Knowing Who We Are Fortifies Us for Life

By Elder Jared V. Ormsby

Area Seventy

As children, my younger brother, Luke, and I were always excited for our father to return home from work. We would wait in our pyjamas and rush down the stairs to greet him in the garage when he arrived. Our father always let us know how excited he was to see us. He would refer to us as his “main men”. He would ask us how our day had been and how our mother was.

Sometimes our father would not return home until after we were tucked up in bed by our wonderful mother. On those occasions, he would come visit us in our rooms. We would always ask him to share a bedtime story with us. We loved his bedtime stories. They were always about us, Jared and Luke. Most importantly, the stories would always end in the same way: Jared and Luke would grow up to be good men and to serve missions.

These stories had a profound effect on us as growing boys. Through these stories, our father reinforced to us that our identity centred around the gospel of Jesus Christ, being good men of character, and being able to do whatever we set our mind to. When we travelled together as a family, our parents would emphasize we were children of God and that we could be successful at whatever we focused on in life.

I am convinced that these stories helped build our self-esteem and emotional resilience. By teaching us who we were and about our divine potential, our parents prepared us to be successful and to overcome adversity and challenges in life.

We are all children of God. When we understand our divine identity, it helps us to overcome challenges and to make better choices. It helps us to “think celestial” because we not only understand who we are, but also why we are here and the purpose of adversity.

President Russell M. Nelson has taught that three fundamental truths help us prepare for eternal life:

First, know the truth about who you are.
Second, know the truth about what Heavenly Father and His Son have offered you.
And third, know the truth related to your conversion.

As President Nelson said, “The way you think about who you really are affects almost every decision you will ever make.”

President Nelson identified three primary identities: first, we are children of God, secondly, as members of the Church, we are children of the covenant, and thirdly, we are disciples of Christ. These identities allow us to spiritually flourish rather than spiritually suffocate.

When I was a young lawyer, I would often identify myself as a lawyer. However, law is what I do, it is not who I am. I find that as I identify as a disciple of Christ, I no longer compartmentalise my life into Church, work, home, or social activities but instead make all my decisions based on my eternal destiny. I believe I am a better husband, father, friend, and lawyer as a result.

Many years ago, as a young stake president, one of our bishops had his home in Christchurch destroyed by earthquakes and liquefaction and had to move on several occasions. I asked this good man how he coped with such devastation. In that moment, he reminded me that he and his family knew who they were as children of God, and they had confidence that God would provide for them and look after them.

Teaching our children about who they are helps prepare them for eternity. Proverbs 22:6 states: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

When we teach children the plan of our Heavenly Father together with their identity and divine potential, we teach them that they are loved, that they have value, and that their divine potential is to become like their Father in Heaven. When we live according to those truths we demonstrate to our children, youth, and young adults that they can overcome the challenges of life and be successful and happy through living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mormon declared, “Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.”

In this statement, Mormon powerfully shares his identity, testimony, and purpose. As our youth embrace Mormon’s words this year, they will not only join our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in their divine work but also be better prepared for the challenges and adversities of mortal life.

Whether we are young or old, may we always remember President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s great counsel:

“Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.”