Finding Our Way Back Home

I feel like I need to introduce ourselves because of how transient our ward is. My name is Brianna Singh, my husband Is Aaron and our two kids Avery and Ardrey, who was blessed today. Aaron and I will be celebrating our 3^rd anniversary in just a couple days. Though Aaron and I crossed paths for almost 8 years, we didn’t meet until our late 20’s and I still remember seeing him for the first time in the Costco parking lot wearing a backwards hat and basketball shorts, I was smitten. You see, I always dreamed of little morichito (brown babies) and I swore at the age 19 that I would marry a Polynesian football player (it’s totally on video) and that’s what I did. Aaron served in the Phillippines (one of his many cultures) and I in Argentina. The only activity we actually agree on doing together is eating and yet we can’t get enough of each other.

Recently I watched a cute little movie that most of you have heard about called Finding Dory. So many of us fell in love with Dory as she journeyed through the open sea to help Marlin find his son Nemo. We learned very early on about Dory’s condition. Her short-term memory loss. This condition created many obstacles as Marlin and Dory tried to work together to find Nemo. Other than her short-term memory loss, we learn little about Dory, where she comes from, who she is, and where she is going. She doesn’t even know the answers to those questions so at this point, how could we?

As we venture into Dory’s life in “Finding Dory” we see that she has created quite the home with Marlin and Nemo, they have become a family, but something happens and Dory is reminded about her own family, her loving parents.  As Dory begins to have memories, her desire to find them increases, as her desire increases and she sets out on her journey, the memories become more frequent and clearer. Though there is a large possibility that her parents are no longer alive, she still puts forth all effort to be with them again. She faces obstacles along the way that could deter anyone from their goals and yet she pushes through with the desire to be reunited for good with her parents.

We all face short-term memory loss just like Dory. We have found ourselves in an earthly life where our memories of our Heavenly Father and Mother have been lost. And yet we are meant to have a desire to find them, to return and live with them again. Some of us wont be as lucky as Dory in the sense that we will see or remember our interactions with our Heavenly Father but what we do have is the Holy Ghost to guide us along the way, as long as we have faith in Him. And Just like how Dory’s memories came back, the holy ghost can only be heard if we listen closely and the more we listen the more He will guide us.

Of faith, President Howard W Hunter Said
 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1.) In other words, faith makes us confident of what we hope for and convinced of what we do not see. The scientist does not see molecules, atoms, or electrons, yet he knows they exist. He does not see electricity, radiation, or magnetism, but he knows these are unseen realities. In like manner, those who earnestly seek for God do not see him, but they know of his reality by faith. It is more than hope. Faith makes it a conviction—an evidence of things not seen.”

One of my favorite movies as a kid was The Santa Clause. I learned a very valuable lesson from Judy the elf “seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing”. First we need to believe, and then we can see all the wonderful things that our Heavenly father has prepared for us so that we can return to live with Him.

Why is it that so many of us, like dory, forget that our goal is to return to live with our Father in Heaven? We are here on this earth to be tried and tested and some of us will forget the validity of many things if we are not careful. When we start to fall away from the spirit we will forget ever knowing something was true. Some of us might question the existence of God. Some of us might question the validity of Joseph Smith, of our leaders, of the Book of Mormon. We might be angry about church policy, or how things were handled in our wards, or how our Christian neighbors treated us. These things WILL cloud our judgment and help us to forget where we come from, who we are and where we are MEANT to go. Which is to return back to our father in heaven.

On her journey Dory found so many friends to help her on her way, first marlin and Nemo, the turtles, the seagulls (who helped marlin and Nemo when they were lost), the sharks, the octopus, and so many other blessings where there to help guide Dory. Unlike dory, we may not always have the direct help we need. We have to listen and watch for it, we have to see it without really knowing it’s there, believing is seeing. How many of us forget to see the small blessings in our lives that are reminding us that God (and our family above and on earth) is there and is cheering us on to return home?! Just in the last 6 months I have seen these small blessings in my life and those close to me. Like being able to pay every bill on time even when we were unsure about our employment situation, I have seen my brothers family grow to 7 when they were told many years ago that they would never be able to have children, I have seen the power of prayer at work when my niece was in and out of the hospital this winter. I have even been able to see god’s hand in the smallest of things like when I hear my child's abundant laughter as he plays with my husband upstairs. All of these blessings continue to help me on this journey to my heavenly home. 

All of our journeys will not be like Dory's (thankfully we wont have to swim the open ocean). But we are all on our Journey back to our Father in Heaven and if we aren’t careful we may forget.

Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi once stated “My dear friends who are within the sound of my voice, you are a son or daughter of Heavenly Father. You were once in His holy presence. I know that your Heavenly Father has a special plan for you and your family to return to live with Him. Let’s go home.

Brothers and sisters, I know my Heavenly Father lives and loves us. I know that he and so many others on the other side of the veil are waiting for us. Please don’t forget.