Feeling God’s Love
My whole life I’ve struggled to feel God’s love. Typical of perfectionists is this fear: Since I’m not living life perfectly, how can I be worthy of God’s love?
There are a lot of great quotes about God’s love that are wonderful. Here are some of my favorites:
“Your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.” —Thomas S. Monson
“No mistake, sin, or choice will change God’s love for us.” —Ronald A. Rasband
“The most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love. God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.” —Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“Remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him. I testify that He loves us and blesses us, more than most of us have yet recognized.” —Henry B. Eyring
“God, the Eternal Father of the universe, loves us, His children, individually and personally. “Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.” —Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“Above all, never lose faith in your Father in Heaven, who loves you more than you can comprehend.” —Jeffrey R. Holland
“No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all.” —Jeffrey R. Holland
“We don't know the meaning of all things, but we know that God loves us, and that is sufficient to get us by and through anything.” —Neal A. Maxwell
“He is not waiting to love you until after you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles.” —Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“Faith means that we trust not only in God's wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does—every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds—is for our eternal happiness.” —Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“The first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life.” —Jeffrey R. Holland
One of my favorite scriptures about God’s love is in Romans, Chapter 8:
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let me also share something that has happened to me numerous times in the Temple. I have felt some glimpses from beyond the veil—what I’ll call “feelings of forever.” These are moments of pure joy, when I have felt like I was remembering the premortal life—what it was like to know God then and to feel His love and care! They are almost dejavu-ish, except on a spiritual level! I feel safe and protected.
During one of these “episodes” I had a vague remembrance of a time when I was a small child. We had traveled to visit some relatives. I had been sleeping in the car. I awoke to my dad wrapping me in a blanket and carrying me inside. Again, the feeling was that I was safe, protected, and loved. When I see a painting of a shepherd holding one of his sheep, I imagine that is how the sheep feels. Safe in the loving arms of the Shepherd.
So, even though I say that I have struggled to feel God’s love, I can almost hear a variation of his words to Oliver Cowdery: “Cast your mind upon the night” you were in the Temple. “Did not I speak peace,” safety, and love to you? “What greater witness can you have than from God?” (D&C 6).
To be continued . . . with Part 36
