By Brandon Page

Good morning or maybe good evening depending on where in the world you may be! Thank you for reading and I hope this post can inspire you and brighten your day.

At work this week I was performing one of my usual assignments, reviewing plans for water systems, and I was reminded of something I had heard before: by two or three witnesses shall every word be established or every truth be confirmed.

In this specific assignment I look at three views of the same water system, each showing a different aspect of the water system, and if the plans are done correctly, they should all coincide. There is an overall water plan, section views of zoomed in parts of the water plan and profile views of the water plan that show what the water line looks like inside the ground. When I verify that a piece of pipe or a component is present in each of the views, I am more confident that the plans are correct or at least that the designer intended for those components to be there.

The same can be said of our loving Heavenly Father and his plan of mercy and justice. He has explained it to us and has provided the details of His plan throughout the ages by the mouth of His prophets and His Beloved Son. He has also sent the Holy Ghost to confirm these truths in our hearts and our minds. One such truth is that we are His children.

The Prophet Malachi, when reproving the Jews asked them, “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?”

The Apostle Paul wrote to his fellow Saints in Rome, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” I imagine this truth helping the Saints in Rome feel more hopeful knowing that they belonged and were children of a loving Heavenly Father. Historically, Rome was filled with many conquered peoples, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ could have helped them obtain an understanding of their divine identity that transcended ideas of rulers, politics, or of social classes.

The Prophet Alma testified to his wayward son Corianton, “Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.” This knowledge was especially important for Corianton who was at risk of believing that Christ’s sacrifice meant his poor choices would have no consequences, and it reminded him of his divine identity and inherent relationship with God.

And modern-day prophets like the Prophet Joseph Smith have testified, “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.”

The truth that we are sons and daughters of God, to know that we belong and are loved, in and of itself is comforting, but the Lord invites us to experience that truth in a higher and holier way. If we know that this is true, we should love one another and show our love for our Heavenly Father through our words, thoughts, actions, and desires. Jesus invites us to love one another so that we can become like Him. Just like perfect water plans have no power to move water until they are followed and until the water line is built according to the plans, so too will we remain unchanged until we follow our Heavenly Father’s plans and build our lives upon them so that the Living Water can fill our lives until life everlasting, safely at home again with our Heavenly Parents and the covenant relationships we have made on this Earth.