Jean B. Bingham - Women of Purpose

Since I was small, I have loved to watch the night sky and try to pick out familiar constellations. If you look up into the sky on a clear night, you can see glowing planets and twinkling stars. On some nights, you will see the moon; on others, you may see a meteor or shooting star as it scoots across the sky. Depending on the amount of light in the night environment, whether you are in a brightly lit parking lot in the middle of town or out in an uninhabited area, you may see just a smattering of very bright stars or an incredible array of stars dusting the velvet expansestars so numerous it boggles the mind.

From the darkest parts of Earth, the naked human eye can see about 5,000 stars; from a brightly lit city street, only about 100 stars are visible. A few years ago, astronomers in Australia used some of the worlds most powerful instruments to calculate how many stars are actually in the entire visible universe. From their measurements, they concluded that there are 70 sextillion starsor seven followed by twenty-two zeroesand some scientists say the actual count could be much, much bigger still.

Does that make you feel small? Contemplating that incredible number fills me with a humble yet exhilarating realization that, among all that vastness, our Father in Heaven knows not only where I am but who I am and what I am thinking and doing and struggling with. And He knows everything about you , too, and loves you more than you can even comprehend.

Gods capacity for knowledge and love is infinite; His interest is personal and intimate and real. You are valued by Heavenly Parents because you are Their offspringTheir reason for joy. Their purpose is our progress. After all, Their work and glory is to bring about our immortality and eternal life (see Moses 1:39).

Each individual is not only valued but essential in Gods plan of happiness. Among all those millions and billions and quadrillions of stars, no two are exactly alike. They differ in brightness and color, in size and location, in age and massand they are all important in Gods design. It may help to remember that when sometimes we may feel we dont fit in or we dont have much to contribute or our particular talents are not needed.

As those who know me well are aware, my own story is quite ordinary. Growing up, although I enjoyed learning, I was not the top student in any class. I cannot boast of any expert skills. I play the piano, but only enough to stumble through a hymn. I love to visit art museums to see the paintings and sculptures by great masters, yet my artistic talents were limited to doodling designs in my notebooks. I learned to sew a wearable skirt, but tailoring a suit was definitely beyond my ability. Although I was blessed with good health and loved to run through the park or swim in the lake, I didnt participate in school sports at any level. I was never asked to the prom, I wasnt the president of anything, I was never one of the popular group, and one strikingly attractive friend said to me after scrutinizing my features, Well, youll never be beautiful, but you could be cute. In other words, I was just average.

Some of you may relate to these kinds of experiences, feeling that you are also just average. If youre humanand particularly, a female humanyou have probably experienced those times of self-doubt and discouragement that you are not all that you want to be. However, from our Heavenly Parents perfect perspective, each one of Their children has been created for a divine purpose, has infinite worth, and has a vital work to accomplish in this life.

Even in my ordinariness, Heavenly Father saw value and has helped me begin to develop the gifts and graces He knows will help me become all that He has designed me to be. Know that your Heavenly Father will provide all that you need to become extra-ordinary as a daughter of God. The wonder of His heavenly economy is that every single one of us can be spectacular because of our unique bundle of talents and abilities. Unlike the world, in His kingdom there is no winners platform that has room for only one or two. Each of His daughters has been taught and prepared and gifted premortally with marvelous potential to become a queen in the celestial kingdom.

What do you want to accomplish in your life? What are your goals and aspirations? If your long-term goal is to enter the celestial kingdom to live with our Heavenly Parents and with loved family members forever, that singular focus will take you farther than you now think is possible. We are promised, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man [or woman], the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

You have incredible potential for good because you are a covenant daughter of Heavenly Parents. The evidence of your inherent potential for greatness is the simple fact that you were born on the earth because you made the choice in the premortal world to accept Heavenly Fathers plan of salvation and to follow the example of His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe we each made promises to our Heavenly Parents to build on what we learned while we lived with Them and to continue to strive to become like Them. Not one spirit was created to fail; every single one has the capacity to triumph. It is up to us individually to make the choices that bring us closer to that potential.

Unfortunately, one of Heavenly Fathers most advanced spirit sons chose the way of pride and forever lost the opportunity to become a god. In his anger and jealousy, he and those he convinced to follow him work tirelessly to confuse us, to deceive us, to discourage us, and to distract us from fulfilling our divine roles and highest potential.

But because Jesus Christ was willing to take upon Himself the sins and infirmitiesor inadequaciesof each of us (see Alma 7:1113), and fulfilled that sacred trust through His infinite Atonement, we can have every confidence that we can become all we were divinely designed to be. As we make and keep sacred covenants, we demonstrate our desire to fulfill that divine potential.

Answer this question: Do you think our Heavenly Parents want us to succeed? Yes! They want us to succeed gloriously! And do you think They will help us? Absolutely! We know that Gods work and glory is to bring to pass the immortalitywhich has already been accomplished through the Saviors Atonement and Resurrectionand eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). His goal is for every single one of us to return to our eternal home, having increased the talents and gifts with which He blesses us through our obedience and perseverance during this mortal life. We know we cannot do this on our own, but through Heavenly Fathers love and the Saviors grace, we can accomplish all that is required for exaltation.