How nature helps me connect with the creator

I’m grateful for the spiritual places we can go to get away from the busyness of life, like the temple or even a quiet room in our homes. I have also found that being in nature and its peacefulness has helped me connect with Heavenly Father.

Is it great to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, smelling the scent of fresh rainfall, or hearing the sound of a babbling creek. These things have allowed me to quiet my soul and prepare my heart to connect with heaven.

Even the simplicity of changing seasons reminds me that through a dark, bitterly cold season, flowers will always bloom again. And the fact that an oyster can create a pearl out of a tiny grain of sand shows me how much potential I have as well. After a long hard day spent working, it is great to retreat to nature and connect with my Heavenly Father, even for a few moments. It resets and revitalizes my worn-out soul.

Nature reminds me that if God had time to craft that single blade of grass beneath my feet, the details of a butterfly’s wings, and the tiny gnats buzzing around my head, then He must have taken extra care to thoughtfully create me and each of His children too. Witnessing the beauty of the natural earth and all its intricate details is a great reminder of who I truly am.

These creations are also evidence of His limitless power — if He can make something as vast as a mountain range or an ocean, then He has the power to help me face my challenges too.

What Alma taught is true: “The earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, … witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).

Nature itself has also testified many times that Jesus Christ is the Savior. Think of the star that appeared in the sky as a sign of His birth (see Matthew 2) or how the earth shook and became dark and even seemed to mourn Him when He was crucified (see 3 Nephi 8). The intricate details of the earth have always been a testament of the reality of God the Father and His Son.

Many disciples of Christ have also had spiritually intimate moments and received personal revelation in the solitude of nature when they prayed for guidance. It was on a mountain where the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord light the stones for his people’s barges (see Ether 3). Moses spoke to the Lord through a burning bush (see Exodus 3) and received the Ten Commandments when he climbed Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20). And even the Savior often retreated to the top of a mountain after ministering to connect with the Father (see Matthew 5:1).

I do believe that the beauty and steadiness of nature is a gift from Heavenly Father. It can help us escape from the distractions in our lives and re-center our focus on hearing Him.