Law of Universal Gravitation

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation states that between any two objects in the universe, there exists a mutual force of attraction that is proportional to the products of their masses and inversely proportional to their distance squared. We'll unpack that more in a moment, but I want to start by focusing on the fact that on a basic level, every object is pulling on every other object with the same force. For example, the gravitational attraction between each of us and the Earth means that the force with which the Earth pulls us towards it is the exact same force with which we are pulling the Earth towards us. When we fall off the roof, for that four or five seconds that we are falling, we are pulling the Earth towards us just as strongly as the Earth is pulling us towards it. The Earth is about a million billion billion times more massive than we are so the Earth wins that tug of war, but as weird as it may seem, we are pulling on the Earth just as strongly as the Earth is pulling on us. I do want to return to the math just a tiny bit and talk about the part that says that the force of the gravitational attraction between two objects is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two objects. What this means is that if you cut the distance in half, the force isn't twice as strong, but four times as strong. If you fall three feet, as opposed to one foot, you are going to hit the ground nine times harder. If we move five times farther from the Earth's center of gravity, the force between us and the Earth will be twenty five times weaker. I bring all of this up because I want to talk about how the Law of Universal Gravitation applies to us and the Lord. "Draw near unto me, and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (D&C 88:63). Just as the Earth pulls on us with the same force that we pull on it, our Heavenly Father draws near unto us with the same force that we draw near unto Him. And just as the force of gravity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, the power that we feel from our Heavenly Father is also inversely proportional to the square of the distance between us. If we take three steps closer to our Heavenly Father, we will feel His power not three times stronger, but nine times stronger. If we take four steps away from our Heavenly Father, His influence in our lives will not be four times weaker, but sixteen. I know that the nearer we draw unto God, the nearer He draws unto us. This is a Universal Law. I also know that for every two steps closer that we take, we will feel His love four times stronger. However strongly we have ever felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I promise that the closer and closer we get to our Heavenly Father, we will discover that the strength and power available to us with each step closer will be far, far more than we had ever dared dream. Let us all increase the power of God in our lives by all choosing to draw nearer and nearer to Him, so that He may draw nearer to us.