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Elder Eubank Describes How to Find God

At a weekly Tuesday Devotional held on September 1, Elder Mark Eubank, missionary and Director of the Laie Temple Visitors' Center (pictured right), focused on our path to finding Heavenly Father emotionally, spiritually, and even physically in our own lives. Eubank explained, 'Someone said, "I didn't know He was lost." No, He isn't, but maybe we are. Maybe we need to know how to find Him.' After coming to this life and being separated from our Heavenly Father, it is our responsibility to find our way back. "Leaving Heavenly Father's presence and going to the Earth is somewhat similar to leaving our homes and going away to college. We can do what we want; no one has to boss us around. That's part of the plan; this life is a test. Will we, at college, where no parental control is dictating what we do, do the right things? Will we choose the right things?" asked Eubank.

This experience is necessary as part of Heavenly Father's plan for us to progress and "become more like Him" explained Eubank. Referencing Moses 1:39, Eubank said that God's work is for men to gain immortality and eternal life. "To be immortal is to live forever, and all of us are promised that. Because of Jesus Christ, all of us will live again. Eternal life is to live forever with God. To do that, we need to be clean, pure, and holy."

This leads to our role in the plan, which is "to keep the commandments and to be happy," said Eubank. "Life goes better—life is infinitely better—when we are in obedience to what God has asked because God knows the plan. He knows us, and He guides us and points us, and puts us in the right places.... In our journey of life there are forks in the road—many forks. Some forks don't make a whole lot of difference, but other forks are eternally important." Eubank cited many scriptural examples of prophets who encountered forks in the road that were of eternal significance such as Noah and the ark, Moses and the Israelites, Jesus Christ Himself, and Joseph Smith who each made pivotal decisions to come closer to God despite the views of the world.

Eubank also recapped the historical and physical connection between man and God recounting Adam and Eve's relationship with Heavenly Father, having been separated from Him after partaking of the fruit. Despite this physical separation, we still receive light and maintain a connection with Him just as the moon receives light from the Sun and the Sun from Kolob, as explained in the Book of Abraham.

On our spiritual connection to God, Eubank stated: "This is how we find God: we exercise faith. We don't know for sure but we believe. We have faith and we move forward. We keep the commandments; if there is ever a doubt, we choose the fork in the road that keeps the commandments. We believe the prophets; we follow the prophets and we follow Christ. He is our leader and our exemplar. Without him, we will never get back to where God is. So I propose to you, that if we want eternal life, if we want to find God, we need to do those things."

--Photo by Ian Nitta

Click here to read the full transcript of Elder Mark Eubank's devotional