Several places in the scriptures, we are told that the first will be last and the last will be first. What does this mean, and how does it apply to us?
In the Book of Mormon, an angel explains to Nephi that the Bible would come “from the Jews unto the Gentiles,” after which the Book of Mormon and other scriptures would come “from the Gentiles” to his family’s descendants “and also the Jews” (1 Nephi 13:26, 39). The implication is that God loves all of his children and gives us opportunities to serve one another at different times:
The time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.
1 Nephi 13:42
God provides blessings to a few which are to be shared with others. We take turns being providers and recipients, serving and being served. You may be first one day and last the next as God gives everyone opportunities to serve.
In the New Testament, Jesus shares this principle to give His apostles hope. They have just spoken with a wealthy man who is unwilling to give up his possessions to follow Jesus. Peter points out that he and the other apostles have forsaken everything to follow Him, and Jesus responds:
Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Matthew 19:29-30; see also Mark 10:29-31
Those who appear to be rich and powerful today may not fare so well in the end. It’s important to recognize the intrinsic value of your activities, which may not look profitable by worldly standards but which will, in the end, produce the best outcomes.
In 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation in which the Lord reaffirmed that everything will be made right at the Final Judgment. “Remember that not all my judgments are given unto men,” He said. In other words, you can’t see today how things will turn out in the end. Things may seem terribly unfair today, but that’s because we don’t understand how all of the pieces will eventually fit together. “As the words have gone out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:30). The Creator understands His creations, and the things that He promised to do in the beginning, He will surely do in the end. The first shall be last.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf applied this principle to us in a more personal way:
God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history. They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Savior’s example and spend the days of their lives doing good….
The Lord uses a scale very different from the world’s to weigh the worth of a soul.
“You Matter to Him,” General Conference, October 2011
Many of our most important contributions and accomplishments may be largely unrecognized today. We may serve quietly and without fanfare, receiving no praise or recognition for our efforts. Yet our greatest happiness and fulfillment may come from those activities rather than from our more prominent accomplishments. The last shall be first.
Today, I will strive to act in a way that is pleasing to God, not to the world. I will focus on activities with intrinsic and durable value, regardless of how visible they may be. I will remember that many things which appear to be “last” from a mortal perspective are actually “first” in an eternal one.
Amen 🙏