I Am With the Faithful Always

To my daughter,

               This week we read in the Book of Mormon some of Jacob’s teachings about the Savior. He rejoiced in the plan of our Father in Heaven who has prepared the way for all of us to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Jacob wrote, “O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell…. O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it. And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.” Because Jesus Christ suffered, died, and rose again, you and I will be delivered from death and be resurrected. And as we put our faith in Him, He will take upon Himself the penalty for our sins and help us to become better. Jacob summarized what we need to do in these words: “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 9:19-21, 23). Soon you will have the opportunity to follow that invitation by choosing to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. As you do so, you will be making a covenant with Him, and He promises to help and bless and strengthen you. After you are baptized, you will continue to repent when you make mistakes and to exercise faith in Him. You will show faith as you strive to keep His commandments, study His word in the scriptures, and sincerely pray in His name to your Father in Heaven. I love this promise He gave to Joseph Smith that applies to you too: “And behold, and lo, I am with the faithful always. Even so. Amen” (Doctrine and Covenants 62:9). As you exercise faith in Him, trying to keep your covenants with Him, He will be with you always. There is no better Friend you could have!

               I want you to know that you can receive help from the Lord at any time, no matter what problem you have or what challenges you face. This week I was feeling a little overwhelmed with a couple of problems I had to solve for work. One of them had to be solved that day for one of our clients, but it was something that seemed it would take a long time to figure out. So, I knelt and prayed for help in the name of Jesus, and then I went to work with my colleague trying to find the solution. And indeed we were able to figure it out much quicker than I anticipated and get the solution to our client who was demanding it as soon as possible. I know that the Lord helped me, and my colleague (who is not a member of our Church) even mentioned that God had helped us to solve the problem. To me, that is the blessing of being yoked to the Savior: He promises to be with us and help us as we seek Him and do our best to keep our covenants with Him. I hope you know that whatever struggles you face in your life, you can get help from the Savior by sincerely seeking Him. Remember that you have a Friend and Advocate and Redeemer who is always near. 

Love,

Dad