The plan of redemption. The plan of happiness. How wonderful is this plan of our great God! Generally, and rightfully, we focus on the blessings and promises of that plan. But let us not forget an indispensable word in those descriptive titles: plan. This word is vitally important to our understanding of our Heavenly Father, who knows the end from the beginning. In a remarkable prophecy, Joseph Smith said that “persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
Saul was someone who strongly harassed Christian believers, but the Lord still had a plan for him. While on the road to Damascus intending to arrest any followers of Christ, a light shone around Saul and the Lord spoke to him. After the Lord identified Himself, Saul said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” (Acts 9:6). The Lord knew who Saul could become—Saul's past didn’t determine his future. Though his journey wasn’t an easy one afterwards, he had the opportunity to show the Lord that he would keep choosing Him—and he did.
I am inspired by the ancient Apostle Peter. We know well that after he denied the Savior three times, “Peter went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). However, Peter’s resolution to repent and stand as a witness of Jesus Christ to the end of his life should be remembered.
I have long felt that the most important verse in all scripture, and in fact the most important sentence in any record, is found in Luke 24:6: “He is not here, but is risen.” Without a knowledge of Christ and His Resurrection, as Wilford Woodruff said, “The separation by death is one of the most gloomy subjects it is possible to contemplate.” But, he continued, “As quick as we obtain the gospel, as soon as the spirit of man is enlightened by the inspiration of the Almighty, he can exclaim with one of old—‘Oh grave, where is thy victory, Oh death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ ”
“It is a startling idea to think we are worshiping a God that once was in the situation that we are in ourselves,” Brigham Young stated in June of 1851. In this sermon recorded by Wilford Woodruff, President Young continued, “[He] had to pass through a probation of pain, suffering and the fall like ourselves.”
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.
In John 16:13, Christ said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
Serving as an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1861, Elder Wilford Woodruff began a discourse with the following: “It is truly good to sit and hear the word of the Lord, and it is truly a good thing to believe in it; but it is still better to practice it.” This brief yet powerful message was not only for the Saints living in Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, but it was truly a mantra that Wilford Woodruff believed in—beginning with his conversion in 1833 through to his death in 1898.
One of my greatest fears is the end of times. Today, I worry about bringing children into a world where schools are filled with temptation and the world is filled with war and disease. While pondering this I came across a quote in the Wilford Woodruff Papers: “The mob used every exertion to take the life of Joseph and others; but through the mercy of God in whose hands their lives were their enemies did not succeed in this.