The gift is to be felt continually

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Afternoon Session of the April 2002 Conference.

I share a few quotes that stuck out to me from this session. This first one was from Russell M. Nelson's talk about firm foundations (a theme that foreshadows this recent talk). He's quoting what one lady said to him after the sudden death of her husband, and I feel like I ought to, in my much less-trying circumstances, be able to say the same:

When I see how carefully Heavenly Father has prepared and planned for my present circumstance, how can I be frightened about my future? Surely He is putting into place today all that I will need to face the unknown times ahead.

This from Elder Gene R. Cook was interesting:

It is part of the gift of charity to be able to recognize the Lord’s hand and feel His love in all that surrounds us. At times it will not be easy to discover the Lord’s love for us in all that we experience, because He is a perfect, anonymous giver. You will search all your life to uncover His hand and the gifts He has bestowed upon you because of His intimate, modest, humble way of granting such wonderful gifts.

Does God want to be an anonymous giver, I wonder? I don't think he does; I think he wants us to see His hand. But I guess he wants us to search for it. And I like the thought that this search is part of our spiritual development; that seeing God's love for us leads us to have greater charity for others. I've seen that process happening in my own life as I seek to remember and record God's tender mercies to me.

And here Elder Cook elaborates on this idea even more:

True gratitude is the ability to humbly see, feel, and even receive love. Gratitude is a form of returning love to God. Recognize His hand, tell Him so, express your love to Him. As you come to truly know the Lord, you will find an intimate, sacred relationship built on trust. You will come to know He understands your anguish and will, in compassion, always respond to you in love.

Receive it. Feel it. It is not enough just to know that God loves you. The gift is to be felt continually day by day. It will then be a divine motivator throughout your life.

Last, I loved this from Elder Ballard's talk on peace. I've been thinking about peace since April anyway because of President Nelson's wonderful talk. This goes with that beautifully:

Peace—real peace, whole-souled to the very core of your being—comes only in and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When that precious truth is discovered and gospel principles are understood and applied, great peace can distill in the hearts and souls of our Heavenly Father’s children.…

While those around us may not choose to taste the sweetness and peace of the fulness of the restored gospel for themselves, surely they will be blessed by seeing it in our lives and feeling the peace of the gospel in our presence. The message of peace will grow and expand through our example.

It is very comforting to think that as I seek peace in Jesus Christ, I can also share peace. Part of the reason I even feel driven to seek that peace in the first place is because of so many worries about people I love who are turning away from God! It seems efficient and somehow extra generous that Jesus Christ can not only send me peace amidst those worries, but he can then turn around and use that very peace within me to help me bless the ones I'm worried about. In this way I can share His love and peace with even those who aren't currently seeking it themselves, but who need it in their lives just as much as I do!

Other posts in this series:

Threads woven together—by Rozy