendency to remind others of their failures and their need to make up for them in some way. ~ Charles F. Stanley

He 'so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life' (John 3:16). This is the Almighty of whom I stand in awe and reverence. It is He to whom I look in fear and trembling. It is He whom I worship and unto whom I give honor and praise and glory. He is my Heavenly Father, who has invited me to come unto Him in prayer, to speak with Him, with the promised assurance that He will hear and respond. I thank Him for the light and knowledge and understanding He has bestowed upon His children. I thank Him for His voice, which has spoken eternal truth with power and promise. I thank Him for His declaration at the baptism of His Beloved Son in the waters of Jordan when His voice was heard saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

A PRAYER FOR SUCCESS "Then he prayed, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.'" GENESIS 24:12 HEAVENLY FATHER, I pray for success in all I do. Guide me in everything. Show me where I have proceeded with something without first inquiring of You. Enable me to understand Your measure of success and not try to impose my own. My goal is to serve You, knowing that any success I have will be achieved only by walking perfectly in Your will. Only if success comes from You can it be enjoyed. ~ Stormie O'martian

Love is this divine ingredient. It alone describes what can be our perfect relationship to our Heavenly Father and our family and neighbors, and the means by which we accomplish His work. ~ David B. Haight

Heavenly Father, for the blessings of this food and these friends and our families, we thank you. In Jesus's name, amen. ~ William Kent Krueger

There were certain great principles involved in the organization of this earth, and one was that there might be a place provided whereon the children of our Heavenly Father could live and propagate their species and have bodies formed for the spirits to inhabit who were the children of God; for ... He is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. ~ John Taylor

Our loving Heavenly Father wants us to become more like him. God understands that we get there not in an instant, but by taking one step at a time. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Even if you cannot always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you seek. He does love you, and He knows your fears. He hears your prayers. He is your Heavenly Father, and surely He matches with His own the tears His children shed. ~ Jeffrey R. Holland

We have trials to face because our Heavenly Father loves us. His purpose is to help us qualify for the blessing of living with Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, forever in glory and in families. ~ Henry B. Eyring

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to have a love for the lost? This is a term we use as part of our Christian jargon. Many believers search their hearts in condemnation, looking for the arrival of some feeling of benevolence that will propel them into bold evangelism. It will never happen. It is impossible to love "the lost". You can't feel deeply for an abstraction or a concept. You would find it impossible to love deeply an unfamiliar individual portrayed in a photograph, let alone a nation or a race or something as vague as "all lost people".
Don't wait for a feeling or love in order to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him, but separated from Him, so take those first steps in evangelism because you love God. It is not primarily out of compassion for humanity that we share our faith or pray for the lost; it is first of all, love for God. ~ John Piper

One of my greatest concerns for the young women of the Church is that they will sell themselves short in dating and marriage by forgetting who they really are--daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. . . . Unfortunately, a young woman who lowers her standards far enough can always find temporary acceptance from immature and unworthy young men. . . .

At their best, daughters of God are loving, caring, understanding, and sympathetic. This does not mean they are also gullible, unrealistic, or easily manipulated. If a young man does not measure up to the standards a young woman has set, he may promise her that he will change if she will marry him first. Wise daughters of God will insist that young men who seek their hand in marriage change before the wedding, not after. (I am referring here to the kind of change that will be part of the lifelong growth of every disciple.) He may argue that she doesn't really believe in repentance and forgiveness. But one of the hallmarks of repentance is forsaking sin. Especially when the sin involves addictive behaviors or a pattern of transgression, wise daughters of God insist on seeing a sustained effort to forsake sin over a long period of time as true evidence of repentance. They do not marry someone because they believe they can change him. Young women, please do not settle for someone unworthy of your gospel standards.

On the other hand, young women should not refuse to settle down. There is no right age for young men ~ Robert D. Hales

What we moderns call "addictions" God calls "idols," and all of God's good gifts are meant to raise our eyes in thanksgiving to our benevolent heavenly Father, not to fix our eyes on the gifts themselves. ~ Michael S. Horton

[THE DAILY BREATH]

Do you feel unworthy? Undeserving to be loved, to feel enough, to fulfil your dreams?

A scientific study performed worldwide during the last 40 years revealed that most people, regardless of their background, live feeling unworthy.

If you are one of them, I know something else about you. If you feel unloved or unworthy, chances are you also don't care, don't believe or you are just not interested in your truthful relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Because you looked away from God, you forgot who you are.

Do you not know that what you behold, you become? You become what you look upon.

When you look at the world, you can only struggle to find something to make you feel valuable. Yet you cannot find anything because everything this world has to give you is worthless and valueless. You are not of this world, but as you look upon it to find value, you become what look upon: emptiness.

When you look to Heaven, you remember your Home. You remember you are not an orphan in this world. You remember you belong to your Heavenly Father who loves you and has never left you. He loved you even when you turned your eyes away from Him and ran away from home. Return.

As you behold and keep your eyes on Heaven, you become what you look upon: Love. Behold Jesus and live. ~ Dragos Bratasanu

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your favour. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

As with the bud, so with the blossom. A boy is the only thing known from which a man can be made. I hope that we as parents are teaching our children that they are the sons and daughters of God, and that they have the capacity to become like him. It was the old Edinburgh weaver who prayed, 'O God, help me to hold a high opinion of myself.' Likewise I would counsel young people to hold a high opinion of themselves, to remember who they really are, and to put their faith in their Heavenly Father. ~ Paul H. Dunn

Sinner's Prayer Heavenly Father, I come to you in prayer asking forgiveness for my sins. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and was resurrected sitting on the right hand of the Father. Through Jesus, I believe I have eternal life. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! I ask you right now to come into my heart and I give you my life. I accept Jesus as my personal savior. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and cleanse me Lord. Make me new in you. I receive your Holy Spirit and can begin a new life now in you Jesus. Help and guide me daily to read your word and to walk with you God. In Jesus' name Amen. ~ Janie McGee

Duty before self-preservation - that is a very important principle in Scripture. Do you remember when David confronted Goliath? He said that when a lion or bear attacked his father's sheep, he went after it and killed it and rescued the sheep. Now to our thinking, we can't imagine a father allowing his son to be put in such danger, but that wasn't Jesse's attitude nor David's. Duty before self-preservation. Both father and son expected that David would do his duty to save the sheep. The heavenly Father had the same attitude toward Jesus." Butros ~ Brother Andrew

This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman. We are here to build, uplift, treat fairly, and encourage all of Heavenly Father's children. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I bear testimony of our Heavenly Father, the Father of our spirits; of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Savior; and of the Holy Ghost, who is the means through which we receive divine guidance. I bear testimony that we can personally receive inspiration. ~ Allan F. Packer

Meditation on a passage of scripture ... led a young boy into a grove of trees to commune with his heavenly Father. That is what opened the heavens in this dispensation ~ Ezra Taft Benson

Become what our Heavenly Father desires you to become. ~ Dallin H. Oaks

Jesus perfected his life and became our Christ. Priceless blood of a god was shed, and he became our Savior; his perfected life was given, and he became our Redeemer; his atonement for us made possible our return to our Heavenly Father, and yet how thoughtless, how unappreciative are most beneficiaries! Ingratitude is a sin of the ages. ~ Spencer W. Kimball

She'd once thought God would never intentionally hurt her. But looking back over her life, she'd had cause to rethink that. She was certain nothing touched her life that didn't first filter through the loving hands of her heavenly father. But she was also convinced that God sometimes wounded, in order to bind up. And that He shattered, so that His hands could heal. This was part of His inheritance she'd overlooked before, but never would again. ~ Tamera Alexander

Jesus told us to look at the birds; they don't worry about the future because our Heavenly Father feeds them. I think that's why they praise Him. ~ Lynn Austin

Sometimes we forget that our Heavenly Father desires that each of us have this joy. ~ Robert D. Hales

On your very worst, most rebellious, and most faithless day, you can run into the holy presence of your heavenly Father and he will not turn you away. ~ Paul David Tripp

Sometime in the eternities to come, we will see that our trials were calculated to cause us to turn to our Heavenly Father for strength and support. Any affliction or suffering we are called upon to bear may be directed to give us experience, refinement, and perfection. ~ Delbert L. Stapley

Our heavenly Father desires for His children to know His love. We are accepted in His Beloved Son, not because we have done righteous acts, but because of His great mercy. Our only work is to accept His free salvation given through Christ. ~ Louise M. Gouge

The Aryan Psyche has been abstractly split into an indivisible duality: One that inheriting(ly) basks in Mother Nature and another that plagiaristically aches towards a Semitic heavenly father. ~ Ibrahim Ibrahim

Once, when I was puzzled to know why there were so many religions, he said: "There is one universal religion, Helen- the religion of love. Love your heavenly father with your whole heart and soul, love every child of God as much as you ever can, and remember that the possibilities of good are greater than the possibilities of evil; and you have the key to heaven." And his life was a happy illustration of this great truth. In this noble soul love and widest knowledge were blended with faith that had become insight. He saw God in all that liberates and lifts, in all that humbles, sweetens and consoles. ~ Helen Keller

Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Heavenly Father and the Savior are grateful that you do your part. They know you, They watch over you, and They love you. ~ Henry B. Eyring

I used to listen to the monks repeating the Lord's Prayer; I wondered how they could continue to pray without misgiving to their heavenly father to give them their daily bread. Do children beseech their earthly father to give them sustenance? They expect him to do it, they neither feel gratitude to him for doing so nor need to, and we have only blame for a man who brings children into the world that he can't or won't provide for. It seemed to me that if an omnipotent creator was not prepared to provide for his creatures with the necessities, material and spiritual, of existence he'd have done better not to create them. ~ W. Somerset Maugham

Our Heavenly Father - you established the criteria for hospitality in your Holy Word and then provided the strength to apply it to daily living. Eternity will not be long enough for us to express our love and gratitude to you! ~ Pat Ennis

He set the example for all of us to humble ourselves before our Heavenly Father. ~ Robert D. Hales

My first act as president is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads: Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to head and hear Your will, and write on our hearts these words: 'Use power to help people. For we know that we are given power, not to advance our own purposes, nor to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it Lord, Amen. ~ George H. W. Bush

He possesses dominion over himself, and is happy, who can every day say, "I have lived." Tomorrow the heavenly father may either involve the world in dark clouds, or cheer it with clear sunshine, he will not, however, render ineffectual the things which have already taken place. ~ Horace

You remember to trust in Heavenly Father. Life is a blessing, but it is also a testing. Take the one as you do the other and trust Him who allows all. Trust what Creator is doing, though we cannot understand it or see the full path. ~ Lori Benton

I also believe in faith. Faith in a loving and kind heavenly Father who will always care about me. Faith that my worth will never be diminished. Faith that God knows how I feel and that I can depend on him to help me through it all. I believe that God not only suffered for me, but that He will make everything up to me in His own time and His own way. That gives me the peace I need to feel like justice will win out in the end ~ Elizabeth Smart

A Latter-day Saint woman who follows Christ's example in her daily living begins to fulfill the plan of our Heavenly Father for her. By so doing, she can be a powerful influence for good in today's world and meet the challenges of mortality. I have known such women, and they have been a guiding light to me. ~ Margaret D. Nadauld

God wants you to know Him as your Heavenly Father! Come boldly into your Father's presence without any fear. ~ Paul Silway

Pray knowing that you pray to your heavenly Father. Pray in confidence that when you ask you will receive; when you seek you will find; when you knock it will be opened. Pray knowing that you pray to a God who doesn't give stones or serpents to his kids. Believe Jesus, and pray accordingly. ~ Peter Leithart

Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit together. That union in love is not simply an ideal. It is a necessity ~ Henry B. Eyring

We don't have to be perfect to experience the blessings and gifts of our Heavenly Father. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

[A] beautiful young mother of five had full faith in her Heavenly Father, in His plan, and in the eternal welfare of her family. She was securely tied back to God. She was totally faithful to covenants made with the Lord and with her husband. She loved her children but was at peace, despite her impending separation from them. She had faith in her future, and theirs too, because she had faith in our Heavenly Father and His Son. ~ Russell M. Nelson

When your earthly father fails you, your heavenly Father finds you. ~ Jenna Lucado

Our Heavenly Father has organized us into families for the purpose of helping us successfully meet the trials and challenges of life. The home also exists to bless us with the joys and privileges of family associations. Our family is our safety place, our support network, our sanctuary, and our salvation. ~ Rex D. Pinegar

Your Heavenly Father knows that you will make mistakes. He knows that you will stumble-perhaps many times. This saddens Him, but He loves you. He does not wish to break your spirit. On the contrary, He desires that you rise up and become the person you were designed to be. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Our Heavenly Father has created a blessing just for you every day. ~ Eve M. Harrell

To serve our earthly superiors is to serve our heavenly Superior; therefore, our attention, efficiency, and diligence are to be motivated not by whether the boss shows enough respect for our work, but by the fact that God our heavenly Father is pleased when we help build a good car or house, use our time at work efficiently, or read and pray with our family. We can endure many of the frustrations of working conditions when we realize that the dignity of our work is measured by God's satisfaction, not merely by our employer's. ~ Michael S. Horton

If we truly want to be tools in the hands of our Heavenly Father in bringing to pass His eternal purposes, we need only to be a friend. ~ Marlin K. Jensen

To be a mother of a son is one of the most important things you can do to change the world. Raise them to respect women, raise them to stand up for others, raise them to care for the earth, raise them to be kind, compassionate and honest. If you do these things you are raising a leader-- someone that will affect the lives of countless people with their morality. Their future wife and children will thank you, but most of all Heavenly Father...for anyone can raise a son, but only a faithful Daughter of God can raise a warrior. ~ Shannon L. Alder

Brothers and sisters, as good as our previous experience may be, if we stop asking questions, stop thinking, stop pondering, we can thwart the revelations of the Spirit. Remember, it was the questions young Joseph asked that opened the door for the restoration of all things. We can block the growth and knowledge our Heavenly Father intends for us. How often has the Holy Spirit tried to tell us something we needed to know but couldn't get past the massive iron gate of what we thought we already knew? ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Of all the conceptions of the divine, of all the language Jesus could put on the lips of the God character in the story he tells, that's what he has the Father say. "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours." ...

Millions of people in our world were told that God so loved the world, that God sent his son to save the world, and that if they accept and believe in Jesus, then they'll be able to have a relationship with God...

But there's more. Millions have been taught that if they don't believe, if they don't accept in the right way, that is, the way the person telling them "the gospel" does, and they were hit by a car and died later that same day, God will have no choice but to punish them forever in conscious torment in hell... A loving heavenly father who will go to extraordinary lengths to have a relationship with them would, in the blink of an eye, become a cruel, mean, vicious tormentor who would ensure that they had no escape from an endless future of agony... if your God is loving one second and cruel the next, if your God will punish people for all eternity for sins committed in a few short years, no amount of clever marketing or compelling language or good music or great coffee will be able to disguise that one, true, glaring, untenable, acceptable, awful reality... sometimes the reason people have a problem accepting the gospel is that they sense that the God lurking behind Jesus isn't safe, loving, or good. It doesn't make sense, ~ Rob Bell

I believe we can find God in many ways. I believe our heavenly parents seek us out wherever we live, whether that be strictly in the mind, in despair and joy, in an office, or in nature. It is sometimes hard to recognize them or their efforts because we have already written their parts, made up our minds about what a spiritual life looks like. I know for sure, though, that when I stop and enter that space where my children are most comfortable--a space of play, imagination, and possibility--calmness enters in as I believe again that many things are possible. ~ Ashley Mae Hoiland

I'm sorry," Leon said. "I can see you loved your two friends and you miss them, and maybe they're flying around somewhere in the sky, zipping here and there and being spirits and happy. But you and I and three billion other people are not, and until it changes here it won't be enough, Phil; not enough. Despite the supreme heavenly father. He has to do something for us here, and that's the truth. If you believe in the truth--well, Phil, that's the truth. The harsh, unpleasant truth. ~ Philip K. Dick

I do not see how we can help thinking about God when He is so good to us all the time. Let me tell you how it seems to me that we come to know about our heavenly Father. It is from the power of love which is in our own hearts. Love is at the soul of everything. Whatever has not the power of loving must have a very dreary life indeed. We like to think that the sunshine and the winds and the trees are able to love in some way of their own, for it would make us know that they were happy if we knew that they could love. And so God who is the greatest and happiest of all beings is the most loving too. All the love that is in our hearts comes from him, as all the light which is in the flowers comes from the sun. And the more we love, the more near we are to God and His Love. ~ Phillips Brooks

It pleases our heavenly Father when we acknowledge and confess to Him our inability to run our own lives. That is what we are doing when we say, "Father, help me! I need You!" ~ Joyce Meyer

... Of his sins [Heavenly Father] does not want [man] to think [on them] too much: once they are repented, the sooner the man turns his attention outward, the better [Heavenly Father] is pleased. ~ C.S. Lewis

The worst kind of blasphemy is to think God is behind all your hurt and pain, that it is the heavenly Father disciplining you, ~ David Wilkerson

It is the will of our heavenly Father that we should come to Him freely and confidently and make known our desires to Him, just as we would have our children come freely and of their own accord and speak to us about the things they would like to have. ~ Ole Hallesby

The sons of God are different because they are givers, just like their Heavenly father ~ Sunday Adelaja

Every person on the earth today lived at one time in heavenly realms. We walked with our Heavenly Father. We knew Him. We heard His voice. We loved Him. ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

It is not enough to behave reverently; we must feel in our hearts reverence for our Heavenly Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ. Reverence flows from our admiration and respect for Deity. It is something we feel inside our hearts no matter what is going on around us. It is also a personal responsibility. We cannot blame others for disturbing our reverent attitudes. ~ L. Tom Perry

To strengthen our faith and deepen our testimony to the point that we can successfully endure to the end, we must know for ourselves with a surety that:

God is our Heavenly Father, and we are His literal children.
He and His Beloved Son want us to be happy and eventually come to a fulness of joy.
They know us intimately and love us infinitely.
They want to bless us, and they actually take great joy in doing -so.

I am deeply convinced that this is the bedrock of which Christ spoke. And if we build our house on this rock, we can withstand the rains, the storms, and the floods that may come our way. With this testimony, we will endure. Without it, we are-vulnerable. ~ Gerald N. Lund

It is Satan's work to fill men's hearts with doubt. He leads them to look upon God as a stern judge. He tempts them to sin, and then to regard themselves as too vile to approach their heavenly Father or to excite His pity. The Lord understands all this. Jesus assures His disciples of God's sympathy for them in their needs and weaknesses. Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart. ~ Ellen G. White

All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Jesus Fulfills the Eternal Covenant

Scripture represents the Lord Jesus Christ, in all that He did and suffered for His people, as fulfilling the terms of a gracious compact or arrangement which He had entered into with His heavenly Father before the foundation of the world.

1. Jesus was sent into the world by the Father to save the people whom the Father had given to Him. Those given to Him by the Father come to Him (see and believe in Him), and none of them shall be lost. (John 6:35-40)

2. Jesus, as the good shepherd, lays down His life for His sheep. All who are "His sheep" are brought by Him into the fold and are made to hear His voice and follow Him. Notice that the Father had given the sheep to Christ! (John 10:11, 14-18, 24-29

3. Jesus, in His High Priestly Prayer, prays not for the world, but for those given to Him by the Father. In fulfillment of the Father's charge, Jesus had accomplished the work the Father had sent Him to do - to make God known to His people and to give them eternal life. (John 17:1-11, 20, 24-26)

pp. 45-48 ~ David N. Steele

To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them. ~ Thomas S. Monson

Prayer is an essential part of conveying appreciation to our Heavenly Father. He awaits our expressions of gratefulness each morning and night in sincere, simple prayer from our hearts for our many blessings, gifts, and talents. Through expression of prayerful gratitude and thanksgiving, we show our dependence upon a higher source of wisdom and knowledge - God the Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are taught to 'live in thanksgiving daily.' (Alma 34:38.) ~ Robert D. Hales

Have faith that you are a daughter of Heavenly Father who loves you.

Determine which of your divine gifts will allow you to be a champion for Christ.

Realize that you have been sent to Earth with a divine mission that is yours to achieve.

Let your knowledge come from the good parts of life that surround you.

Choose to set high standards and defend them.

Become a great woman by doing good. Always be on the Lord's errand.

Leave your mark. Be true in every situation--even when no one is watching.

Let your strength come from having high moral standards.

Look to Him.
Stand as His witness.
Become a keeper of what matters most. ~ Emily Belle Freeman

When our lives are congruent with the Lord's will, we are empowered spiritually. Remember what Joseph Smith was taught in Liberty Jail? If we let 'virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly; then shall [our] confidence wax strong in the presence of God' (D&C 121:45). That is what we want as we seek to strengthen our faith. We want our confidence to be strong in God's presence. We don't want to shrink away because we are filled with shame. We want the kind of faith that caused Amanda Barnes Smith to immediately ask God for help in a time of extreme need. She did so in full confidence that He would answer because by then she had been hated and persecuted for His name's sake. And so she knew her life was pleasing to her Heavenly Father!

I believe this is what Paul meant when he said, 'let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need' (Hebrews 4:16). That kind of confidence, that kind of boldness comes from having actual knowledge we are living as God would have us live, doing what God would have us do.

Here is another reason why these tender mercies and divine signatures are so important to us. They not only teach us about God's nature, which strengthens our faith, but they are also a confirming witness that god is pleased with us - sometimes even delighted with us. ~ Gerald N. Lund

My promise to you who pray and serve the Lord cannot be that you will have every blessing you may wish for yourself and your family. But I can promise you that the Savior will draw close to you and bless you and your family with what is best. You will have the comfort of His love and feel the answer of His drawing closer as you reach out your arms in giving service to others. As you bind up the wounds of those in need and offer the cleansing of His Atonement to those who sorrow in sin, the Lord's power will sustain you. His arms are outstretched with yours to succor and bless the children of our Heavenly Father, including those in your family. ~ Henry B. Eyring

Heavenly Father, Sometimes it is difficult for me to see You as You really are. By faith in the testimony of Jesus, however, I accept you as my forgiving heavenly Father. A Father who loves me with unlimited love. A Father whose patience is inexhaustible. A Father who is eager to have fellowship with me. A Father who focuses on me and my position as Your child, not on my sin. A Father who rejoices when I turn to You from my sin whether it be one single act or a season of rebellion. Expose the errors in my thinking toward You and fill me with the truth, for I know that in discovering the truth I will be set free. Amen. ~ Charles F. Stanley

The prophetic gift represents the Father's will and lays out the pattern. ~ Sherry K. White

We see ourselves as yesterday and today. Heavenly Father sees us as forever. ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin