One of the greatest truths of original Christianity and of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we are spirit sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. Paul writes in Hebrews 12:9 that God is the Father of spirits and in Acts 17:28, he states that “we are also his offspring.” This connection between God and man helps us understand His love and also our divine potential, including the ability to be joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8). This Fathers Day, let’s not forget why God is called our Father in Heaven. It’s not just a pleasant metaphor. He is our Father.
The Father of Our Spirits
This Fathers Day, let’s not forget why God is called our Father in Heaven. It’s not just a pleasant metaphor. He is our Father.
Indeed. That was a great post to read this morning.
There is more than one way to become a father of course.
Right, Mark, there is more than one way to become a father. There is an example of this in Mosiah 5:7 (And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.)
That does not, however, change the fact that God is our literal father, as clearly stated in Luke 3:38 (you have to use a little deduction on that one…) and also John 11:52, Matt 5:16,46,48, Matt 6… Matt 23:9, Jacob 7:22, 3 Ne 14:11… the list goes on, lds.org and the topical guide are good sources.
At any rate… Yes. I appreciate the knowledge that I am a child of God, an heir to all He has. How amazing is it that because we are the offspring of God we can expect to someday develop into what He is, as a little child looks up to his towering, apparently superhuman father, and clumsily tries to walk in his oversized sunday loafers, so we can look up to our Father in Heaven and do all we can to follow in his considerable footsteps.