Who am I, really? What makes me me and you you? Are we not, all of us, from the same hometown?
The Bible refers to God as our “Father which is in heaven” many times. Think of it. God is our Father and Creator, so it follows that heaven, where we once lived with Him, must be our hometown. That means you and I are from the same hometown. We’re homies!
In the beginning, our bodies were formed in His image. We are literally in His image, and those prophets who have been blessed to see Him have confirmed that we are alike in form (see for, example, Ether 3:6–16 and Joseph Smith–History 1:17).
So our true identity, who we really are and what we can actually become, comes from God Himself. Keeping His commandments is how we identify with Him; disobeying His laws separates and alienates us from God and our true identity. Sin, in essence, is a denial of who we really are, while faith and obedience are ways we show our acceptance, and even reverence, for our identity.
What we focus on creates our perception of reality. It is our choice to create that perception. If you focus on the words that come from God every day, what will your perception of reality become? If you focus on prayer, what visions will fill your soul? If you are looking up to heaven instead of around at the world, Who will guide your spiritual GPS? If you are preoccupied with feeding an addiction, for example, what will fill your mind and shape your perceptions then?
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:21–23.)
What I am saying is that denying God is the opposite of who we really are. Accepting the Source of Light from which we spring helps us to see more clearly who we are and what we can become.
