Who am I and Who Can I Become?

YW Lesson Who am I, and who can I become?

We are beloved spirit daughters of heavenly parents, and, as such, we have a divine nature and destiny. By divine design, we have unique gifts and talents that will help us fulfill our destiny as daughters of God. Knowing who we are gives our lives purpose and helps us make the right decisions.                                      ~Come Follow Me Curriculum

 Pres. Uchtdorf:  Your True Identity

 https://youtu.be/wiiadnMvm20

“Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”
~Margaret Nadauld 

The Family Proclamation:

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.

Notes from Pres. Nelson’s talk on True Millennials:

Link to the whole talk

“You are a chosen generation, fore-determined by God to do a remarkable work — to help prepare the people of this world for the Second Coming of the Lord.”

“The term ‘millennial’ is perfect for you if that term reminds you of who you really are and what your purpose in life really is,” President Nelson said. “A ‘true millennial’ is one who was taught and did teach the gospel of Jesus Christ premortally, and who made covenants with Heavenly Father there about courageous things — even morally courageous things — you would do while here on earth.”

First, “learn who you really are.”

Second, expect and prepare to accomplish the impossible.

“Because you are covenant-keeping sons and daughters of God, living in the latter part of the latter days, the Lord will ask you to do difficult things. You can count on it.”

Recognizing that being asked to do something that seems far beyond one’s capacity can be unnerving, President Nelson encouraged listeners to accept challenging tasks and become an instrument in the Lord’s hands.

“The Lord is able to do His own work, and I was privileged to watch the unfolding of one miracle after another — always, and only, after I had brought my best thinking, my most courageous efforts, and my most fervent prayers to the task,” he said.

“As a ‘true millennial’ whom the Lord can count on, you will make history too!” he said. “You will be asked to accept challenging assignments and become an instrument in the Lord’s hands. And, He will enable you to accomplish the impossible.”

Third, “true millennials” learn how to access the power of heaven.

Recognizing that some may be struggling with questions, President Nelson said it is up to an individual to learn how to qualify for and receive answers.

“Where can you start?” he asked. “Begin by spending more time in holy places.”

Just as the apostles seek, ponder, pray, study and wrestle when faced with difficult questions, so does each person as he or she seeks answers to his or her own questions.

Give the Lord a generous portion of your time. 

Fourth, President Nelson spoke of the need to “follow the prophets.”

“Prophets see ahead,” he said. “They see the harrowing dangers the adversary has placed, or will yet place, in our path. Prophets also foresee the grand possibilities and privileges awaiting those who listen with the intent to obey. …

“You may not always understand every declaration of a living prophet,” he said. “But when you know a prophet is a prophet, you can approach the Lord in humility and faith and ask for your own witness about whatever His prophet has proclaimed.”

Other thoughts about divine potential:

Don’t give the Lord the crumbs of your time.- something I heard from a YW leader at a training

Be loyal to the royal within you.

There are two important days in your life:  The day you were born and the day you found out why.

“My dear friends, you are a royal generation. You were preserved to come to the earth in this time for a special purpose. Not just a few of you, but all of you. There are things for each of you to do that no one else can do as well as you. … If you will let Him, I testify that our Father in Heaven will walk with you through the journey of life and inspire you to know your special purpose here” (H. Burke Peterson, “Your Life Has a Purpose,” New Era, May 1979, p. 5)

“You are not just ordinary young men and young women. You are choice spirits, many of you having been held back in reserve for almost 6,000 years to come forth in this day, at this time when the temptations, responsibilities, and opportunities are the very greatest. …

“… We pray that you will be prepared for the reins of leadership. …

“… I pray that you—the young and rising generation—will keep your bodies and minds clean, free from the contaminations of the world, that you will be fit and pure vessels to bear off the kingdom of God triumphant in preparation for the second coming of our Savior” (Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1977, pp. 43, 46–47; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, pp. 30, 32).

“You, our youth of today, are among the most illustrious spirits to be born into mortality in any age of the world. … Be prepared to become leaders in that glorious millennial day when Christ himself will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Harold B. Lee, Happiness through Faith in Jesus Christ [family home evening manual, 1977–78], pp. 34, 39).

If you ever question that spark of divinity within you, kneel in prayer and ask Heavenly Father, “Am I really Thy daughter, and dost Thou love me?” Elder M. Russell Ballard said, “One of the sweetest messages the Spirit will relay is how the Lord feels about you.”   Rosemary Wixon  

My deep desire is to clarify how we in the presiding councils of the Church feel about the sisters of this Church, how our Heavenly Father feels about His daughters, and what He expects of them. My dear sisters, we believe in you. We believe in and are counting on your goodness and your strength, your propensity for virtue and valor, your kindness and courage, your strength and resilience. We believe in your mission as women of God. We realize that you are the emotional (and sometimes spiritual) glue that holds families and often ward families together. We believe that the Church simply will not accomplish what it must without your faith and faithfulness, your innate tendency to put the well-being of others ahead of your own, and your spiritual strength and tenacity. And we believe that God’s plan is for you to become queens and to receive the highest blessings any woman can receive in time or eternity. On the other hand, Satan’s plan is to get you so preoccupied with the world’s glitzy lie about women that you completely miss what you have come here to do and to become. Remember, he wants us to “be miserable like unto himself” (2 Ne. 2:27). Never lose your precious identity by doing anything that would jeopardize the promised eternal future your Heavenly Father has provided for you.

M. Russell Ballard,  Women of Righteousness, April 2002

 

“The whole design of the gospel is to lead us onward and upward to greater achievement, even, eventually, to godhood” (“Don’t Drop the Ball,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 1994, 48).

The Young Women Theme:
We are daughters of our 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” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.