Drawing Closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus

Author: Becky Boone


Source: Becky Boone


Date given: 2008


Location: Lehi Utah

When I got the topic of what it means to draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus I first thought of the basic answers of prayer, scripture study, going to church and seminary, and attending the temple. When we follow God's will and live as He would have us live, we become more like Him and His Son. But why do we want to become more like God? In D&C 132:20 it states: “Then shall they be gods”. That is our final goal.

Let’s start out with a couple of the “seminary answers” of things that can draw us closer to God. How about our prayer and church attendance. Are we like the Zoramites with their Rameumptoms? Do we offer up repetitious prayers or are we only a “Sunday” Mormon who worships God once a week instead of everyday? If this is our case, will that help us draw closer to our Heavenly Father?

As we make a habit of approaching God in prayer, we will come to know Him and draw nearer to Him. Our desires will become more like His. We will be able to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that He is ready to give if we will ask in faith.

Another way to draw nearer to God is through studying the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets. Today as we look around there are many anti-Christ’s or things that will draw us away from Heavenly Father. If we read the scriptures and listen to the prophet, we will know exactly what God wants us to do and it will open us up for promptings of the Holy Ghost.

We can also come to know our Father by learning about Christ and applying the gospel in our lives. The Savior taught His disciples: "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. . . . He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:7, 9). When I think about some of Christ’s characteristics I think of honesty, love, and compassion.

The articles of faith have been given to us as a guideline to help us become more Christlike. The thirteenth article of faith reminds us that "We believe in being honest. In the book“True to the Faith” it states: “When we are honest in every way, we are able to enjoy peace of mind and maintain self-respect. We build strength of character, which allows us to be of service to God and others. We are trustworthy in the eyes of God and those around us.

On the other hand, if we are dishonest in our words or actions, we hurt ourselves and often hurt others as well. We lose the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

I am sure everyone has a little story about when they learned the principle of honesty. I remember mine. When I was little, we had a gumball machine that my mom would fill with candy. We could use our pennies in it and get a treat. One day, I did not have a penny, but I really wanted a piece of the candy. I knew that my older sister had penny in her drawer so I took it and went the gum ball machine. I still remember my mom asking me if that penny was mine. I told her it was. I don’t know how she knew, but she asked me a second time. That time I cracked and told her that is wasn’t. After that we had a little discussion about what honesty was even if it was just a penny. That experience, even though it happened years and years ago, has stuck with me. Honesty is a Christlike characteristic, and if we have it, we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father.

Having love and compassion for others will help us grow closer to our Heavenly Father also. He loves everyone and so should we. Our expressions of love for others may include being kind to them, listening to them, mourning with them, comforting them, serving them, praying for them, sharing the gospel with them, and being their friend. Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters.

I learned many lessons growing up. I remember one in particular that my Grandpa taught me one day about showing love and compassion to my sisters. I don’t remember what the occasion was, or where we were going, but two of my sisters , me, and my grandparents were getting into the car. Now, typical of siblings, we were fighting over who got to sit by the windows. When grandpa heard us, he had us all get out of the car. I still remember the look of disappointment at us on his face. I don’t remember his exact words, but the idea was that as sisters we should love each other, look out for each other and try our best to make each other happy, even if it means sacrificing something that you want. In our case it was those window seats. Right then and there, I decided that I would never fight for the window seat which would make my sisters happy. I don’t know how much later is was that I actually discovered that the middle seat was in fact the best seat because I could look out both sides and see everything!

Love and compassion for others starts in the home. Growing up I can’t ever remember hearing my either sets of my Grandparents or my own parents ever yell or scream at each other in anger or speak bad about each other, nor could I even imagine them doing so. To me that is a wonderful Christlike characteristic that can be passed down from generation to generation. What children see, they are more than likely to carry on when they grow older. I was fortunate to marry a husband that grew up in similar circumstances with his parents. After we got married we lived in an apartment complex in Provo for a while. As in apartment complexes, it is easy to overhear things going on in apartments around you. Ben told me that as he was walking past one, he heard the couple yelling and screaming at each other. Right then and there we made a goal never to scream or yell at each other. Because of the examples I had growing up, it was not too hard for me to quickly agree. I am grateful for the Christlike examples I had growing up that have helped me grow closer to my Heavenly Father.

To draw closer to our Heavenly Father, we must remember that no one is perfect and that we must have faith that we can still reach our final goal of becoming Gods and Goddesses through the gift of the atonement and repentance. Sin is a heavy burden. In the hymn “How Gentle God’s Commands”, the third verse states “Why should this anxious load press down your weary mind? Haste to you Heavenly Father’s throne and sweet refreshment find”. God wants us to be happy and we can if we will turn to him.

In closing, I want to read a portion of a letter that Paul wrote to Timothy right before his death. He wrote: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.”
I encourage you to draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus so in the end you can say you have fought a good fight and a crown of righteousness awaits you.



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