Four Important Relationships

General Conference is coming up again. I love General Conference. But as I was reviewing the October 2010 General Conference I rediscovered Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk entitled "Of Things That Matter Most." It's wonderful and has come wonderful insights and recommendations, as all General Conference talks do.

There are Four Relationships that should be strengthened in our lives:

1. With our God
2. With our families
3. With our fellowman
4. With ourselves

Why should be worry about these relationships in the first place?

Relationship with our God

"We are His spirit children. He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God’s eternal plan and keep His commandments."

We should get to know our literal Father in Heaven. He loves us. He wants the best for us. With Him in our lives, we can have a deeper joy and peace even as trials and hardships abound in our lives. We need to keep the Eternal perspective in mind. This mortal experience is not it. There is more.

Relationship with our Families

"Since 'no other success can compensate for failure' here, we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship."

The family is divine and made to be Eternal. We want to go to Heaven with those we love. Eternal families seals a family together so that it is not "until death do we part." But since it is that way, or made to be that way, we want to make sure that we are the type of person those you love will want to be with forever.

Relationship with our Fellowman

"We build this relationship one person at a time—by being sensitive to the needs of others, serving them, and giving of our time and talents."

Friendship is a wonderful gift. Others can help you through difficult times and you can help others. You can create a stronger bond with your neighbor, past friends, or total strangers by becoming their friend first.

Relationship with Ourselves

"It may seem odd to think of having a relationship with ourselves, but we do. Some people can’t get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God’s creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally. Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential."

Sometimes we need to realize that, yes, we make mistakes, but we can correct them. We are divine beings. We, you and I, are literal Children of God. How wonderful is that? We need to learn ourselves better so we can continue to realize our Divine Potential.