The Divine Calling of a Father

Our Heavenly Father has an infinite and undying love for each and every single one of His children. He knows, loves, understands and wants to bless all 7.6 billion of them on this Earth; in addition, every child who came before and those who have yet to come. He is incredible, infinite and beyond our capacity to understand. But He is real and very aware of us.

Heavenly Father gave us a beautiful gift to have while here on this Earth. In fact, this gift was so important that He made it impossible for us to be here without it. It is required. He blessed us with an earthly father.

I think in the Pre-Earth Life (where we lived with our Heavenly Parents before this life)  He had a very special conversation with all of the men. To them I think He said something like, "I cannot go with you, I cannot raise up children in mortality. That is YOUR opportunity, YOUR job, YOUR divine calling. You have a sacred obligation to be the best example of me that you can. They will look up to you, they will need you. I want them to see a glimpse of me in you.

"Some of you may be required to perform this calling alone, due to earthly trial and sorrow. Others of you may not have such opportunities on earth, but fear not, all will be made right through your Brother, Jesus Christ.

"For those of you who will raise earthly children in this time, please rely on that same Brother when nothing seems to be going right. Rely on Him when you feel you have made every mistake that there is to make and that there is just no hope left. You cannot go wrong. I trusted you enough to let you raise up my children as their earthly father, provider, exemplar, caretaker and friend. Do not give up. Your perfection comes later; for now I only ask that you do your very best."

But then I believe He lowered His head in a way that you could see the heartache He felt. "Unfortunately," He softly continued, "Some of you will choose to use your agency otherwise. You will neglect, you will walk away, you will choose a darker path than you now anticipate. In these moments I will only be able to do my best in showing your earthly children that I am still here and that I have not forgotten them. But also, please try to remember Sons, in those same moments, I will not have forgotten you."

Our earthly fathers have a large role to play. Some of them have succeeded; they have loved us, raised us and taught us much about the character of our Heavenly Father. To each of those fathers, I am grateful. I am sure it has not been an easy path, but if you did your best, if you tried, if you did all you could to right your wrongs, YOU have pleased your Heavenly Father. You have risen to the call you were asked to perform here.

Unfortunately, there are some earthly fathers who have neglected the responsibility of fatherhood. They haven't been as faithful in fulfilling their calling to raise and love their beautiful offspring who are a gift directly from their Heavenly Father. They have fallen short. 

Those children who are faced with this trial are loved deeply by their Heavenly Father. He sent His Son for them that they might experience joy despite the loss in their childhood they may have endured. The Savior has felt their pain and their sorrow. He suffered that they may feel whole in all circumstances.

But for their fathers, He also suffered. He suffered so that their shortcomings might be forgiven through sincere repentance. He suffered because His Father, our Father, said He wanted ALL of His children to return Home to Him and that was the only way.

The point is, Heavenly Father is eternal. No matter our circumstance, He is there. And He, even in our weakest and darkest moments, continues to love us because once, in that Pre-mortal council, we ALL chose Him; we ALL chose to work hard to become like Him. We accepted His plan, knowing that we would have trials, regrets, and sorrows but also very happy and beautiful moments throughout this earthly journey. 

Today, I only encourage you to love and show gratitude to your earthly father who is trying. For those of you in less than ideal situations, forgive. Forgive your father or forgive yourself. It's the purest way to heal. Then go to your knees and express your gratitude for your Father in Heaven who tries every day to show you His love. 

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