"Father, the hour is come..."

In my experience as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I met men and women from all different works of life and worlds. Construction workers, stay-at-home mothers and fathers, artists, college students, drug addicts, drunkards, aspiring inventors, poets, you name it. All with different stories. Some of them were perfectly content with life. Others had just lost a loved one. Others still were homeless, or suffering from addiction. Some were devout Catholics, others of Protestant faith. Some were atheists. Some agnostics, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Bahá'i. Some sought us out, with deep, pressing questions that weighed on them. Some avoided us like a plague. Some were indifferent. Some simply did not understand.

In all my teaching and sharing of scriptures with them, there was one thing I found, more than any other, that bound them all together. Somewhere down the line I noticed that each and every one of their doubts, fears, and pains boiled down to this: What's this life for? Is there meaning, or am I just wasting my time here?

Members of the Mormon faith have a very unique way of looking at these questions. I've thought long and hard about how to explain this. Pay close attention, because understanding this is key to understanding anything else I say, do, and believe. I'll try to explain as simply as I can.

The Athanasian Creed reads, "…we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensibles, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty; And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord; And yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person by himself to be God and Lord; so are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say: There are three Gods or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits." (Taken from <http://www.reformed.org/documents/athanasian.html> .)

Similarly, the Westminster Confession of Faith reads, in one part, "...there is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions;  immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute…" (Taken from <http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ch_II.html> .)

Now,  before I continue, be aware that this I write not to dissect various creeds and confessions, but to illustrate the differences to help you understand. The bolded portions of the above texts are the ones I want to focus on. Other beliefs exist, but I use these two as illustrative of my own personal experience with others' views of God.

To give a very generalized summary, most people I met viewed God as distant being, impossible to understand, uncaring, and completely unconcerned with human affairs.

But this is not so.

In the spring of 1820, the 14-year-old Joseph Smith was living in a region of New York that was rather active religiously. Being a young boy and concerned for the welfare of his soul, he began a search for the church he should join. After some time and reading James 1:5, which reads "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.", he decided that in order to know for himself the truth, he could only turn to God.

As a result of this, he had a vision that completely changed the way we view God. Going into a forest near his house one morning by himself, he knelt down to pray. Later recounting the experience, he wrote, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”  (Copied from <http://lds.org/churchhistory/presidents/controllers/potcController.jsp?leader=1&topic=testimony> .)

Allow me to point out the differences between this singular experience and the beliefs of the time. Note that there were "two Personages" that appeared as separate, visible beings with bodies. Not only that, but they came down from heaven to answer the question of a 14-year-old boy with no real education who lived, essentially, in the middle nowhere at the time .

Stop and think about that. God isn't some distant unknown. He has a body of flesh and bone, much like ours, but glorified. He is the Father of our spirits. We are of a divine heritage, sons and daughters of the Most High God. He is your Father. Just as we have fathers in the flesh, so too is there a Father of all spirits.

You are a child of God, not in some vague, incomprehensible way, but in a very real and understandable way. God knows you. He loves you, perfectly. And just like any good father in this world, He wants to give you all He can. He is a real, tangible being that understands your doubts, pains, and fears, and more than anything else, wants you to be happy. Just like any good father on earth would want for his children. He is kind with us in our faults, our weakness, and our impatience. He listens to everything you tell him, and His only desire is to help you make it back to Him. God is love.