God feels joy

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. I’ve felt the influence of the Holy Ghost many times in my life and I’m grateful for God’s love and forgiveness. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Yet God is patient and has not cut me off. I’m trying to do good things. I’m learning all the time.

My husband and I raised our seven children as members of the same church we belong to. Six of them have decided not to continue in that church. Thankfully we are still on speaking terms, with regular get-togethers. We express love and hug each other and try to help each other as we are able. I hope that my children will listen to the Holy Ghost and will do good things. I know they will fail in some ways; I have failed in some things and had to repent, apologize, and try to make it right.

This past week I learned about a religious group which refuses to forgive. Other groups have taught that God doesn’t exist, that we are merely here for our own benefit, that Christ was just a man. So many details separate belief systems: baptize? by immersion or by sprinkling? Who officiates? Can anyone baptize? Why baptize? Is it one and done or do you have to do good things afterwards? What does it mean to be saved? Will we become gods, powerful like God, or will we become his pets in heaven, never reaching his level? These are just differences within Christianity; there’s a whole world of differing beliefs.

I marvel at God’s patience. He doesn’t condemn any of us. Instead he waits and watches, quietly answering our questions and meeting our needs, raining on the just and on the unjust, letting us figure out for ourselves what we believe. He’s busy, but not visible. Coincidences and miracles happen all the time, things we can only attribute to Him or to chance or fortune or weirdness. He doesn’t even zap us when we refuse to give Him credit for helping us.

He limits our time on earth, and usually He doesn’t tell in advance what’s beyond this life. Some people reported going and coming back from death. They’re not able to tell us everything; with human speech and human understanding, it won’t all fit into words. And so we take it on faith: believe that God lives. He loves you. He cares what you do. He is the parent of every person on the earth, and creator of everything we see. And while my belief system sees Him as male, He loves and values all His creations, male, female, and all variations. He sees us, and feels joy.