Who Are You?

I have pondered this question a lot this summer as I have prepared thoughts and lessons throughout EFY. I have many answers I could give to this question. I am Kara. I am a college graduate. I am a math teacher. I am a friend. I am a sister, a daughter, an aunt. And the list could go on. But what I have come to realize even more is that the most important answer to this question is I am a daughter of God. We all are children of God. We have sung the song since childhood. But do we really know what that means to be a child of God. This is what I am still learning.

Growing up in Young Women's we recite the Young Women's Theme which states; "We are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and we love Him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places..." I began pondering about the first statement, "We are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us..." Do I know that my Heavenly Father loves me? The answer is YES!! He has shown me His love is various ways. The first and most prominent was back in Jr. High when I was more alone than anyone but Him would understand. Since then my Heavenly Father has blessed my life with so many AMAZING friends to remind me that He loves me. He has also shown His love in other ways such as small miracles, countless blessings, tender mercies, and just reminding me He is there.

The next part of that phrase is also powerful; "...and we love Him." How do I show my love to my Heavenly Father? I am sure that I could do a better job than I do. In the Bible it says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." I can't say that I am perfect at doing this but I am striving to be better each day. I also try to serve others and be an instrument in the Lord's hands whenever possible. I have been blessed with great opportunities and hope to show my Father that I love Him as He loves me.

Standing as a Witness seems to come naturally as we strive to show our love to our Heavenly Father. I know many people who are obvious witnesses of God by the things they do and the light in their eyes. The Lord has blessed me to meet even more of these witnesses this summer through EFY. I could fill this post with pictures of these amazing witnesses (if your picture didn't make the cut, please don't take it personally...I probably looked bad in the photo), but I can only put a few.

I learned this summer that the more I come to know my Savior, Jesus Christ, the more I come to know who I am. If I make Christ my best friend and spend more time with Him (through prayer, scripture study, going to the temple, etc) than I naturally become more like Him. The process is the exact same as when we spend time with our friends here. I have noticed that I start to pick up phrases and mannerisms and such of the people I hang out with the most. I need to have that be the same with my Savior.

This summer I have learned much about Christ. By doing so, I have learned more about who I truly am. I have gained more confidence in my Savior and more confidence in myself. I look forward to studying the New Testament and having the opportunity to teach it in seminary so I can get to know my Savior even better. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father, who I know loves me, for the many Christlike people He has placed in my life to teach me more about Him.