How can I know my Heavenly Father?

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

• John 17:3 (Knowing Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ leads to eternal life)

• 1 John 2:3–5 (We know God if we keep His commandments)

• 1 John 4:7–8 (Loving others helps us to know God)

• 2 Nephi 32:9; Enos 1:1–7; Alma 34:17–28; 37:37 (Prayer can help us draw closer to Heavenly Father)

• Mosiah 4:9–12 (King Benjamin describes how to grow in our knowledge of God)

• Mosiah 5:13 (Serving God helps us get to know Him better)

• Alma 30:44 (All things denote there is a God)

• Doctrine and Covenants 88:63–65; 93:1 (If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us)

• C. Scott Grow, “And This Is Life Eternal,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 121–24

• D. Todd Christofferson, “Abide in My Love,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 48–51

• “He Knows Me” (video)

  

• “Fulfilling Your Duty to God” (video)

  

Think about your relationship with your Father in Heaven. When have you felt closest to Him? What were you doing that allowed you to feel closer to Him?

What are some things the young men can do to get closer to God? How well are they doing these things? What could you do to help them increase their faith in God and testimony of Him?

What can the young men do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

• Our quorum: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

• Our duties: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

• Our lives: Remind the quorum of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a quorum presidency meeting.

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help quorum members understand the doctrine.

• Invite the young men to study the ways we can come to know Heavenly Father as taught in Elder C. Scott Grow’s talk “And This Is Life Eternal.” What experiences can the young men share when one of these suggestions helped them feel close to Heavenly Father? Why is it important to come to know Heavenly Father better?

• Invite the young men to imagine that one of their friends says to them, “God loves all of us unconditionally, so it doesn’t matter how we act—we will all be saved.” How would they respond to their friend? Invite the young men to review portions of Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s talk “Abide in My Love,” searching for counsel they could use to help their friend understand God’s love.

• As part of their Duty to God plans, the young men may have created plans for personal scripture study. This lesson could be a good time to have the young men share what they have been doing for their plans and what they are learning from their study of the scriptures (see Duty to God, 14–15, 38–39, 62–63). They could also revise their plans if needed. Ask the young men to share how their habits of prayer and scripture study have helped to improve their relationship with their Heavenly Father.

• Invite the young men to think about someone they know very well. What did they do to get to know that person? Ask them what they think the difference is between knowing Heavenly Father and knowing about Him. Write the following scripture references on the board, and ask the young men to look them up and identify how we can come to know Heavenly Father better: 1 John 2:3–5; 4:7–8; Mosiah 4:9–12; 5:13; Alma 30:44. Invite the young men to share what they learned and how they have felt closer to Heavenly Father by following the counsel in these scriptures.

• Discuss ways in which the young men communicate with others today. How do we communicate with Heavenly Father? How does He communicate with us? What can we do to improve our communication with Him? Invite each young man to read one of the following scriptures about prayer: 2 Nephi 32:9; Enos 1:1–7; Alma 34:17–28; 37:37. Ask quorum members to share what they learn. What is the connection between prayer and coming to know Heavenly Father? Invite the young men to open their Duty to God books to page 15 (deacons), 39 (teachers), or 63 (priests) and make plans to improve their daily prayers.

• Ask the young men to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a quorum to apply what they have learned?

• Give the young men a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

• Remind the young men that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.