I am a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.”  I think I did believe in God before I was introduced to Mormon missionaries, but He was not personal to me.  Since I was raised without any religion in my home, I really had no set of beliefs or doctrines, just a nebulous feeling that there must be a God.  The Mormon missionaries asked me to pray and find out for certain.  They were sure I would “get an answer,” something I had never considered.  I had always viewed prayer as a one-way communication from people to God, giving gratitude and asking that needs be fulfilled.

I suppose that my first prayer was much like anyone’s in my position.  Finding a way to be alone, I knelt and asked, “Is there anyone up there?”  Suddenly, a feeling washed over me, something I had never before experienced.  It came from above and filled me with warmth,  a solid assurance that yes, God was there, had always been, and that He was gladly manifesting Himself to me, now that I had finally asked.

I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ, and during the first few years had several personal revelations that powerfully answered my questions about some important decisions.  I asked God whether a certain man was the one I should marry.  That was important enough for the Lord to speak to me through the Holy Ghost, yes.

I had only had one “priesthood blessing,” however.  A priesthood blessing is when a man who holds the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood lays his hands upon your head and blesses you, as a conduit of revelation from God, with healing, comfort, or prophetic information.  After I was married, my husband, a worthy priesthood holder, was willing to give me priesthood blessings whenever I felt I needed one.  Over the years, I was healed many times through priesthood power, sometimes really miraculously.  Other times, I learned a great deal about myself, things I hadn’t realized, and I don’t think my parents or husband realized.

I began to learn how intimately the Lord knows us.  Even in our formative stages, He knows both our weaknesses and our potential.  In fact, He knew us for an eternity before we were born, and He knows which of our weaknesses are the temporary trappings of mortality.  Sometimes predictions received through revelation were almost unbelievable, way beyond my current ability, things I had never even considered.  But they did unfold like a perfect flower, coming to pass naturally, and yet miraculously.

God knows each one of His children this thoroughly, and He is willing to use that knowledge to guide us through our lives and our trials, if only we come to Him and ask, and then respond with action after we receive His guidance.  Once a connection is established and we learn to pray always, this guidance continuously flows on a daily basis.  In times of desperate trial, the Lord gives us more.

How would your life change, learning that God knows and loves you intimately?  Would you be more forthcoming in your communications with Him?  Would you trust His judgment more?  Would you make yourself a clean vessel in order to receive His spirit?  Would you turn your life over to Him, so He could use you in His service to touch the lives of others?

God’s love is infinite.  His central purpose is to exalt us.

Most of us when we think of “abundance” we think “extremely plentiful,” or more than we can use in quantity or supply of something. An example of that would be a bumper crop of wheat or carrots, which means that we had enough for our needs and more. If we had an abundance of carrots we might consider sharing with our neighbors.

But there are similar yet different definitions for “abundance.” Most people do not think of abundance and Jesus Christ in the same way. When we truly accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, and allow Him to fill our hearts, we will experience an “abundance of the heart.” Jesus Christ came to this earth to teach us how to give, how to live, and how to love. He walked amongst us, blessed the poor and afflicted, preached the Word of God, and set the example for each of us. And he did it all with the pure unconditional love of our Heavenly Father. As we study the life of the Savior we understand more of how we need to live in this life.

When we search, ponder and pray about the Savior in our lives we feel an overwhelming love for others, we feel that we want to reach out to those who are in need or are suffering. We see through different eyes just as the Savior sees us. Jesus Christ loves each of us, unconditionally, no matter what our sins are, He sees our hearts, and He knows us individually. Our hearts can be filled with joy, peace, and love and giving as we draw closer to Him. We will feel an abundance of positivity towards others. Then as we allow ourselves to go with that feeling, we will reach out to help the homeless, the sick and afflicted, the downtrodden, the stranger that needs a kind word, the child that needs a hug, the elderly that has no one to visit them.

There are thousands of opportunities in our society; we never have to look far to find someone that we can reach out to. Recently in a Sunday school class it was pointed out that everyone needs and would accept unconditional love and kindness. If everyone accepted the Savior into their hearts can you imagine the difference in the world?

I have had the opportunity to help at a soup kitchen; it was an eye opening experience. There were men, women and even children, all down on their luck, but they were so appreciative of everything that we shared with them. All of them taught me so much about giving, sharing and the true meaning of unconditional love.  And it starts with me and you, and Jesus Christ, our Savior. Each of us can have an abundance of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Kay Cahoon, member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), wife, mother of six, grandma of many, traveler and genealogist.