In Preach my Gospel it says, “God is our Heavenly Father. We are His children.

He has
a body of flesh and bone that is glorified and perfected. He loves us. He weeps with us
when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right. He wants to communicate with
us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer.

I have been asked to speak today, on Father's Day, about some attributes of our
Heavenly Father.

1. Charity.

In Moroni 7, 44-47 it says, “If a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the
power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity. For if he
have not charity, he is nothing, wherefore, he must needs have charity. And charity
suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the
truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity ye are nothing, for charity never
faileth. But charity is the pure love of Christ and it endureth forever. And whoso is
found possessed of it at the last day, it should be well with him.

Heavenly Father demonstrates true charity by giving us the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
help us return to him and to help us be happy while we are here on Earth. I truly
believe that if we all exercised charity, as our Heavenly Father would like us too, even if
just once or twice a day, our lives and the lives of our families and friends and
neighbors would improve dramatically. Charity should begin at home with our family,
and then extend to the rest of the world around us. I know that Heavenly Father loves
all of his children, not just the ones who attend Church on Sunday, and if we could all
remember that and serve one another I know he would be pleased.

2. Heavenly Father knows each one of his children.

In Jeremiah 1:5 the Lord says to Jeremiah “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew
thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee
a prophet unto the nations.”

Just as Heavenly Father knew Jeremiah, I know he knows me. He created me and
gave me my own attributes and personality traits. He sent me to this Earth to fulfill my
mission here just as he sent Jeremiah to be a prophet. I feel him with me, through the
Holy Ghost, at times I need him the most. I know I am his daughter and I want to do the
things he would have me do.

3. Forgiveness

In D & C 64 9-10 it says: Wherefore I say unto you that ye ought to forgive one another
for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the
Lord, for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I the Lord will forgive whom I will
forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
Heavenly Father sets the best example of forgiveness. He sends us to Earth to make
our choices. He wants us to make good choices, and when we don't, I'm sure he is
heartbroken and upset. Yet, if we take the correct steps, and have a broken heart and
contrite spirit, he will always forgive us. Forgiving those who hurt us is one of the
hardest things we do as people here in our mortal lives. Most of the time we all struggle
to do so and sometimes it takes years. Although sometimes it seems impossible to
forgive, I know that we can be like Heavenly Father, and forgive those who hurt us.

I would like to bear my testimony about my Heavenly Father. I know that he lives and
that he loves me. I know that he sent me here, with my distinct attributes and
personality, to learn and grow and then return to Him.

I say these things...