Written by Katie Palmer, a BYU student, studying a volume of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price, which is written by prophets; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” revere it as sacred text. This post comes from a book within the Pearl of Great Price known as The Book of Moses; it is an extraction from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830—February 1831.

We Are All Children of Our Heavenly Father

During Moses’ visitation with God on the mountain, found in a scriptural account known as the Pearl of Great Price, he learned many truths that were completely unknown and almost incomprehensible to his time. He first learned as he stood face to face with God, that mortals physically resemble him. He also learned that we are Heavenly Father’s children as he heard God say, “thou art my son” (Moses 1:4). But when the presence of God withdrew from Moses, and he lost all of his strength, he realized another key point in our relation to God: “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10). This humbling experience gave Moses the confidence he needed to withstand the deceptive powers of Satan that soon followed because he knew that nothing was comparable to the greatness of God, including Satan himself. God then visited Moses again and revealed another great truth: although God has created an infinite universe and has all power, all of his work is done in order “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39).

President Uchtdorf (a member of the First Presidency in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) addressed this very story when he stated, “This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God” (General Conference October 2011). He continues by saying, “We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.”

The truths that Moses learned in the mountain can profoundly affect our relationship with God. By realizing that we are Heavenly Father’s children, we also realize our potential to some day be like him. This in turn affects many of our daily decisions as we make choices based on our desire to be exalted, not our humanly urges of temporary satisfaction that Satan tries to tempt us with. These momentary things mean nothing compared to the eternal happiness we have been promised. And by understanding that we are nothing compared to him, we also know that we conquer anything with his help.

Knowing that he is our Father and that he cares about us also helps us to feel his love. Being conscious of God’s love gives us confidence that he is watching over us and that he hears our prayers. We then submit to his will because we know that “all these things shall give [us] experience, and shall be for [our] good” (D&C 122:7). The knowledge of Moses’ relationship with God affects everything about our relationship with Heavenly Father because we can finally understand it for the simple reality that it is: although we are nothing compared to him, we are everything to him. Since we are the center of his purpose in the heavens above, his will should in return be the center of our purpose here on earth. As we make this our objective, our relationship with the Father will only strengthen, and we will continue to draw closer and closer unto him until we have reached the ultimate goal of becoming one with him in the eternities above.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about how you can strengthen your relationship with our Heavenly Father at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

What Do Mormons Believe about Life, Happiness, and Jesus Christ?

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon or Bible–both testaments of Jesus Christ.