"Higher Father Higher"

 In our lesson today we visited about Elder Uchtdorf's conference address, "A Higher Joy"

Happiness is one the greatest desires of the human heart.  Elder Uchtdorf referenced a quote by Aristotle made two hundred and forty years ago "Happiness is the one thing all humans desire most.  In his treatise Nicomachean Ethics, he taught that the greatest good in life is the thing we pursue as an end itself (opposed to those things we pursue that are a means to some other end) Happiness, above all else, is just such a thing.  'We always desire happiness for it own sake' he said, 'and never a means to something else."  (The Nicomachean ethics of aristotle, trans J.E.C. Weldon {1902} 13-14)

Yet, why are there so many unhappy people surrounding us?  Daily I hear heart wrenching stories from my brothers and sisters who simply want to be happy but yet it eludes them.  I have met others who are happy due to their passions and joys ie music, creativity,  nature, or loving what they do.  They feel that they do not need God to be happy.  Like Elder Uchtdorf I respect their views and have forged wonderful friendships with many of them but as Elder Uchtdorf pointed out the joy we are searching for is "better, higher and holier."

He made this inspirational comment:  "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly the good news of great joy!  It is a message of matchless hope! A message of yoke-bearing and burdening lifting,  Of light-gathering.  Of heavenly Favor, higher understanding, holier covenants, eternal security and everlasting joy!  Joy is the very purpose of God's plan for His children.  It's what you were created for--that {you} might have joy!  You were built for this!  Our Father in Heaven has not hidden the path to happiness.  It is not a secret.  It is available to all!  It is promised to those who walk the path of discipleship, follow the teachings and example of the Savior, Keep His commandments, and honor covenants they make with God.  What a remarkable promise!"

When we share our love for the gospel and our beloved Savior we are not discounting our friends who find their joy and happiness by other methods we are just sharing with them that their Father in Heaven  has a higher joy that would fill their souls and radiate throughout their bodies.

Like Elder Uchtdorf, I've had pure joy which filled my soul so full that I didn't think my body could contain it.  Elder Uchtdorf then explained "Worldly happiness...does not last.  It cannot.  It is the nature of all earthly things to grow old, decay and wear out, (try going on a bike ride with a 9 year old and I found out how old and worn out I am 😂) or become stale.  But Godly joy is eternal because God is eternal.."  I have cherished moments in which the veil was parted and I partook of that eternal joy that Elder Uchtdorf talked about.  During my darkest times those warm memories of that pure joy kept me holding on.  In our mortal journey we can taste that eternal joy but there must be "opposition in all things, and because our Father in Heaven does weep we too must weep."  But as the lyrics to a beloved Michael McClean song states "Hang on the light will come."  

Elder Uchtdorf opened his address by talking about the Wright brothers and their first flights.  They never went up into the air together due to the danger but on one of their last trial flights not only did they go up but Orville encouraged his 82 year old father to go up and then with excitement his father exclaimed, "Higher, Orville, Higher!"  I have rode in planes and I must admit once your in the clouds it is an amazing site that brings joy to your soul but my goal is to continue to draw closer to my Beloved Friend and Savior, so that one day I can say to our Eternal Father "Higher, Father, Higher" when He is bestowing upon me His Eternal Joy.

Who are You?

I have been working on this post for several weeks but I'm just now starting to get the words to flow.  As I was playing our meetings hymns some faces started running through my mind that I haven't  seen for awhile.  Then a talk I had given in my old branch many years ago came into my mind, which was based off a song by Michael McClean entitled:  "I've got to find out who I am."

    "The melody's familiar, I've heard this song before  

      it's been around ten thousand years or maybe even more

                And everybody sung it, at least I think they've tried

                but even when the singings done, this song goes on inside

                I've got to find out who I am, I've got to find out who I am

                got to know and got to see what's making me me..."

During that period of my life I was trying to find out who I was and what was making me me.  I found myself identifying myself with many versions of me ie. as a wife, friend, nurse, student and Christian.  I recently overheard a conversation between two gentlemen in which one made this comment, "my friend married a catholic, so he is catholic by marriage just like I married a Mormon and so I'm a Mormon by marriage."  His comment surprised me to say the least.  As I reflected on his comment my mind turned to a chapter I had read in President Nelson's new Book  Heart of the Matter where he made this profound statement:  "...Labels can be fun and indicate our support for any number of positive things.  They can evoke memories of important accomplishments and experiences.  But not all labels are of equal value.  If any label replaces our most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually deadly......if I were to rank in order of importance the designations that could be applied to me, I would say:  (First), I am child of God--(Second) a son of the covenant, then a disciple of Jesus Christ and a devoted member of His restored Church...Next would come my honored titles that applied to me...Now let me ask you a question.  Who are you?"  What a powerful question Who Are You?

The adversary does not want us to truly know who we truly are.   President Nelson made this insightful comment:  "The adversary rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other.  How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other.  Labels can lead to judging and animosity. Any abuse or prejudice toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker!”  In an conference address last Oct by Elder Christopher G. Giraud-Carrier entitled "We are His Children"   Elder Giraud-Carrier shared the story of the woman taken in adultery what the crowd saw and then pointed out what the Savior saw.  We with our mere mortal eyes tend to be more like the crowd in seeing the weaknesses of those around us instead of seeing them as a beloved child of our Heavenly Father.  

Elder Giraud-Carrier closed his talk with this statement:  "French is not who I am; it is where I was born. White is not who I am; it is the color of my skin, or lack thereof. Professor is not who I am; it is what I did to support my family. General Authority Seventy is not who I am; it is where I serve in the kingdom at this time. “First and foremost,” as President Nelson reminded us, I am a “child of God.”⁶ So are you, and so are all other people around us. I pray that we may come to a greater appreciation of this wonderful truth. It changes everything!  We may have been raised in different cultures; we may come from different socioeconomic circumstances; our mortal heritage, including our nationality, skin color, food preferences, political orientation, etc., may vary greatly. But we are His children, all of us, without exception. We have the same divine origin and the same limitless potential through the grace of Jesus Christ."

It is so easy to get caught up in the labels of who we are according to our worldly titles that we forget that "first and foremost," we are all children of a divine Heavenly Father.

                  "I've got to find out who I am, I've got to find out who I am

                  and when I do I know I'll be what I can when I find out who I am

                       I'll be all I can, when I find out who I am"