The Reason Heavenly Father Wants Us To Understand Our True Self and How We Can

“Connection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.” —Brené Brown

The following was taken from the book Design Your Life In Meaningful Ways currently available at cedarfort.com.

There is something that happens in life that gives our lives such meaning and purpose and makes our lives rich and full. This something is connection. It fills the void of loneliness. It overcomes the feeling of pointlessness. It is why we are here, and it is one of the most powerful and treasured things we can experience. Without it, our progression is slowed, or reversed; we feel lost; we grow cynical and indignant; and we begin to believe that we are alone in the universe.

This is not the way God intended for us to live. He expects that we connect regularly to Him. He has organized us in family groups and created an innate desire for sociality to provide opportunities to connect with each other. And as part of our mortal experience, He has provided a mind that is self-reflective and gifted us with responsible choice that we may connect with our True Self.

I have had glimpses, over the course of my life, of my True Self. As a teenager, I remember someone saying something hurtful to me in junior high and feeling a voice of peace saying, “That’s not true, that’s not who you are.” As I was serving as a missionary, we were teaching a young woman, and as I was sharing the plan of salvation, my mind expanded, and I saw a vision of my premortal self. It was another glimpse of who I really am. Another time, I was teaching a Sunday School class, and I was bearing my simple testimony of the things we were talking about (bearing testimony was one of my biggest fears as a young woman). I suddenly felt the wave of the Spirit wash over me, and I saw with spiritual eyes into the eternities and understood who I am, and that one of my spiritual gifts is to bear testimony of my Savior. These and many other “glimpses” almost always occurred when I was exercising a spiritual gift.

I have learned that my True Self is not remotely defined by my physical appearance. I am 4’10” in stature, but I do not feel “short”’ My True Self does not feel small. When people remark, “Oh you’re so short,” or “You’re so small,” I am sometimes surprised and must remember that to their physical senses I do appear small. I don’t think of myself as small. My spirit is so much bigger than my body.

On January 10, 2016, in a worldwide devotional for young adults, President Nelson issued a recommendation to “true millennials” to learn who they really are. He counseled,

Ask your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ how He feels about you and your mission here on earth. If you ask with real intent, over time the Spirit will whisper the life-changing truth to you. Record those impressions, review them often, and follow through with exactness. I promise you that when you begin, to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same!

I took that recommendation very seriously and I can testify of President Nelson’s promise: my life hasn’t been the same since. In Eliza R. Snow’s talk, “An Elevation So High above the Ordinary,” she said that “to become queens and priestesses we must be business women.” The first time I read that, I felt a surge of current flow through my body and I knew this was part of my purpose. The Spirit taught me that she spoke not of the world’s definition of a businesswoman, but of God’s definition of a businesswoman: a woman in the business of doing the Lord’s work. The “glimpses” of my True Self have turned to sustained, intense gazes. It is clear  to me now when I’m connected to my True Self and when I’m not.

My True Self has messages and prompts for me. These prompts and feelings come through promptings from the Holy Ghost or from my own spirit, which is endowed with the Light of Christ, and so already knows, much of the time, what choices would serve me and others best. These prompts are the pure guidance that allow me to be who I am meant to be, to fulfill the measure of my creation and rise to my full spiritual stature.

Following the prompts can be a challenge, a stretch for my True Self, especially if I am being prompted to do something that I really don’t believe I know how to do. But the point is not to do the thing perfectly, it is to listen and follow the prompt. As I listen and follow, I get better at doing the things I am prompted to do and the prompts from my Spirit, or the prompts from the Holy Ghost, come more frequently and with greater detail. The point is to stay true to myself by acting. This is the last part of President Nelson’s counsel: “follow through with exactness.”

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!

The following was taken from the book Design Your Life In Meaningful Ways currently available at cedarfort.com.