A Correct Idea of His Attributes

To my daughter, 

                The Prophet Joseph Smith taught us that the first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Helping us to understand how to develop such faith, he taught that “three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation. First, the idea that he actually exists. Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes. Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will.” I hope that you know in your heart that God does exist—you are His daughter and I know you have felt His Spirit confirm that to you. He created you and cares more about your future than any mortal ever could. As you pray sincerely you can feel that He is near to you and cares about you. His plan is for you to return to live with Him and to develop the kind of attributes that He has. Knowing that He exists, it is very important for us to understand who He is and what He is like. Recently you have asked good questions about stories in the scriptures that show that God has meted out punishment upon people. In particular, we know that innocent people have died or suffered in the process, such as when the flood covered the earth. Why would He do that and let even children experience severe pain? I do not know all the answers, but I do know that all His actions are done with perfect love for His children. His goal is to save all of His children with eternal life, and that might mean inflicting some short-term pain in the hope that it will lead to long-term happiness. Often, we see things only with our mortal eyes and don’t have the full picture in view. Imagine that I showed you a picture of a man pushing a boy down in the middle of a street. You would likely be quick to judge that man as mean, and you would not be able to fathom any motive but an evil one that would lead him to do such a thing. But then imagine that I zoomed out on the picture, and you saw that there was an oncoming car that was about to hit the boy. You would realize at that point that the man’s action actually saved the life of the boy while leaving himself in danger. Your view on the motives of this man would be completely reversed at that point. Often in our limited vision as we judge what God has done in the past or is doing know, we are like the person who only sees myopically the man pushing the boy. But we should be careful judging what we do not understand, for the full story may be much different than what we can ascertain right now with our limited view.

                The scriptures help us to understand the attributes of God so we can learn to trust Him even when we do not understand all of His actions. For example, Moses who had talked to the Lord face to face, described Him as “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). Paul told us that God is “rich in mercy” and has shown us “great love wherewith he loved us” (Ephesians 2:4). John, who was an eyewitness of many things that Jesus taught, told us that the essence of God is love: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8). God is the epitome of love; He is so full of love for His children that He is the definition of love in a sense. Nephi taught, “He doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness” (2 Nephi 26:33). Alma taught us that God is “full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers” (Alma 9:26). Moroni also taught us, “And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity” (Ether 12:33-34). That is, in fact, the greatest sign of the love that God has for us: He sent His Son into the world to show us who God is and to die for us out of love. One of the most famous verses in the New Testament says this: “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” (John 3:16).

The best way that we can understand the attributes of God is to learn of who Jesus Christ was in mortality. We see him serving, healing, blessing, teaching, forgiving, and loving the people He was amidst. He went about doing good all the time and invited the people to repent and change and follow Him. He showed perfect humility, patience, long-suffering, and love to all. Near the end of his life, Philip requested, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Jesus responded, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:8-9) In other words, to understand who Christ was is to understand who God the Father is. I encourage you to learn the stories of Jesus in mortality, for that will help you understand that you have a Father in Heaven who is perfect in mercy, long-suffering, and love for you. You may still have questions about why God lets some things happen, but you can know for certain that He has a perfect and infinite love for you.

Love,

Dad