Nov 6, 2023

“We have now learned that God means what He says, and says what He means. . . . When He gives to us revelations of the greatest moment to us, will He not set forth His mind and will in their true meaning, as He intends they shall be fulfilled, and as He intends we shall understand them?”¹

So taught Wilford Woodruff as he addressed the Saints in 1855, many of whom still carried troubling memories of the exodus from Nauvoo. It can be difficult at times to keep our eyes focused on eternal things when the fiery darts of the adversary come at us on a regular basis (see 1 Nephi 15:24). We might ask, as Brother Joseph did while languishing in a jail cell, “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1).

God’s tender answer to Joseph can be as pertinent for us as it was for him. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7).

Can you hear your Father above whispering to you and confirming this truth? It is as Wilford taught—God means what He says! He has promised us that our trials and difficulties will not last forever. He wants us to believe Him and understand Him. He also wants us to know that this life is meant to be challenging, for a sacred purpose. Before the first mortal man stepped foot on this earth, Christ stood among His faithful disciples and said, “We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25).

We are learning through our difficulties to become more like Christ. The Apostle Paul called Jesus “an high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11). And what are those “good things”? Christ taught of the faithful sons and daughters of God, “They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—they are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory. . . . They are gods, even the sons of God—Wherefore all things are theirs . . . And they shall overcome all things” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:55–60). Is this not the grandest, most majestic promise ever given?

It is necessary for us to know these promises and see glimpses into the future that awaits God’s faithful children so we can know why we are here and why we endure. Even Jesus needed to be able to see joy and hope during His trials, as taught by Paul: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). It is the same for us. Father wants us home. He has set forth His mind and will to us about the scriptures’ true meaning. Now we must choose to believe, choose to seek for understanding, and choose to look forward to the good things to come.

Craig Lindquist is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, happily married to Dianna for the past 46 years. By trade he is a cabinetmaker, actor, and writer. He lives in Henderson, Nevada, except when he travels to film or to work on the construction of temples.