Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin on Heavenly Father's love for us

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008) served as a Seventy from 1976 to 1986, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1986 until his passing in 2008 at age 91.

"Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.

"We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities.

"The means of this refinement is our Christlike love. There is no pain it cannot soften, no bitterness it cannot remove, no hatred it cannot alter."

- Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Great Commandment," General Conferenct October 2007
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This talk by Elder Wirthlin is full of "gems" of insight. He begins by reassuring us of God's love and confidence in each of us, even with our flaws, and even with our self-doubt:

But not only that; God's opinion of us sees beyond the short-term view of the present, into the eternity of our potential. While we focus on what we are, He knows what we can become:

And finally this witness of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to transform us from earthly beings into eternal beings:

I love the concept of a "gospel of transformation." It's all about what we are becoming; how we are changing, growing, and progressing.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2021)
May 7, 2015