God's Love For Us

Free things = the best!!! You know like, how Free candy is awesome. And Free e-books, yup, I love ‘em. So when I found out that Forget Me Not by Elder Uchtdorf was free on the kindle I was ecstatic.

And that is what I’ve decided to talk to you brethren and sister....en about today

Uchtdorf starts with an introduction so I suppose I’ll start there"
“A while ago I was walking through a beautiful garden with my wife and daughter. I marveled at the glory and beauty of God’s creation. And then I noticed, among all the glorious blooms, the tiniest flower. I knew the name of this flower because since I was a child I have had a tender connection to it. The flower is called forget-me-not.
"I’m not exactly sure why this tiny flower has meant so much to me over the years. It does not attract immediate attention; it is easy to overlook among larger and more vibrant flowers; yet it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies—perhaps this is one reason why I like it so much.
"And there is the haunting plea of its name. There is a German legend that just as God had finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out, “Forget me not, O Lord!” And God replied that this would be its name.
I would like to use this little flower as a metaphor. The five petals of the little forget-me-not flower prompt me to consider five things we would be wise never to forget."

“I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.
Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.
And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
It’s wonderful that you have strengths.
And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.”

And with that being said, I want to talk about the fifth petal in Uchtdorf’s book.

Fifth, forget not that the Lord loves you.

Uchtdorf starts off this section by saying
“As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.
Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.
And I know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!
You are not forgotten.
No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.
Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!
He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name—you are the [sons and] daughters of His kingdom. The Psalmist wrote:
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? …
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”5
God loves you because you are His child. He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes.
The love of God and the power of the restored gospel are redemptive and saving. If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.”

This principle is prevalent in my own life. I took AP Stats last year.. oh myyyy…. So there was this one day that we were taking another test. I think it was the final or something, but it was insanely hard. Like I had NO idea. What is this?? So I’m sitting there flippin’ out. No guys, I was seriously flippin’ out in my head. But then… I’m not even sure what happened. I stopped, calmed down and a thought just came to my mind “Even if you fail this, God still loves you.” Even if I fail. God still loves me. I sat there, and I, I almost started crying . (I hate it when people see me cry) And worse, I was afraid people would think I was crying because the test was so hard. No, I don’t do that.
6 months later I told my baby cousin this story and told her that even if they didn’t make the sports team, God would always love her. 

And even if I do bad on this talk, God will still love me.
Turns out I passed the class and my cousin made the team, and looks like there's not many sleeping, but I will never forget that calming and reassurance that I was loved.

There is a series of books by an author named Max Lucado about little wooden people called the Wemmicks carved by a woodworker named Eli; some of you may know these stories. In his book “You Are Special”, the Wemmicks are going through this phase of judging one another. They go around town with a box full of golden star stickers and gray dot stickers. They put golden stickers on all the pretty Wemmicks or those who had many great talents, and they put gray dots on the ones who had rough wood or whose paint had chipped, or those whose talents were not as amazing. One little Wemmick who was given dots all day started to feel like he was not a good Wemmick; His name was Punchinello. He then met a girl who had no stars or dots on herself. She replied that she goes every day to visit Eli the woodcarver. The next morning Punchinello went to Eli’s shop.

Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name."Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you." Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You know my name?" the little Wemmick asked.
"Of course I do. I made you." Eli stooped down and picked him up and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles. "Looks like you've been given some bad marks." "I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard." "Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think." "You don't?"
No, and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots?
They're Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."
Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"
Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."
Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this--much less his maker. He didn't know what to say.
"Every day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli explained.
"I came because I met someone who had no marks."
"I know. She told me about you."
"Why don't the stickers stay on her?"
"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you let them."
"What?"
"The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"You will, but it will take time. You've got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."
Punchinello didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means it."
And when he did, a dot fell to the ground. 

We must remember that God’s judgment is more important than judgment we get from people on this earth. Sometimes that might be hard but we have to know within ourselves that God is the only one who gives out righteous judgment all the time. He loves us. He gave His only Begotten Son that we may return to Him again, so don’t you ever feel as though he doesn’t love you at times because of something that’s happened. God loves each of you. You are special to Him, God doesn't love you because you are special person or do everything right.
He loves you because He is love.
This is my testimony of God’s love for us and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.