Rebecca Hunter, associate dean in the McKay School of Education, spoke at a BYU devotional this morning about how asking the questions of what, how and why can help individuals come closer to the Savior and receive the Father's fullness.
Using a story from her time teaching second grade, Hunter organized her message around these three questions to teach essential truths about worshiping God and developing a covenant relationship with Him.
What
Hunter used scriptural accounts to show how people have misunderstood God's character. She said the Restoration through Joseph Smith revealed God as a loving and unchanging Father who knows, loves and actively seeks each of His children.
“This is what type of a being God is. This is what we worship — an intimate, loving, protective and encouraging Father and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us. We can trust Them.”
How
Hunter explained that coming unto God requires being “all in.” Just as Christ's will was “swallowed up” in the Father's will and the sting of death was “swallowed up in Christ,” disciples should worship God with their whole heart, might, mind and strength.
“When it comes to worshiping and approaching our God, we should do so with our whole selves — all our heart, might, mind and strength.”
Hunter said BYU gives students the opportunity to practice wholehearted discipleship by recognizing that "all things" are spiritual. She warned that separating faith from other aspects of life prevents individuals from becoming their true selves.
Why
Hunter also taught that as individuals come to know God and worship Him wholeheartedly, He begins to "unfold the heavens" by helping them gain a personal witness of their divine identity and destiny.
She emphasized that the most meaningful relationship anyone can have is a covenant relationship with God. Through those covenants, individuals receive strength and the power to overcome the influence of the world.
Those who keep their covenants, she said, become "sin-resistant souls" with the strength to withstand the constant influence of the world.
