By Dina Alexander
Lately I have been thinking and pondering about who I am and what my missions are here on earth. As I have sought insight into these topics, I have rediscovered the book No Doubt About It by Sheri Dew. She seems to have all the answers! In reading her book, it has become clear to me that it is essential to have the Holy Ghost in our lives in order to understand who we are and who we have always been.
For it is the Spirit who reveals to us our identity as children of God! It is the Spirit that helps us remember and seek out the missions our Heavenly Parents have entrusted to us.
How can we lay hold upon this great gift?
Learning to hear the voice of the Spirit has two integral parts: scripture study and prayer. They are quite intertwined and build off of one another. They seem to strengthen each other. They are like two great partners: scripture study and prayer
Now, I am a person who loves shortcuts and loves finding easier ways to cook, clean, exercise, work, and even to parent my children. But scripture study and prayer don’t have a lot of shortcuts. Although we can do a lot of things to make it more meaningful and interesting—we still need to do it meaningfully every day. Just as the children of Israel needed to collect manna each day, we need scripture study daily. We can’t just do it all on Sunday and expect to be full for a week. We need daily nourishment.
Scripture is also one of our most direct lines of communication from God to us.
Lately I have taken a new approach to my scripture study in this regard. My goal is not only to find meaning in various scripture verses, but to find and ponder on scriptures that are written just for me. Remember, there were a lot more plates than just the ones Joseph Smith got, but Mormon was commanded to edit the book down and pick out the ones that you and I would need to help fulfill our missions.
Whether those very personal verses are from the Bible, Book of Mormon, or from living prophets in General Conference, try focusing your study on what God is trying to teach you right now.
Your Patriarchal Blessing
If you are feeling a bit stuck —and probably being too hard on yourself— or need an even more personal place to start, then read over your own personal scripture, your patriarchal blessing. Take each paragraph and focus on each word. What are our Heavenly Parents trying to communicate to you?
Think for a moment about your patriarchal blessing; what are some of the things that stand out to you right at this moment? What is some of the work mentioned in it that you are doing?
What are some of the things that you can start working on?
Sometimes we get caught up in old meanings to certain sentences of our patriarchal blessings and forget to hear and feel what the Spirit is communicating right now. For instance, there is a sentence at the beginning of my blessing that mentions overcoming various trials. For over 30 years I completely skipped over the first part of the sentence that mentions the Lord’s desire for me to experience joy. When I finally allowed the Spirit to teach me that, my understanding of that sentence totally changed. I hope you are smarter than I am and allow the Spirit to teach you more easily.
Sheri Dew gives another great suggestion to us in No Doubt About It. If you are looking for more revelation about YOU and who you have always been, ask the Lord if He knows you and how He feels about you. Learn about yourself as you study Doctrine and Covenants 138 and Abraham 3. You really are one of the noble and great ones.
Teach Your Children Who They Are!
My hope is that each of us come to understand that we are all children of God and to remember who we have always been. It is then that we can teach this divine principle to our children. With all the ridiculous and dangerous messages out there, it is imperative that we teach our kids to hear the voice of the Spirit and understand their divine heritage.
Take time to discuss what the Spirit feels like, where your kids can find truth, and the importance of daily scripture study. Share parts of your patriarchal blessing that will benefit them, and help them to find out who they are and who they have always been.
Ready to help your kids ask important gospel questions? Check out my book Chloe Has a Question, A Very Important Question and This is the Spirit of Revelation, available on Amazon.
Dina Alexander is the founder of Educate and Empower Kids (educateempowerkids.org), an organization determined to strengthen families by teaching digital citizenship, media literacy, and healthy sexuality education—including education about the dangers of online porn. She is the creator of How to Talk to Your Kids About Pornography, the 30 Days of Sex Talks and 30 Days to a Stronger Child programs. She is also the author of Noah’s New Phone: A Story About Using Technology for Good and Petra’s Power to See: A Media Literacy Adventure.
Most recently, Dina has published This is the Spirit of Revelation for Latter-day Saint children and their families, and Conversations with My Kids, 30 Essential Family Discussions for the Digital Age.
The Holy Ghost Will Answer Our Questions
“None of us come to this earth to gain our worth; we brought it with us.” — Sheri Dew
Teach Your Kids that Their Gospel Questions are GOOD!!!
My newest book, Chloe Has a Question, a Very Important Question, which teaches children how important their gospel questions really are, is coming this summer!
