Teachings of Joseph
Fielding Smith: Our Father in Heaven
Lesson by: Jessica
Jazexhiu,
Sister Jazexhiu started the lesson by asking the sister’s to
list some characteristics of our Father in Heaven.
·
Cares and watches over us
·
Our creator
·
Brings peace and comfort
·
Loves us
·
Accessible
Beginning with Joseph Smith’s First
Vision, the true knowledge of God has been restored in our day.
It should be remembered that the entire Christian world in
1820 had lost the true doctrine concerning God. The simple truth which was
understood so clearly by the apostles and saints of old had been lost in the
mysteries of an apostate world.
The [first] vision of Joseph Smith made it clear that the
Father and the Son are separate personages, having bodies as tangible as the
body of man. It was further revealed to him that the Holy Ghost is a personage
of Spirit, distinct and separate from the personalities of the Father and the
Son.
Heavenly Father loves us and is
interested in each of us.
How do we worship him? Being Christ-like examples. Moses
1:39
… The thought comes to mind that notwithstanding the
countless number of worlds and the great magnitude of many of them, they are a
means to an end, and not the end itself. The Father is creating worlds for the
purpose of peopling them—placing upon them his sons and his daughters. We are
informed in section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants, that by and through the
Son of God, the “worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are
begotten sons and daughters unto God.”
From this, and other scripture, I say, we learn that the
great work of the Father is to bring to pass the salvation of his children
giving unto each that reward which each merits according to his works. I feel
most assuredly that our Father in heaven is far more interested in a soul—one
of his children—than it is possible for an earthly father to be in one of his
children. His love for us is greater than can be the love of an earthly parent
for his offspring.
Heavenly Father weeps of His
disobedient children.
Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine
own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and
in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
“And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given
commandment, that they should choose me, their Father; but behold they are
without affection, and they hate their own blood.” [Moses 7:32–33.]
These are reasons why the Lord wept and why the heavens
wept.
I was asked by a brother one time if a man could be
perfectly happy in the celestial kingdom if one of his children was not
permitted to enter there. I told him that I supposed that any man who was so
unfortunate as to have one of his children barred from the celestial kingdom
would, of course, have feelings of sorrow because of that condition; and that
is just the position our Father in heaven is in. Not all of his children are
worthy of celestial glory, and many are forced to suffer his wrath because of
their transgressions, and this causes the Father and the whole heavens to have
sorrow and to weep. The Lord works in accordance with natural law. Man must be
redeemed according to law and his reward must be based on the law of justice.
Because of this the Lord will not give unto men that which they do not merit,
but shall reward all men according to their works.
… I am satisfied that our Father in heaven would, if it were
possible, save all men and give unto them celestial glory, even the fullness of
exaltation. But, he has given unto man his agency and man is under the necessity
of obeying the truth according to that which is revealed in order to obtain the
exaltation of the righteous.
Heavenly Father has provided the way
of redemption so we can be brought back to His presence.
There was only one way of redemption, one way in which
reparation could be made and the body restored again to the spirit; that was by
an infinite atonement, and it had to be made by an infinite being, someone not
subject to death and yet someone who had the power to die and who also had
power over death. And so, our Father in heaven sent us his Son, Jesus Christ,
into the world with life in himself. And because he [Jesus Christ] had a mother
who had blood in her veins, he had the power to die. He could yield up his body
to death and then take it again. Let me read his own words: “Therefore doth my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I
have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17–18.)
It was never the intention of our Father in heaven to leave
men to grope and feel their way in darkness and that without any light to guide
them, and expect them under such conditions to find their way back into his
kingdom and into his holy presence. That is not the way of the Lord. All down
the ages from the beginning our Father in heaven has shown his kindness for his
children and has been willing to give them direction. From the earliest times
the heavens have been opened, the Lord has sent messengers from his presence to
divinely appointed servants, men holding the authority of the priesthood who
have been commissioned to teach the principles of the Gospel, to warn the
people and teach them righteousness; and these men have received this
knowledge, this inspiration and guidance from these messengers from the
presence of God. This is true of our own dispensation. There is no need for men
to shut their eyes and feel that there is no light only as they may depend upon
their reason, for the Lord has always been willing to lead and direct and show
the way. He has sent, as I say, messengers from his presence. He has sent
revelation. He has commanded that his word be written, that it be published, so
that all the people might know it.
I say to you, and to the whole Church, and, for that matter,
to the whole world, that a gracious and loving Father has in these last days
spoken again from heaven to his servants the prophets.
His voice has been one inviting all men to come to his
Beloved Son, to learn of him, to partake of his goodness, to take his yoke upon
them, and to work out their salvation by obedience to the laws of his gospel.
His voice has been one of glory and honor, of peace in this life, and of eternal
life in the world to come.
Comment from your
fellow Sisters:
·
He has provided a way for us to learn and
progress.
·
Our relationship with the Father is
on-going.
·
He always loves us. He looks at the good,
but will tell us what we need to hear.
·
The more we are like him, the close we
become with him.
·
How can you erase the light of the Gospel
from your face?
Sister Jazexhiu closing remarks were…
“It is my desire to remind you of the nature and kind of being that God
is, so that you may worship him in spirit and in truth and thereby gain all of
the blessings of His gospel”.
