"Your Happily Ever After"

It was my turn to teach the combined young women lesson this past Sunday. The theme was Divine Nature/Daughter of God and the resource guide supplement suggested a few paragraphs from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's address at the April 2010 General Young Women Conference. The title of his talk was "Your Happily Ever After." Here are a few lines from that address:

"You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father,
prepared to come to earth at this particular time
for a sacred and glorious purpose."
(YW Personal Progress Book)

"Isn't it remarkable to know that our Eternal
Heavenly Father knows you, and loves you with
an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so
great that he has granted you this earthly life as a
precious gift of 'once upon a time,' complete with
your own true story of adventure, trial and
opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage and
love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a
gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly
Father offers to you the greatest gift of all --
eternal life -- and the opportunity and infinite
blessing of your own 'happily ever after.'"

It was a beautiful message to impart to the young women of our ward. I decided to take the photograph above (one of Marie's specialties) and make it into a handout for each one of the girls. It reminded me of the fairytale, Thumbelina, and how in the end she is given some wings of her own by the King of the Flowers, but I also attached President Uchtdorf's message for them to remember his message of their "once upon a time" and the very real opportunity of their own

"Happily Ever After."