Elder Linder

Have you ever had a moment when God showed His love for you in such a personal way that it took your breath away? Yesterday, I experienced one of those tender mercies that reminded me just how intimately our Heavenly Father knows each of us.

The day had been challenging. Personal and family struggles were weighing heavily on my heart, and I found myself needing reassurance of God’s awareness of my situation. Little did I know that comfort would come in the most unexpected way during our Online MTC class that evening.

As we gathered virtually for instruction, the director of Online Seminary & Institute led a discussion about building relationships with our students. The conversation centered on Elder Renlund’s message about providing vital spiritual nutrients to our students—not just spiritual “Twinkies” that might taste good but lack real nourishment. Two of these vital nutrients particularly stood out to me: having a testimony of Heavenly Father and His plan, and building personal relationships with those we teach. It struck me how perfectly these align with the two great commandments Jesus taught: to love God with all our heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-39).

Then came the moment that pierced my heart. As part of the discussion about receiving inspiration for our students, the director shared how we might feel prompted to reach out to them in unexpected places. “You’ll be somewhere random like the line in the grocery store,” he explained, “and then you’ll feel prompted to reach out to one of your students like, ‘Hey Billy, I just want you to know I’m thinking about you and I love you and your Father in Heaven loves you.’” To everyone else on the Zoom call, where my name showed as “Elder Linder,” this probably seemed like a completely random example with an arbitrarily chosen name. But I knew different.

In that moment, I felt the Spirit whisper that this wasn’t random at all. Through this instructor, whether he realized it or not, the Lord was speaking directly to me. In my time of need, when my heart was heavy with challenges, Heavenly Father used this seemingly casual example to remind me of His perfect love and awareness of my struggles.

This experience reminded me of the Lord’s tender response in Isaiah 49. When ancient Israel cried out, feeling forgotten and forsaken, He replied with one of the most powerful metaphors of His love: “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:16). The timing of these words makes them even more powerful—they came when Jerusalem’s walls either lay in ruins or would soon be destroyed by Babylon. Yet even in that dark hour, the Lord promised He hadn’t forgotten His people. He kept their threatened or broken walls continually before Him, knowing that one day He would restore them.

Unlike writing that can be erased or fade with time, something engraved is permanent and unchangeable. Just as He was aware of Jerusalem’s broken walls and promised their restoration, He showed me through this unexpected moment that He is intimately aware of my challenges now and will help me through them. Even in moments when I might feel forgotten or when my own defenses seem to be crumbling, He proved that I am always before Him, permanently etched in His eternal memory and love.

Sometimes we look for grand manifestations of God’s love, but often it comes in these quiet, personalized moments that might seem coincidental to others but feel sacred to us. These experiences serve as tender reminders that we are never alone, that God is intimately aware of our struggles, and that He will find ways—sometimes surprising ways—to remind us of His love.

As you face your own challenges, I invite you to watch for these personal messages from heaven. They might come through a friend’s text, a line in a talk, or even, as in my case, through a simple example in a training meeting. God knows your name, knows your heart, and will find ways to remind you of His love—especially when you need it most.