"You are More than what You have Become"

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." -Colossians 3:1-2.

A few months ago, during my first visit to the Provo Temple while studying at BYU, I was led to read Elder Carl B. Cook's October 2011 conference message about remembering to look up. The central theme of this talk is that looking heavenward makes us happier. We spend so much time looking sideways at what others think of us that we rarely take the time to look up and see what God thinks of us which, in reality, is what really matters.  This point really impressed me and has been on my mind ever since.

This past weekend was another FANTASTIC general conference. Many good talks were given by such great orators as Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Jeffrey R. Holland, and, of course, our beloved prophet President Thomas S. Monson. Yet two that also particularly piqued my attention were those by Neil L. Andersen and O. Vincent Haleck. Both seem to revolve around a shared message similar to Elder Cook's six months earlier. Elder Andersen asked: What thinks Christ of me? Haleck questioned what Christ, the Savior, saw within those three poor fishermen whom would become prophets of God and what He might likewise see in each of us.

I have always loved the truth that God has a vision for each of us, the idea that we each have a marvelous destiny that, so long as we do as He would have us do, we can become even more than any of us could possibly imagine. Haleck states that "When we emulate him, we can see a vision of whom we can become." Just think of it, to become like Christ! How amazing that would be!

 Sometimes, however, we don't think of ourselves in such a way. Sometimes, we lose sight of this in the midst of all that life continually throws at us. Haleck warns that we must not let this happen, for "Where there is no vision, people perish." We truly need not fear because, as Anderson reassures "Whether in this life or the next, all will be made right."

Andersen then pleads and admonishes us to ask ourselves, "Does my life reflect the Love and Devotion that I feel for the Savior? Remember that all things are possible to him (or her) that believeth. We each have the sufficient capacity to do what He would have us do and be our best self. We each can try our hardest and that will be enough to Him. We must, as Haleck proclaims, "have the faith to do."

The apostles, when asked by our Savior if they too would leave him, answered simply, "To whom shalt we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." There is a divine destiny for each of us, an inspired path by which we can each return to Him with those we love. He sees in us potential. He sees in us someone worth saving, someone who can make a difference. He sees us as friends, as he says in the New Testament. He wants us to return. He loves us, and no matter what the world thinks of us, if the very powers of hell assault us with "their shafts in the whirlwinds," he will be there and that, more than anything else, is what really matters.

Remember, look up. Smile. Show love as he would.