“We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” To
many of us, even the young primary children this is a familiar sentence but how
many of us have actually pondered the power within this statement and the
relativity it has in our personal lives. President Hinckley taught; “They
(speaking of Godhead) are distinct beings, but they are one in purpose and
effort. They are united as one in bringing to pass the grand, divine plan for
the salvation and exaltation of the children of God. In His great, moving
prayer in the garden before His betrayal, Christ pleaded with His Father
concerning the Apostles, whom He loved, saying: “Neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; “That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us” (John 17:20–21).
It is that perfect unity between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that
binds these three into the oneness of the divine Godhead.” This is the same
unity that should exist between married couples and even our ward family.
About Us---end about dad or Jake
Just as we have an
earthly father or father figure, likewise we have an eternal father or an
Heavenly Father. Today, I will briefly discuss the Godhead, to those who may be
unfamiliar with the term godhead, for the purpose of my talk today it is
defined as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now, I know it is father’s day and
when I received the topic and realized it was father’s day, I was a little
surprised. Shouldn’t our meeting primarily be focused on fathers or those
influential male figures in our lives? However, the thought soon occurred to me
that this was a most appropriate topic because all that we are blessed with, we
owe to our Father in Heaven and elder brother, Jesus Christ. So, doesn’t it
make sense that as we celebrate fathers today, that we acknowledge our Heavenly
Father as well?
Jeffrey R. Holland
states; “Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe
in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy
Ghost.” We believe these three divine persons constituting a single
Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe
Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and
grace, patience, forgiveness,
and redemption.” It is my intention to briefly touch on each member of the
Godhead. It is vital to understand that the members of the Godhead are three
distinct individuals with one purpose. If there is anyone in the congregation
today that seeks to gain their own testimony or understanding of the Godhead,
or may be struggling with their personal testimony, I urge you to pray and ask
our Heavenly Father. Seek out the answers to your questions, ultimately, the
Holy Ghost will provide that sacred assurance. The scriptures are full of
references, I am confident the bishopric, missionaries, ward leaders, or even
myself can provide references but seek the understanding from our Father. He is
exactly that, our Heavenly Father and wants to help us and hear from us. He is
not out of reach and awaits our visits. God is loving, merciful, and wants us
to seek Him out.
I, like President Hinckley, “believe without
equivocation or reservation in God, the Eternal Father. He is my Father, the
Father of my spirit, and the Father of the spirits of all men. He is the great
Creator, the Ruler of the Universe. He directed the creation of this earth on
which we live. In His image man was created. He is personal. He is real. He is
individual. He has “a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (D&C
130:22)…. 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.”
The second member of the Godhead, is Jesus
Christ, our Redeemer. He is the firstborn of the Father and the only begotten
of the Father in flesh. He is an individual separate and distinct from his
Father. He is our elder brother and friend. None so great has ever walked the
earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable
blessing. He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I
declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak
His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in
spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands
and side, amazed at the love He offers me. President Uchtdorf stated in the
last GC that “we all depend on the Savior, none of us can be saved without him.
Christ’s atonement is infinite and eternal. Forgiveness from our sins comes
with conditions.”
To
Elder Holland’s witness, I add my own personal knowledge: “I testify that Jesus
Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our
Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of
heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I bear witness that He was
born of a virgin mother, that in His lifetime He performed mighty miracles
observed by legions of His disciples and by His enemies as well. I testify that
He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected
Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal.
I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins
of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache
and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered
both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family
free. I bear witness that He was literally resurrected from the tomb and, after
ascending to His Father to complete the process of that Resurrection, He
appeared, repeatedly, to hundreds of disciples in the Old
World and in the New. I know He is the Holy One of Israel, the
Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord
of lords and King of kings. I know that there is no other name given under
heaven whereby a man can be saved and that only by relying wholly upon His
merits, mercy, and everlasting grace
can we gain eternal life.
My additional testimony regarding this
resplendent doctrine is that in preparation for His millennial latter-day
reign, Jesus has already come, more than once, in embodied majestic glory. In
the spring of 1820, a 14-year-old boy, confused by many of these very doctrines
that still confuse much of Christendom, went into a grove of trees to pray. In
answer to that earnest prayer offered at such a tender age, the Father and the
Son appeared as embodied, glorified beings to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. That day
marked the beginning of the return of the true, New Testament gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the restoration of other prophetic truths offered from
Adam down to the present day.” The miraculous appearance to the boy, Joseph
Smith, builds my knowledge of the divinity of the Godhead.
The third member of the Godhead is the Holy
Ghost. Unlike the Father and Son, the Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit. .
The Holy Ghost can become our constant companion, if we remain worthy, after we
enter the waters of baptism. The scriptures teach us that the Holy Ghost is our
comforter, teacher, and helps us recognize truth by the good feelings Paul
describes in the New Testament, of peace, temperance, pretty much the good
feelings. The Holy Ghost bears witness of the divinity of our Heavenly Father
and Christ. That knowledge comes from the word of
scripture, and that testimony comes by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is a
gift, sacred and wonderful, borne by revelation from the third member of the
Godhead. He is able to speak to spirit to spirit with us. To me, the Holy Ghost
is like the sun, the sun is one thing but its warm rays are felt by thousands
at the same time. It’s the same as the Holy Ghost, his is one personage of
Spirit but his influence can be felt by many at the same time.
Miracle of miracles and wonder of wonders,
they are interested in us, and we are the substance of their great concern.
They are available to each of us. We approach the Father through the Son. He is
our intercessor at the throne of God. How marvelous it is that we may so speak
to the Father in the name of the Son.”
So today we celebrate the men in our lives
whom we love and adore, may we not forget to say a prayer of gratitude and
express our love for God the Father and our Savior. Let’s celebrate all they
have done for us as well, the opportunity to live again, be eternally united
with our families, enjoy a family, have life, be forgiven, and the list continues…..
Testimony
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