How do we come to experience God’s love?

I was 15 when I first experienced the tender reality of God’s love, and it has profoundly affected my life. That summer I studied violin at Brigham Young University’s music camp 600 miles from my Arizona home. I was excited to be there. I was a dedicated music student and I enthusiastically signed up for a full two weeks of classes, lessons and rehearsals.

On the second evening I felt tired and overwhelmed. I was also very alone. I had no close friends, yet I needed some guidance and friendship. Normally I would have counseled with my tender, wise mother. She would have given me good advice and a warm embrace. I thought about calling home “collect,” where the fees were very high and the person you called paid them. I felt that was too expensive. I had no place to turn for help or comfort. In desperation, I did the only thing I could think of: I knelt beside my dorm bed and prayed, as I had been taught to do all my life. I poured out my heart to my Heavenly Father, asking for His advice and comfort. In that lonely place on my knees, I felt God’s tender and encompassing love. It was as sweet as it was consuming—like one of my mother’s hugs, only exponentially better. In that moment I knew my Heavenly Father was real, that He loved me, and cared about something as simple as music camp. Experiencing God’s tender love has made all the difference in my life.

“Your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there,” taught Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Paul teaches that God’s love is ever present, and nothing can separate us from it—no person, no experience, no mistake, no power: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come…, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35,38-39).

My experience, I have come to find out, is not unique. Christians worship and follow Jesus Christ because we consistently experience God’s love, guidance, and peace--“We love him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).” My friends from many Christian faiths have had similar experiences. My hairdresser was recently praying about an upcoming plan. She was surprised when she received an answer to her prayer that was so clear—and so different from what she planned—she knew she had to follow it, even though she might experience negative social pressure to do so. My colleague and mother of six told me about the year her teenager was a senior in high school. Her child’s future plans worried my friend, who prayed all year about this child. When her child graduated and moved out of state, my friend was completely at peace, which she said was an answer to her year of prayer. She knew everything would be alright, and it was.

How do we come to experience God’s love? We must seek it. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there, but they will never push us. They wait for us to seek Them —“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock” (Revelation 3:20).

“When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do. When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you,” taught Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

At music camp, after receiving that marvelous manifestation of God’s love, I took confidence. I relaxed and made new friends that evening. During the rest of music camp I was able to balance my hard work with a little recreation, and I created lifelong friendships.

Since that day I have felt God’s love many, many times. I learned then, as I know now, that God’s love is real for those who seek Him. It is simply always there.

Beth Wright has lived in the valley since 1990, is a mother and grandmother, and volunteers as assistant director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.