In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by Matthew, the Savior cautions his disciples against excessive anxiety about the future. You can’t serve both God and mammon, He says. Therefore, if you really trust God, you will focus on the present, with confidence that He will bless you in the future (Matthew 6:24-33).
Then He gives the following admonition:
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34).
When Jesus visited the American continent following His death and resurrection, He delivered essentially the same sermon to a group of people gathered at a temple in a place called Bountiful, but with some variations. The verse quoted above is different from the version recorded in Matthew:
Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof (3 Nephi 13:34, underlines added).
Here’s how I interpret the New Testament version of this passage:
You have enough challenges to deal with today without piling on all of the challenges you may encounter in the future. Focus your time and attention on today’s problems, and you can work on tomorrow’s challenges when they come.
And here’s my paraphrase of the Book of Mormon version:
Every day, you have enough time to deal with the challenges and duties of that day.. Therefore, don’t burden yourself with worry that there won’t be enough time tomorrow to deal with tomorrow’s work. There will be enough time.
I like both versions of this sentence, and I think they both lead to the same conclusion. I ought to prioritize serving over planning. I ought to prioritize the duties of today over the duties of tomorrow. I ought to pay attention to the people I’m with right now and the tasks I’m working on right now, and not be distracted by the people and tasks I will interact with in the future.
Today, I will exercise my faith by living in the moment. I will trust God, believing that there is enough time to address any challenges which the future may bring.
Thank you very much for sharing your inspired insights!
Thank you for the comment! I’m glad you are finding the blog useful. Have a great day!
I came across this post when I was searching on Google…Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof. I appreciate your informative answer and insights. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for your comment! I’m glad you found the post useful.
Thank you for this! I had a question about this and your post sure helped!
I’m so glad that you found the post helpful, and I’m glad you let me know.
Thanks!
googled the line from the Book of Mormon and came across your post. Minor difference but I wanted to know what people thought. I appreciate your input. – Marc Wheeler
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you found the post useful!
I have wondered for years what exactly this scripture means. Thank you for your explanations.
Thank you for the comment! I’m glad you found the post useful.
This is a wonderful insight! Can I quote your article? Thank you.
Feel free to quote anything on this website. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the post! Have a great day!
I agree with your thoughts, except the word “evil” draws me to a different interpretation. When I ponder those times when I or a close loved one worry about the future: what we will eat or drink, what we will wear, or even modern things like where should we travel to, what we will watch on TV, how will the weather disrupt my plans, how should I decorate my house, what will become of us with bad government leaders? Too many of these concerns stem from vanity – keeping up appearances or having something exciting to brag about. For example, the food industry is insanely focused on preparing fancy delicacies that have very little to do with basic nutrition, more attuned to the taste experience and “eating like the wealthy”.
I believe the Savior is telling us that the days he and HF have created for us are ‘sufficient’ to overcome the vain things of the world; that if we follow their plan for our lives then we need not worry over missing out on ‘experiences’ or how to regale our friends (or social media) with our fantastic exploits. The evil that is all around us – all influenced to varying degrees by Satan – will not become a must-have in us, that we should solely focus on God’s will and furthering His kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”.
I like it. It’s kind of a “back to basics” interpretation, similar to Matthew 5:37: “for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Basically, we have enough time to do everything needful, and when we start looking beyond the mark and trying to do more, we may be introducing unhelpful enhancements.
For my post, I downplayed the harshness of “evil” by interpreting it as simply “all the stuff that needs to get done.” Works for my brain, because my to do list can sometimes seem like an enemy. I think both interpretations are useful. Thanks for sharing yours!