Does God Love Me?

Growing up Christian, I heard a lot about Jesus being crucified for the sins of the world.  When we would talk about it at church, I often heard people say that God must have been so sad and heartbroken to see His Son, Jesus Christ, assaulted and killed.  It always made me wonder, "Is God not sad or worried about the rest of us?"  I knew that God loved Jesus Christ--His Beloved Son.  But, did God love me?  I took it upon myself to find out.

At the age of 12 or 13, I started doing Personal Progress--this weird value program that helps teenage girls become stronger in the gospel.  (It wasn't my favorite thing to do.)  I started with the value of Individual Worth because I did not see my worth.  I didn't fully believe that God loved me, and I thought this would be one of the best ways to find out.  I completed a project on family history.  It taught me a few things.

Just ignore the little "Add Husband" rectangle.  I mean, if you have any suggestions, I'm open.

As I worked on family history, I realized that there are so many individuals on this earth.  And God counts all of them.  He cares that each person is accounted for.  He knows all of His children.  (Moses 1:35)  As I read Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 and John 13:34, I understood that as we serve God's children, we will feel His love for them.  Of course, there is also the scripture that everyone knows from sporting events: John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Prayer
One of the greatest ways that I have come to know that God loves me is through prayer.  If you pray to God, He will let you know that He loves you.  Prayer is the way that we talk to God.  He will put feelings in your heart and thoughts in your head that will confirm His love for you.  Often my prayers take the form of a children's song--A Child's Prayer.  Below are the words that mean most to me.  I tried to create pictures to show the spacing of the words that give me the most meaning.  I truly feel God is there when I sing/say these words.

God is our loving Heavenly Father.  It's the thing that we must learn for anything in this life to mean anything.  Sadly, I sometimes forget this.  I find myself wondering if I mean anything to God.  Moses 1:39 says, "This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  God's whole purpose is to help his humans.  You give purpose to the greatest Being.  You give purpose to God.  You are not nothing.  He loves you.  He loves me.  And though you may forget it and may fall short of expectations, you are still loved.

The answer is yes.  God loves me.