“That Part’s My Favorite!”

Christ said, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see.” But are we really seeing the wonders of the gospel, or just looking past them?

Alsivan was ecstatic when he learned that he could live with his son forever. He is a single father I met on my mission in Brazil, and one of the first lessons we taught him was about the plan of salvation. Alsivan said that part of him had always believed he would be able to live with his son after death, even though the churches he’d attended before had taught otherwise.

Alsivan was eager for others to learn about the plan of salvation, too. During a lesson with one of  his friends, Alsivan excitedly said, “Tell him that part you said last time!”

I was confused and asked him which part he meant, but a smile spread across my companion’s face as she realized which part of the lesson he meant. She said, “In the Celestial Kingdom, we can live with our families forever.”

“That part!” said Alsivan, unable to contain his beaming smile. “That part’s my favorite!”

Alsivan’s excitement was invigorating. It made me see the plan of salvation, something I had been familiar with since childhood, in a new light. The phrase “families can be together forever” came to life again—instead of repeating it as a rote phrase, I remembered its eternal implications.

Bishop Gérald Caussé shares a similar experience about seeing the gospel with new eyes in his talk “Is It Still Wonderful to You?” After the Caussé family had lived in Paris for 22 years, Bishop Caussé’s children complained to him that they had never been to the Eiffel Tower. Because it was a part of everyday life, the family had taken the Eiffel Tower for granted.

Bishop Caussé warns that “our ability to marvel is fragile.” We may stop noticing the wonders of the gospel if we stop taking time to recognize how marvelous it is. He shares three things we can do to make sure the gospel is always wonderful to us:

1. Never tire of rediscovering the truths of the gospel.
2. Anchor your faith in the plain and simple truths of the gospel.
3. Seek and cherish the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

As we follow these steps, we can keep our spiritual eyes open to the gospel with the enthusiasm of someone learning it for the first time, like Alsivan. Bishop Caussé promises that as we keep the Spirit with us, “our spiritual senses are sharpened and our memory is kindled so we cannot forget the miracles and signs we have witnessed.”

Read more on how to stay excited about the gospel in Bishop Gérald Caussé’s talk, “Is It Still Wonderful To You?”

Source: General Conference of the Church

—Natasha Andersen, Mormon Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ

Find more insights

Learn how to not only see but also hear the wonders of the gospel in Elder Wilford W. Andersen’s talk “The Music of the Gospel,” or watch its accompanying Mormon Message here.