Sacrament Meeting Program

Presiding: Bishop Serge St. Felix
Conducting: Brother Alan Riker
Opening Hymn: #93 - Prayer of Thanksgiving
Invocation: By Invitation

Ward Business

Sacrament Hymn: #1045 - Jesus Is the Way
Administration of the Sacrament

Speaker: Sondra St. Felix
Speaker: Brian Wozniak
Musical Number: Ward Choir
Speaker: Megan Langford

Closing Hymn: CS 231 - All Things Bright and Beautiful
Benediction: By Invitation

Know Who You Really Are

By Elder Brik. V. Eyre
Of the Seventy

Several years ago our daughter had a profound experience on her mission. With her approval, I share an excerpt of what she wrote to us that week:

“Yesterday a returning member asked us to come over as soon as possible. When we arrived, we found her on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Through the tears, we found out that she had lost her job, was going to be evicted from her apartment, and once again become homeless.”

Our daughter continued: “I started frantically searching my scriptures, trying to find something—anything—to help her. As I was looking for the perfect verse, I thought, ‘What am I doing? This is not what Christ would do. This is not a problem that I can solve, but this is a literal daughter of God who needs my help.’ So I closed my scriptures, knelt beside her, and held her while we cried together, until she was ready to stand up and face this trial.”

After this woman was comforted, our daughter then used the scriptures to try and help her understand the reality of her divine worth and to teach her one of the most fundamental truths of our existence—that we are beloved sons and daughters of God, a God that feels perfect compassion for us when we suffer and is ready to assist us as we stand back up.

It is insightful that the first point of doctrine that our missionaries teach is that God is our loving Heavenly Father. Every subsequent truth builds on the foundational understanding of who we really are.

Susan H. Porter, Primary General President, taught: “When you know and understand how completely you are loved as a child of God, it changes everything. It changes the way you feel about yourself when you make mistakes. It changes how you feel when difficult things happen. It changes your view of God’s commandments. It changes your view of others and of your capacity to make a difference.”

This change is illustrated as we read about the experience Moses had when talking with God face-to-face. During that conversation, God repeatedly taught Moses of his divine heritage, saying, “Moses, … thou art my son.” God explained that Moses was in the similitude of His Only Begotten. Moses came to understand clearly who he was, that he had a work to do, and that he had a loving Heavenly Father.

After this experience, the adversary came tempting him and immediately addressed him by saying, “Moses, son of man.” This is a common and dangerous tool in the arsenal of the adversary. While our Heavenly Father consistently and lovingly reminds us that we are His children, the adversary will always try to label us by our weaknesses. But Moses had already learned that he was more than a “son of man.” He declared to Satan: “Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God.” Similarly, when we are confronted with the challenges of mortality or when we feel like anyone is trying to label us by our weaknesses, we need to stand strong in the knowledge of who we truly are. We must seek validation vertically, not horizontally. And as we do, we too can boldly proclaim, “I am a child of God.”

Know Who You Really Are

Elder Eyre shares two ways to better understand what it means to be a child of God.

Elder Brik V. Eyre