Christ is sitting down on the ground in the temple teaching a group of people. Outtakes included some more of Jesus teaching, the other outtakes with this image are from a different title: “Jesus Christ. Light of the World” showing Christ after the event of the Woman taken in Adultery and the Jews questioning his authority.
The Savior testified that we can better come to know Heavenly Father by studying the example of His Son. All that Jesus Christ said and did followed the example of His Father and was intended to bring us more fully to the Father. This lesson can help you better understand what Heavenly Father is like and how He feels about you.
Knowing about Heavenly Father
Consider the following scenario:
In a recent sacrament meeting talk, Claudio heard a member of his ward declare, “I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves me. He is aware of my needs and seeks to help me.” Claudio was surprised and wondered how she knew all of this about Heavenly Father. As he reflected on what he knew about Heavenly Father personally, he felt like it wasn’t very much. He even tried looking in the scriptures and didn’t have much success there either.
In what ways might we sometimes feel like Claudio?
How can feeling like we don’t know Heavenly Father or even know about Him be challenging for us?
Consider what you have learned about Heavenly Father and how that knowledge has influenced you. On a piece of paper or in your study journal, write the words “Heavenly Father” in the middle. Around these words, write what you know about Heavenly Father.
How might more fully coming to know Heavenly Father influence someone’s life?
As you study this lesson, look for truths about Heavenly Father and His Son that can help you better understand what They are like and how They feel about you. Consider adding what you learn to the paper about Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ regularly spoke of His Father and did so with an important purpose. Read the following passages, looking for what Jesus wanted His followers to know about Himself and Heavenly Father:
Matthew 11:27 (including the Joseph Smith Translation change in footnote c)
How would you summarize what the Savior taught from what you read?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained one important way we can come to know Heavenly Father. You may want to watch “The Grandeur of God,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 0:00 to 1:07 or read the following text.
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Official Portrait of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Photographed January 2018.
Of the many magnificent purposes served in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, one great aspect of that mission often goes uncelebrated. His followers did not understand it fully at the time, and many in modern Christianity do not grasp it now, but the Savior Himself spoke of it repeatedly and emphatically. It is the grand truth that in all that Jesus came to say and do, including and especially in His atoning suffering and sacrifice, He was showing us who and what God our Eternal Father is like, how completely devoted He is to His children in every age and nation. In word and in deed Jesus was trying to reveal and make personal to us the true nature of His Father, our Father in Heaven.
(Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 70)
What do you learn from Elder Holland’s statement?
One principle we can learn is that Jesus Christ’s words and actions show us Heavenly Father’s character.
How do you see this truth taught in the Savior’s words that you just read?
Elder Holland explained more about this truth. You may want to watch “The Grandeur of God” from time code 11:25 to 12:49 or read the following statement.
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Official Portrait of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Photographed January 2018.
So feeding the hungry, healing the sick, rebuking hypocrisy, pleading for faith—this was Christ showing us the way of the Father, He who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering and full of goodness.” In His life and especially in His death, Christ was declaring, “This is God’s compassion I am showing you, as well as that of my own.” In the perfect Son’s manifestation of the perfect Father’s care, in Their mutual suffering and shared sorrow for the sins and heartaches of the rest of us, we see ultimate meaning in the declaration: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” [John 3:16–17].
(Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Grandeur of God,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 72)
1. Do the following activities in your study journal:
Select your favorite account about Jesus Christ in the scriptures. Write down the scripture reference and summarize the passage. Then answer the following questions:
What do you learn about Heavenly Father and how He feels about you from what Jesus Christ says or does in this account?
How does knowing this about Heavenly Father affect your relationship with Him?
How will having a better relationship with Heavenly Father help you?
Seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost as you create a brief plan of how you can strengthen your relationship with Heavenly Father, and write it in your study journal.
Optional: Want to Learn More?
How can coming to know Heavenly Father influence me?
The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) taught:
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Half-length frontal portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. Joseph’s head is turned to the side in a three-quarter view, right hand on hip and his left hand holds sheets of papers. He is depicted wearing a dark brown suit and a white shirt and tie.
If a [person] learns nothing more than to eat, drink and sleep, and does not comprehend any of the designs of God, the beast comprehends the same things. It eats, drinks, sleeps, and knows nothing more about God; yet it knows as much as we, unless we are able to comprehend by the inspiration of Almighty God. If [people] do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 40)
Consider watching Relationship with God—Patrick” (0:59) and “Relationship with God—Anipha” (0:55) to see examples of how coming to know Heavenly Father can influence someone’s life.