All I know

I don't know many things.

I'm never the smartest person in the room - I've never really been one of the best and brightest.

And it's okay.

I struggle, at times, like we all do. I get frustrated, annoyed, and discouraged. I try and fail, and worse - I fail to try. I look back and see regrets; I look forward and see no solutions. I have trials, I have doubts, and I have fears. I'm imperfect, impatient, and insipid.

And it's okay.

It's okay because what I know outweighs and outshines all that I don't know. It's okay because the answers I know are far more important than the questions I have. What I know gives me hope and confidence while providing purpose and perspective. It calms me down and lifts me up. It has made me who I am, and will help me become who I ought to be.

Here is what I know - really, all that I know.

God lives. He is my Father in Heaven, and yours as well. I am His son - you are His child. He has a plan, a perfect plan, for all of us. He loves His children - each of us - even me, and especially you. He loves us perfectly, with a love we can't fully comprehend. Trust me, I have felt His love for His children - for myself and for others - and it is a powerful and motivating thing. He lives, and He is involved in your life. "He does love you, and He knows your fears. He hears your prayers. He is your Heavenly Father, and surely He matches with His own the tears His children shed" (Jeffrey R. Holland).

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World. He came to Earth to save, and save He did. He saved all of mankind - He saved us from ourselves, and from evil. In His wisdom, He did not remove the burden of personal responsibility from us, but showed us the way, and opened the gate, back to our Father in Heaven. He suffered all things - pain, sickness, misfortune, betrayal, loneliness, darkness, and death. He did so for us, so that He might know, fully, what we experience and exactly how to help us. He provides strength when we are weak, forgiveness when we are wrong, and shelter from the storm. He lived for us, He died for us, and He lives again today - for us. He loves you, and will always stand beside you.

We lived with God before we came to this earth, and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can live with Him again. This should be our goal. We can live in His presence, with our families, in perfect happiness and peace, for eternity. There is nowhere else I'd rather be.

As we follow our Father and rely on our Savior, there is nothing that can stop us. No pain is permanent, no failure is forever, and no mistake is immutable. We will continue to struggle, to stumble and fall, to doubt and be discouraged. But knowing who we are, who our Father is, and where our Savior stands will give us the confidence to continue - the faith to move forward.

I wish I had the ability to convey the power behind these truths - to help you feel what I have felt, and to know what I know - but obviously I am an inadequate spokesman. If you already know these things, please, remember them. If you aren't so sure, see for yourself - you won't regret it.

I don't know many things, but I know our Father in Heaven - I know that He lives, and "I know that He loveth His children" (1 Nephi 11:17).

And at times, that's all I need to know.