Ep 6 Divine Worth Podcast: Asking God to Show You Your Worth with Alaina Burrows

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Welcome to the divine worth podcast, where we are letting go of our self doubt anxiety, fear, and limiting beliefs so that we can step into the divine roles that God has for us. I am your host life coach, Karen Papin, and together we are embracing our divine worth.

Today we have a special guest. Her name is Alaina Burrows. And I’m really excited to have her on because she is someone that I met through the creation school or creation coach school. and we’ve been able to do a couple of projects together since then. A little more formal introduction. , after Alaina certified as a creation coach, she founded a faith based coaching business called Into Eternity so that she could help couples and families thrive together by understanding their inherent worth.

She also owns and runs an online shop that helps Airbnb owners create memorable experiences for their guests. [00:01:00] After a few deeply influential experiences, Alaina came to realize the inherent value we’re all blessed with and is passionate about empowering others to discover who God created them to be.

When she isn’t coaching or running her businesses, Alaina can be found baking chocolate chip cookies and hanging out with her family. So Alaina, thank you so much for coming on and having this discussion with me today.

Alaina Burrows: I’m so excited. Thanks for calling me and having me here. This is gonna be great. Yeah.

Yeah. I’m excited

Karen Papin: to begin. I would love to hear like your perspective on what divine worth is.

Alaina Burrows: I have an analogy to explain this that you will know very well. We learned it when you and I both certified in the creation courage school together. And it kind of puts into words what I had a hard time explaining for a very long time, which is that.

Our divine worth is inherent. It’s not something that we [00:02:00] are earning or something that we have to build over time. It’s not something that is based on, I don’t know how many friends we have or how many promotions we have at work or any of those things. It’s just there. It’s there. And it, Always will be.

And I think that oftentimes we think that, Oh, you know, I’ve got to, if I can just do enough or be enough, then people will value me and they’ll want to be around me and they will like me more, but honestly, that I believe is something completely different from divine worth. So let me explain. The analogy is this, that you and I learned, right?

We have. The concept of a seed, right? In the course, we talk about acorns becoming oak trees and how an acorn already knows that it’s supposed to become an oak tree because of the genetic material that’s inside the seed. So it’s not like, Oh, can I become an oak tree? I don’t know. [00:03:00] Maybe it knows that it can become an oak tree because of that.

And the difference is whether or not it gets the nurturing and the nourishment that it needs. So it needs. Sunlight and soil and water and, you know, regular maintenance and things like that. But as long as those things occur, it becomes an oak tree the same way with like an apple seed doesn’t become an orange tree, it becomes an apple tree because of that coding in it.

And. What really was impactful to me, I think that analogy was intended to, to illustrate how we can become who the Lord intends for us to be. But to me, I also take it from it, a lesson of divine worth, because the seed didn’t have to work to earn all the genetic coding. It didn’t have to do any, it just is, it’s just there.

And people buy seeds because they know what they’re going to get out of it. They, the seed itself has worth. It’s not worthless to [00:04:00] people because it’s not already a tree and we are the same way, right? Because we have the genetic coding of our mother and father in heaven, quite literally. We are their children, we have their coding.

And so we have that same potential, that same worth. We have the same value. So I love the fact that we know about our savior, Jesus Christ, because we can see our value there pretty easily. He was willing to die for all of us. But also one of us, each of us individually, right? If there was nobody else that was ever on the earth, father and mother had no other spirit children.

He would have done it for you or for me, what he did, the atonement. And that to me is a really clear manifestation of how much each of us mean to the Lord and our value. [00:05:00]

Karen Papin: Yeah, I love how you kind of brought in the savior too, because it’s true. It, he would have done that even if it was just for you. And so that that’s just a beautiful thought in, in relation to applying the atonement to ourselves and recognizing that inherent worth that we do have.

And that is such a good analogy to, I remember learning about that. It’s like, Oh, that makes so much sense. It’s like, we have our Heavenly Father, spiritual DNA. And it’s like, if there is a trait that we want to be able to develop, we actually do have it within us. We just need to nurture it and let it grow.

So I love that. Thank you for sharing that. How have you seen God’s love for you in your life? And what was that process of really coming to understand that you [00:06:00] are inherently of worth?

Alaina Burrows: Well, this is such an interesting question because I think that it’s, the answer is different for everybody. But for me, I would have to say that it’s, Two things.

Number one would be a line upon line, I don’t know what the word is like a growth or building of that knowledge and understanding over time as I’ve had experiences, but two, and probably more importantly, is the power of asking. And what I mean by that is, I think that because. Our worth is already there.

I mean, it’s not based on something that we build. It’s not something that we can earn. It’s just there. Right. And the fact that we maybe don’t feel that yet, a lot of understanding that comes through personal revelation, the Lord telling us, Reminding us, I guess you could say of our worth. [00:07:00] And I think that a lot, if we look at the restoration of the gospel and a lot of what has happened over the modern years of church, things have changed because of revelation, right?

And revelation comes because somebody asked a question and here’s where I’m going with this. So you take the young boy, Joseph Smith, right? We have the gospel restored here today because he asked a question and over the years, since that has happened, so many questions have been asked. And because of that answers have come and things have been put into place.

I had an experience when I was a young girl. It’s very sacred to me. So I might not share all the details, but I grew up a military kid. My dad was in the military. We lived overseas. There was a lot of turmoil in Europe at the time. And if some of you are old enough to remember, we also had a desert storm going on in the middle East.

And my dad, we were living in Germany and my dad got [00:08:00] deployed to go to desert storm. And he left, Oh, if my memory’s right, I think he left Christmas Eve. And it had just been a difficult time for my family because my sister had passed away a couple months before and we were out there all by ourselves and I felt alone as a young girl, primary age girl.

And. I felt scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t understand it because I was so young and I was, I felt lonely and afraid. And so I remember kneeling down asking the Lord in prayer for some help. And I asked him to keep my dad safe. To keep us safe and help me not feel so alone. And I got up, got into bed after that and went to sleep and the Lord made it known to me in a very special way that he was there.

I it’s like I said, it’s very tender to me, but there was an [00:09:00] experience that I had that does not happen to many people where I felt the physical presence of the Lord as a young girl. Um, little tiny girl that I’ve always cherished and looking back, I see that there was a lot more to that experience than maybe I understood at that age, which is that the Lord cared about me enough as an individual to speak to me and show himself in a way that I would understand that it would not be mistaken.

That was different than what might happen normally. Every day, it was definitely not an everyday experience, but he chose to answer the prayer of a little child who needed comfort and who needed to know that it was going to be okay. And as an adult now, I look back on that experience and I compare it sometimes [00:10:00] to the people of the Americas when the savior appeared to them.

And he had just been resurrected and he came to visit them and he spent some time there and then he said he had to leave and he could tell that they didn’t want him to leave. And so he decided to stay a little bit longer and minister to them individually. And the compassion that our savior has for them to do that has never not been huge in my mind, because he cares about us on an individual basis and ministers to each of us on an individual basis.

And for me, that ties into divine worth because tells me that I am worth it. That The Lord would come to me by myself in my bedroom alone here in Germany and reach out to me. Instead of sending the Holy Ghost or [00:11:00] instead of sending my mom in the next room or something, he came himself to me. And so I think that all may not have happened if I didn’t ask, if those people didn’t kind of like in their thoughts.

I think if I remember, right, the scripture story, he perceived their thoughts, the savior did knowing that they didn’t want him to go. And so understanding divine worth. It comes in a lot of ways. It’s different for everybody, but for me personally, asking the question has been huge because when we ask the Lord will tell us, and since we already know that our divine worth is there, he’s going to let us know in a way that we understand.

Karen Papin: That’s, that is such a good point. I remember there’s a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants and it’s the Lord’s talking to Oliver Cowdery and he was like, I don’t remember exactly how it says it, but he said something along the lines of you expected it to just come, [00:12:00] but you need to study it out and you need to take that time to, I don’t know if it says specifically ask, but take that time and really So much of the doctrine and covenants is kind of this idea of asking a question and receiving revelation, asking a question and receiving revelation because that’s how the church was built because Joseph Smith was young.

He started out young and he went and he asked that question. And so I love that. And because what that is showing is by asking, we are, it shows the Lord that we are seeking and that we are sincerely desiring to know the answers. And he speaks to us in so many different ways. It sounds like you had a pretty powerful experience.

And sometimes we have those powerful experiences. And sometimes we have those smaller rays of light, like Elder Dushku talked about that, that build into more powerful things. So thank you so much [00:13:00] for, for being able to, or being willing to, to share your experience. And one of the things that I like that you’ve said was that, that, that understanding can come in so many different ways because really we are different.

So when we take that time to just look for those ways, uh, the Lord does, does answer us.

Alaina Burrows: No, I think that we, a lot of times in maybe in general conference or in sacrament meeting, people will give talks and we hear really exceptional stories, much like the one that I just shared and we think, uh, shoot, you know, I haven’t had one of those experiences, I guess.

The Lord doesn’t care about me, or I guess he doesn’t talk to me. Maybe I’m not worthy of hearing the inspiration that he’s trying to send me. Oh, shoot. Like, it can domino into this self doubt and I don’t know, [00:14:00] challenging experience because we think that there’s something wrong with us. But, I’ve come to know exactly what you’re saying, that sometimes we have those big experiences, and they’re great, and they’re wonderful, and we will always remember them.

But I think you’re onto something when you talk about the small rays of light over time that gradually build just like a sunrise. And one thing that I’ve found in terms of that is The power of prayer journaling, we were writing those things down. We’re not only remembering them, but we’re also taking in that prompting or that message in another way.

Right? So it, it kind of emphasizes that to us. With a different sensory input maybe I guess you could say that reinforces it and we know from what we’re taught that Small and simple things bring to pass great things, right and [00:15:00] that we’re supposed to progress eternally and so those little things in my opinion are the Lord’s way of Repeatedly telling us how much we’re worth and why we’re so valuable to him and letting those things build over time.

Like his talk, it is kind of like a sunrise, right? Or just it’s imperceptible almost as it happens. But then you look and you see, Oh, wow, the whole sun it’s up now. And so it kind of teaches us in a really incredible way.

Karen Papin: So it reminds me of Alma the younger, how he had this incredible experience of the angel of the Lord coming.

And visiting him. And yet when later on, he’s telling he’s teaching and he’s saying, do you think that I know this of myself? It’s like, no, I know this because the Holy ghost has testified of it to me over and over many times. And so even when we have those great, powerful [00:16:00] experiences, there’s still these other little experiences that really cement our faith and really What keeps us continuing to, to believe in and to know the truth.

Alaina Burrows: Yeah. I think it’s incredibly insightful or like full of wisdom, I guess. What is there a word for that? Merciful too, on the part of the Lord that he communicates in so many different ways, sometimes in the big ways where there’s like, Hello, right in front of my face or it’s big, you’re not, you can’t miss it.

And then other times in ways that are. Small and you have to kind of like really be in tune to hear it and then everything in between and I think that’s really a sign of love because he’s communicating with us in as many ways possible so that we don’t miss it. Right. And one thing that I always ask in my prayers, like, especially if I’m seeking a certain answer, I will [00:17:00] say, Heavenly Father, please teach this to me or reveal this to me or whatever it is in a way that I will understand.

And I’ve stopped asking, can you say these words in a dream at this time, this day? I don’t do that anymore. It’s more like, just in a way that I will notice, right? And one of those things that I have prayed about is divine worth, because we’ve all had a really rotten lesson in Sunday school, like the licked cupcake or something, or we’ve all had rejection by someone that we had a crush on, whatever it is, right?

That kind of makes us. are worth. And I’ve had my share of those experiences too. And I, I’ve always said, okay, I’m a father. Can you please like, just help me understand. In a method that I will get, whether it’s a dream, whether it’s a thought, a prompting, whether it’s [00:18:00] like a message from somebody, I don’t care what it is, just in a way that I’m going to understand, help me see my divine worth, help me know that I matter.

And he’s never, he’s never not done it. He’s never not answered me. And what’s cool about it is that I’ve learned. Different ways that he speaks to me and been able to recognize it more. And so as an adult, we gain more and more experience over time. And I know that it’s different for everybody, but for me, that asking has really been the key in terms of divine worth.

I mean, I think about like, one of my favorite scriptures about this topic is in the doctrine and covenants when Joseph Smith is in, The jail, and he says that prayer, Holy father, have you forsaken me? Please come save me. Like I can’t do this anymore. You know, and the Lord’s response to me is one of the most powerful manifestations of divine work because he addresses Joseph as his son.[00:19:00]

And he says, as we all know, hang in there, this is only going to be for a short amount of time. Everything is going to be for your good. Don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay, but he says it in a way, number one, that Joseph needed to hear. Based on what he was going through at the time and number two, he did it in such an individual way.

He spoke directly to Joseph about Joseph. Like he wasn’t receiving a revelation for the whole church, you know, not, this wasn’t in his capacity as a prophet for the entire church. It was just him as a guy, as a dude in a jail, being completely Mistreated, totally miserable, suffering more than most of us ever will.

And the Lord came to him individually one on one. And to me, I think, my goodness, the Lord [00:20:00] not only loves us individually, but man, we must be pretty valuable. We must have pretty great worth for the God of the universe to come and talk to us and to minister to somebody one on one. And the cool thing about that is that That’s not just for prophets.

It’s not just for apostles, for Jesus, or maybe your stake president. It’s for all of us, right? All of us can receive that. And to me, that is a huge indicator of divine worth.

Karen Papin: That is such a good point. Like, I’m just like sitting with that right now. It’s like, just the fact that, that we have like the Holy Ghost, like we have a way to, that the Lord speaks to us.

That is showing us that we are of worth. I love that you keep, in what we’ve been discussing this entire time, you keep pointing out it’s individual. It is something that, that is for us [00:21:00] individually. And so for those listening, I just want to point that out again. It’s like, this is about you individually.

This is your divine work journey. And what Alaina is saying here is to is that it’s for you individually, but also to ask and turn to the Lord, ask him, help me be able to see this. And as you said, in the ways that I will understand.

Alaina Burrows: I think that was like a crucial change for me because Let’s just expand out of divine worth for a second.

Like if you’re seeking an answer to a question, I don’t know how many fathers should I turn right? Should I turn left? Should I take this job? Should I not, you know, whatever it is, I’ve learned to say, sometimes it’s a good day for me. Sometimes I have brain fog. Can you please just talk to me in a way that I’ll understand, like, really, please help me see it.

And to me, that is. One of the greatest things that I’ve learned to do [00:22:00] because it’s helped me see that the Lord, he’s not like, like a frazzled primary president that’s trying to get everybody to listen and she can’t like, Oh, everybody wants me at the same time. He knows us individually and he can speak to us on an individual level.

And that just, when I learned that it just took. Everything exponentially higher, my understanding of certain things, but also my sense of individual worth of divine worth, because if, like I said earlier with Joseph, if the Lord knows me enough and loves me enough to come in and speak to me when he’s got all these other problems and all these other children and all these other calamities.

I must be worth quite a lot to him. And so, you know, like Karen said, I can’t encourage you enough to build that individual, not only relationship, but dialogue with the Lord. If you don’t aren’t sure about your [00:23:00] divine worth, or you aren’t sure about any other kind of question ask, because the Lord will tell you and you can ask him the same question, please tell me in a way that I will get it.

I will see it. I will hear it and you’re worth it and he will do it.

Karen Papin: So what. What like advice do you have for those who are like, I am asking, and I feel like I’m not receiving it. What would you say to them?

Alaina Burrows: Okay, well, first of all, I would say you are not the only person in the history of the world that has asked that because I’ve asked the same thing.

I’ve talked to a ton of people that have said the same thing, you know, that’s great and all, but every time I ask I hear silence. I don’t, I don’t get an answer., I don’t know what to do. The first thing that comes to mind is a talk that, or maybe it was a fireside. I don’t remember, but something that Elder Bednar talked about where he’s saying, you know, a lot of you are asking the question, is it the [00:24:00] spirit or is it me?

And in terms of the context, he’s saying, how do we know whether something that we’re thinking is coming from the Lord, or maybe it’s just us? Thinking like we want something so badly that we’re convincing ourselves that we hear it. Right. And he says, as members of the church or as good, God fearing people, if you’re not a member of the church, we often don’t realize how much of the companionship of the Holy ghost we actually have, because we are so accustomed to living with it.

We’re so accustomed to having. Not only inspiration and revelation, but also comfort and protection. And so I don’t know what his word was. It’s almost like we, we are used to it until we become nose blind. Like if you go into a room and it smells real bad and you get used to it and can’t smell it anymore, kind of like that.

And he says, this is what you do when that happens. If you feel like you’re [00:25:00] not getting answers to a question that you had, go with what your gut tells you, because if. It’s wrong. The Lord’s going to let you know, he’s going to stop you, turn you around and put you, push you in the other direction. And if that doesn’t happen, then you can know that.

You’re making the right decision and the Lord approves of it. And so taking that into consideration, I would say, maybe if you feel like you’re asking this question, heavenly father, please tell me my worth, or please help me feel like I have some kind of value and you’re not, I feel like you’re not hearing that, or you feel like you’re not maybe getting a clear answer that you can hear.

I would say that my, my challenge to you would be a couple of things. Number one. See if the Lord is speaking to you in a different way than maybe what you’re accustomed to. This could be anything from like sending a [00:26:00] message through somebody else, like another person, to a scripture that you might come across or a talk that you might come across to something that you might see on a TV show or just anywhere because inspiration can come from more than one place and more than one source.

That’d be my first thing. Second would be to consult people that know you and love you. Go and ask whoever that might be your parents, your siblings, your spouse, teachers, Bishop Rick, who I don’t know who it is because it’s different for everybody, but go and ask them and they will tell you how important you are people that love us are a reminder of our divine worth.

And some of you may be saying, well, I don’t have that. I don’t have family. My family disowned me or I live far away from them. I don’t have somebody that I can go to. My next suggestion would be to go to the scriptures or go to the conference [00:27:00] talks or words of the prophets and read what the Lord is telling you there because the Lord will speak to you either through the words that are on the page or through inspiration that comes when you’re reading those words.

Our divine worth is fixed, meaning that it’s there no matter what we think or what other people’s think about us. And sometimes you just need reminding of that. So those are three really good places to go. And that I would suggest if you feel like you’re not getting those answers,

Karen Papin: I’m curious because you’ve mentioned a couple of times.

It’s like your worth is fixed. It’s not dependent on what, whether you earned it or not, what are some of the experiences or is there one particular experience that stands out where you really learned that lesson? Like, what brought you to really learning that it’s not dependent on what you do?

Alaina Burrows: Yeah, and this one is gonna make me teary, but I’ll share it.

It’s just you’ve been warned. Okay, when [00:28:00] I was pregnant with my first child There was some things that made us think that he might be born early And so I remember my dad about two weeks before my due date Had to go on an international business trip went overseas to Europe and I said dad Maybe you shouldn’t go because what if my son is born early, you know, let’s just stay please stay and he’s like, oh, I gotta go on this trip.

I think it’ll be okay, but call me if something happens, but I don’t think anything’s gonna happen. So I was like, okay. So he got on the plane and before he even landed in Europe, my doctor said, listen, This thing is happening, this complication, we’ve got to, you’ve got to be induced, we’ve got to have this baby today.

And, and I thought, oh my gosh, I wasn’t crazy, like I knew something was going to happen, and it did. And so, I remember calling my dad, leaving a voicemail and saying, hey dad, I know you’re on the plane right now, so you can’t get this message, [00:29:00] but our son is being born. If you can make it back, that’d be great.

Cause I’m kind of scared. And when he landed, I got a phone call from him saying, Hey, I just got your message. I’m on the next flight. I’m not even going to leave the airport. And this was a big deal because this was a really important, like make it or break it business meeting for him. It was really big, and I don’t know, I mean, my dad certainly would never tell me if it had a negative effect on his job, but he flew back, he didn’t even leave the airport, he got a flight, came back, and he walked into the hospital room, hadn’t slept in a couple of days, and I said, Dad, I’m so sorry.

I feel terrible. Thank you for coming. And he looked at me and he said, I [00:30:00] would do anything for you. I would walk to the end of the earth for you. Don’t even worry about it. You’re my daughter. And I love you more than anything. This is nothing. Thank you for calling me and letting me know. And I was just overwhelmed because I felt so guilty.

Pulling him away from this trip that had been planned for months and At the same time astounded that somebody would have such love for me, little old me, worthless old me, stupid idiotic old me, you know, whatever, fill in the blank with whatever adjective you want.

That he would be willing to do what he did for me. And my dad hugged me and told me that he loved me. And I’ve never forgotten that. And I feel like [00:31:00] it’s a type of our savior. It’s an example of our savior because guess who else would walk to the end of the earth for us? Jesus Christ.

Because he loves us so much because, not because of anything that we’ve done, but because our value is there. And so for me personally, I learned of my own. Individual worth from my dad. And I think that the same can be done for each of us with our earthly parents, I hope anyways, but also with our heavenly parents, but for you asked about a specific personal experience.

That’s definitely been one of the most influential that I’ve had.

Karen Papin: It’s beautiful. And it is very much like when we’re questioning, it’s like, that is the type of love that our heavenly father has for us. And that the Savior, and we know that because like [00:32:00] he, he descended below everything, Christ descended below all things for us. And so thank you so much for being willing to share that experience.

Thank you. That is a beautiful example of the love that, well, that your dad had, yes, but also the love that. That our Heavenly Father has promised. Well, Alaina, thank you so much for coming on here and for doing these things with us. I I’m wondering, is there, what is one small and simple step that can move forward with from, from our discussion today?

Well, as if

Alaina Burrows: I haven’t said it enough, I would say one more time that if you, whether you know your individual worth already, or you, maybe you aren’t sure, I would love it if you would. Ask the Lord to tell you in a way that you’ll understand [00:33:00] and watch the miracles That unfold and even come and share it with me and Karen, please I would love to hear this how the Lord speaks to you because that really is the first step I think once we understand and we can see ourselves the way that the Lord sees us It changes the way we exist in this world To be honest, like it changes how we see things, which changes how we feel and what we say and we do and we become and all of that kind of thing.

So ask and notice, those would be my two steps and my invitation to you.

Karen Papin: I love that. And one more thing. What is your favorite scripture on divine worth?

Alaina Burrows: Okay. The one that I talked about earlier with Joseph Smith and the Lord when he’s in the jail and the Lord is talking to him. What is that? Is that section 121?

I think it’s

Karen Papin: 121 and 122. Yeah.

Alaina Burrows: Fact check us please. If we’re wrong. [00:34:00] I think it’s section 121 and 122. A close second would be the other one that I spoke about, which is when the Lord appears to the Nephites in the Americas, which is founded through Nephi chapter 11 and 12. Maybe 13, where he sees the need and the desire in the people’s eyes.

And he doesn’t, they don’t even have to ask. He loves them that much that he will just stay. Those are my two favorite scriptures about divine worth.

Karen Papin: Yeah, those are such good ones. Okay. So how can people find you?

Alaina Burrows: Okay. Well, you can find me on the gram at creation coach, Alaina, or you can email me at Alaina at power of co creation.

org.

Karen Papin: All right. Sounds great. All right, Alaina. Thank you. And once again, thank you so much for coming here and.

Alaina Burrows: Karen. It’s really amazing to be here. Thank you so much.

Karen: If you have found this podcast to be a light, please share it with others and leave a review, which helps others to be able to find the podcast as well. To learn more about your divine worth and potential, you can check out my divine worth scripture study journal with over 52 scriptures relating to your divine worth and potential.

You can find that on Amazon by searching divine worth journal by Karen Papin. Or through the link here: Amazon

You are of worth. You have a purpose. The Lord loves you and he believes in you and only you can make the impact on this world that you are meant to make. Join me next time as we talk more about divine worth and potential.