Jun 12, 2023

Have you ever found it difficult to align your will with God’s and humbly submit to His plan for you? We can learn how to better submit to the will of our Heavenly Father by looking at the example of Jesus Christ and some of the early Saints.

Jesus Christ’s life is the perfect example of what it means to submit our will to the Father’s. In alignment with God’s will for Him, Christ atoned for our sins. An important part of that Atonement was His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. As I studied the Come, Follow Me lesson for this week, it stood out to me that when Christ entered the Garden of Gethsemane, He immediately “fell on his face, and prayed” to His Father (Matthew 26:39). Is prayer our first response when we are asked by God to do something that feels impossible? Jesus Christ showed us that when it feels difficult to accomplish God’s will, we can and should lean on our Father to strengthen us. One of the ways we can turn to our Heavenly Father is by sincerely praying to Him. 

In His prayer, Jesus Christ cried, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). The Savior showed through His example that we should approach God “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).  

In July 1846, Wilford Woodruff was a witness to submissiveness and humility in some of the early Saints. He recorded the following in his journal as he watched those who had volunteered to march in the Mormon Battalion leave their families behind on the prairie: 

“When these 500 men were called for they stepped forth instantly . . . And left families, teams, waggons, & cattle standing by the way side not expecting to meet with them again for one or two years. . . . the brethren . . . went away with cheerful hearts believing that they were doing the will of God” (emphasis added).¹

These Saints were able to cheerfully submit to God’s plan for them by focusing on their desire to do His will. We can also become better at submitting to God’s will as we focus on trying to follow Him and as we reach out to Him through prayer when what He asks of us seems difficult. As we do this I know that He will help us align our will with His and we will be able to accomplish whatever He asks of us.

Megan Hutchings is an Assistant Editor for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. She received her bachelor’s degree in Editing and Publishing from Brigham Young University, and she is passionate about preserving the stories and experiences of others. Megan currently resides in Cedar City, Utah.