Scriptures and Snow-Covered Mountains

While I am not a fan of public speaking and I am no master teacher, I love teaching Sunday School to the 16 and 17 year olds in my ward/congregation (I co-teach with a friend who inspires me, hi Debbie!). The youth are incredible, and I feel blessed to be able to teach and discuss spiritual topics that are so close to my heart. Today in class, after we watched this awesome video on my laptop, we talked about how fortunate we are to have the scriptures at our fingertips, in paper print and online, and how studying them helps us learn about our Heavenly Father and how it brings us closer to Him. At the beginning of class I asked them to write on the board things they know about Heavenly Father...who He is, what He does, His characteristics, His purpose...and I loved seeing what they shared (above). They also searched the Topical Guide for scriptures that held those truths and shared them with each other...those kids are awesome. I displayed and read a few quotes from past prophets and apostles about our Father in Heaven that touched my deeply...and my favorite is this one:

"We once knew well our Elder Brother and His and our Father in Heaven. We rejoiced at the prospects of earth life that could make it possible for us to have a fulness of joy. ... And now we're here - our memories are veiled - and we're showing God and ourselves what we can do.  And nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us."

--President Ezra Taft Benson, 'Jesus Christ--Gifts and Expectations'

God is good. I'm so grateful that I know He is my Heavenly Father, and that He loves me no matter what. If I look, I can see His hand in my life, every day. Even in small things like a lovely Sunday with blue skies and the view of snow-covered mountains from my backyard. :)