Episode 86: See Him As He Is

This episode is for anyone who has felt like living the Gospel is sometimes too hard, or that you need a break from the strict rules. Is that really how God is, or is that simply our perception of Him? 

Full Show Notes

If the Gospel feel strict, if it feels like the rules are suffocating, who is the God you know? What are your thoughts about God?

In Moroni 7:48, we learn that we will be like Jesus Christ when we can see him as he is. As humans, it is normal to project our thoughts about ourselves onto others. Do we do this with God, and then blame him for how we feel or what we are capable of? How do we know?

I think the answer is yes, we do project onto God our own judgements of ourselves. This episode is simply means to get you thinking about the God you know.

God is both just and merciful. Are you more sensitive to the just God or the merciful God? Where are you on the celestial continuum? (A concept I learned from Jared Halvorson.) Is it perhaps time to get to know the more merciful side of God if the commandments feel too strict?

Nobody is forcing you to keep the commandments, so why do you still feel like you must? We know God is a God who honors agency, so why aren’t you able to exercise it more fully?

A simple exercise

Here’s a simple exercise to help you uncover some subconscious (and conscious) thoughts about God. Nobody else needs to read this, so be as honest as you can.

1. Write out your thoughts about God. How do you feel about Him?
2. Write out your thoughts about President Nelson. How do you feel about him?
3. Write out your thoughts about your stake president.
4. Write out your thoughts about your bishop.
5. Write out your thoughts about your Elder’s Quorum or Relief Society President.
6. Write out your thoughts about your husband (if you are married).
7. Now re-write the thoughts as if they were about yourself. For example, if one of your thoughts is “He is out of touch with what is really happening with me,” rewrite it as “I am really out of touch with what is happening with me.”

When you can see YOURSELF as you are, and LOVE and ACCEPT it wholly, you will be able to approach God as a more merciful Father.

Because God loves you. He wants you to grow closer to Him. He wants you to learn and grow. There are times when he is required to be just, but I think more often He is cheering you on and helping you along. He is always the same, never changing his identity. But we change all the time.

What a beautiful promise to be able to become the sons and daughters of God; “that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” This is a process of purifying ourselves. Getting to know ourselves, so that we can get to know God as His true self. That is what I want for each of us.

Denita

PS. This is not an easy thing to do by yourself. If you would like some support in this process, please schedule a free session. I would be honored to accompany you.

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