Feeling God’s love BYUH students and staff discuss Heavenly Father’s compassion BY EDEN JONES
Graphics by Hannah Manalang
The struggles of feeling failure and despair while also accepting God’s love is an issue students and faculty alike said they are facing. According to them, there is hope in following the commandments and patiently waiting for God. Zach Bright, a freshman from Colorado, said, “I see God’s love everywhere. I think in a trying circumstance is when I personally see God’s love the most. “It’s hard when I’m experiencing it, but in the end, I know God is proud of my efforts. And the changes I’ve seen in my own life are amazing. “It’s definitely a process,” he continued. “I would say 98 percent of the people I’ve met on my mission said that God does not love us.You have to learn to see it.” Alisi Langi, adjunct faculty in the Faculty of Religious Education, said people she’s met separate the love of Heavenly Father and the love of Christ when they are the same. “They think, ‘Heavenly Father has to administer 40
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“...One of the ways we feel God's love is by doing His will. The way we interact with other people and the way that we love them. The way we serve allows us to feel how He feels about his children.”
- Elisi Langi
justice, because He’s God, but Jesus Christ administers mercy,’” Langi explained. “And I think we get so caught up in forgetting that, ‘Yes, they’re separate beings, but they’re one Godhead,’ and if one shows us love, the other also shows us love,” said Langi. Langi talked about how an individual’s effort to show God love can be done by keeping His commandments, which she said is an excellent first step for those who may struggle to recognize God’s love in their life. “I think one of the miracles of God is that He knows us
well enough to know the ways we feel love. He knows how to love us this way,” she said. A licensed clinical social worker, Leilani Auna, who works on campus at Counseling and Disability Services, spoke of her favorite scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6. “‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.’” She then asked, “And you wonder, what does that mean? To really trust in Heavenly Father? If faith without works is dead, what are the works we should be doing?” Auna said the works are: “Keeping the commandments, doing the things we need to do, being kind to one another, reading the scriptures and saying your prayers. “Some people say, ‘I do all that, and I don’t see any blessings?’ But you can’t expect any blessings. “You have to put your trust in the Lord. I think as you continue to do all that, the mysteries of God will open.” Langi agreed, “I think one of the ways we feel God’s love is by doing His will. The way we interact with other people, the way that we
