The Lord’s Inheritance: You are God’s Greatest Treasure

Russell M. Nelson frequently taught how important it is for us to know that we are children of God:

Know the truth about who you are. I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly . . . , the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God. You have sung this truth since you learned the words to “I Am a Child of God” [Hymns, no. 301]. But is that eternal truth imprinted upon your heart?¹

As we study and ponder this truth, we can begin to realize that because we are children of God, our Father in Heaven loves us more than we can comprehend.

In the book of Deuteronomy (the last messages that Moses gave the children of Israel), we read that as Moses was praying for the people, he prayed, “[T]hey are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.”²

We are the Lord’s inheritance. That thought is remarkable.

What is an inheritance?

“Inheritance” has been defined as “money or objects that someone gives you when they die.”³ We think of an “inheritance” as something we receive when parents or grandparents die. But inheritance is not just money or things. We have an emotional connection to our inheritance.

Inheritance is rarely just a financial event. It’s a handover of identity, responsibility, unfinished conversations, and family expectations. It’s also, more often than not, a moment of emotional strain—grief, uncertainty, even guilt—combined with a sudden shift in financial identity.⁴

An inheritance comes to us after someone’s death, and often, that person is a loved one. As an attorney, I have handled many probate cases. I have seen the pain that children or grandchildren feel because of the passing of a loved one, but at the same time, they have to confront the assets that were left by that loved one. Those assets aren’t just “things.” There is an emotional connection to that money or those valuables.

So an “inheritance” is not just money or things. It represents an emotional connection; it is something that forces people to remember their deceased loved ones.

We are the children of God

The Proclamation on the Family begins, “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”⁵

Paul taught clearly that “we are the offspring of God,”⁶ and “if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”⁷ Paul was convinced that because we are God’s children, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love: “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 us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”⁸

Because we are His children and He loves us, our Father in Heaven designed His plan of salvation so that we can be with Him: “our Father’s beautiful plan, even His ‘fabulous’ plan, is designed to bring you home, not to keep you out. . . . God is in relentless pursuit of you. He ‘wants all of His children to choose to return to Him,’ and He employs every possible measure to bring you back.”⁹

My favorite verse that describes our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation, and in fact, describes the entire purpose of our existence, is Moses 1:39: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Because we are His children, everything He does is for us and is designed to help us experience eternal joy.

Our Heavenly Father has all power

Knowing that we are the children of Heavenly Father, it is then awe-inspiring to consider that He has all power, all knowledge, all wisdom, and all the universe is His. The following scriptures teach us this attribute of God:

• “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth.” (Mosiah 4:9)
• “And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.” (Moses 1:33)
• “That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:24)

Our Father in Heaven has all power. He created the universe and all things in it through His Son, Jesus Christ. Isn’t it remarkable to think that our Father, who loves us with a perfect love, has all power, and the only thing He really wants is for us to be happy? He has the power to make that happen, whether in this life, or throughout the eternities.

Jesus Christ demonstrated the power of creation

During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ demonstrated His godly power of creation. Every miracle He performed showed that power, but there are a few miracles and teachings that are most significant when considering what it means that we are God’s “inheritance.”

• “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)
• “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin . . . Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” (Matthew 6:28-32)
• “Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” (Luke 5:1-11)
• The miracle of feeding the 5,000: “But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. . . . he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.” (Matthew 14:15-21)
• The miracle of feeding the 4,000: “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. . . . And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.” (Matthew 15:32-38)
• “And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat. And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude. And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude. Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude; But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.” (3 Nephi 20:3-7)
• “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. . . . Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” (John 21:1-18)
• “[F]or what is property unto me? saith the Lord.” (Doctrine and Covenants 117:4)

These examples, and so many others, show the power of creation that is in Jesus Christ. He has no need for property. He has no need for a home, He has no need for money. By His power, He can create anything He needs. Perhaps the most remarkable example among those listed above is from the Book of Mormon when He provided bread and wine for the sacrament, even though there had been no bread or wine. Unlike the other examples when He miraculously multiplied the bread and fishes, He didn’t just multiply something that already existed; He somehow provided bread and wine out of nothing. Anything He needs, He can provide.

As we consider the Lord’s “inheritance,” we must understand that He has no need for material possessions. Through His power, He has everything He needs. We are His work and His glory, the focus of His plan, and the reason He created all things. We are His joy and His increase. We are His inheritance.

We are the Lord’s inheritance

God’s glory is us. He finds joy in us. And as we learn about our eternal purposes, we gain a greater understanding of what it means that we are the Lord’s inheritance:

• “[I]f a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, . . . they shall pass by the angels, . . . to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19)
• “[B]y this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:31)
• “[F]or herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:63)

President Dallin H. Oaks has recently taught why we as a church focus so intently on families:

The Church of Jesus Christ is sometimes known as a family-centered church. It is! Our relationship to God and the purpose of our mortal life are explained in terms of the family. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of our Heavenly Father for the benefit of His spirit children. We can truly say that the gospel plan was first taught to us in the council of an eternal family, it is implemented through our mortal families, and its intended destiny is to exalt the children of God in eternal families.¹⁰

We are part of our Heavenly Father’s family. It cannot be said enough: God is our Father, and we are His children. He wants us to be happy, and He has created a plan that is designed to enable us to experience true and lasting joy. Because He has all power, He lacks for nothing, and so His inheritance is His children. His inheritance is us.

President Nelson taught that “the way you think about who you really are affects almost every decision you will ever make,” and “Your task is to let your true identity as a child of God shape the decisions you make now and for eternity.”¹¹ If we can recognize how much our Heavenly Father loves us, and if we will ponder what it means that we are His inheritance, it will change how we perceive ourselves, and it will influence every decision we make.

References

1. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson, “Chapter 6: Divine Identity,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-russell-m-nelson/06-divine-identity?lang=eng&id=p_slJEp#p_slJEp. ↩︎
2. Deuteronomy 9:29. Several other verses in the Old Testament refer to us as God’s inheritance, such as, “But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.” (Deuteronomy 4:20). “[P]ardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.” (Exodus 34:9). “For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. ” (Deuteronomy 32:9). “For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.” (1 Kings 8:51). ↩︎
3. Cambridge Dictionary, “Inheritance,” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/inheritance. ↩︎
4. “The Psychology of Inheritance,” Oxford Risk, November 24, 2025, https://www.oxfordrisk.com/blog-posts/the-psychology-of-inheritance. ↩︎
5. The Family: A Proclamation to the World, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng&id=p2#p2. ↩︎
6. Acts 17:28-29. ↩︎
7. Romans 8:16-17. ↩︎
8. Romans 8:38-39. ↩︎
9. Patrick Kearon, “God’s Intent is to Bring You Home,” April 2024, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/04/45kearon?lang=eng&id=p5#p5. ↩︎
10. Dallin H. Oaks, “The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ,” October 2025, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/58oaks?lang=eng&id=p_wtI4s#p_wtI4s. ↩︎
11. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson, “Chapter 6: Divine Identity,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-russell-m-nelson/06-divine-identity?lang=eng&id=p_eSzwo#p_eSzwo. ↩︎