The Stone Cut Out Without Hands

Nebuchadnezzar had a dramatic dream. He couldn’t remember it, but he was sure he would recognize it if someone described it to him. None of his wise men dared to try, except Daniel.

Daniel described an enormous statue representing the kingdoms of the earth. Then he told the king:

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image …

… and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Daniel 2:34-35

In 1831, the Lord compared the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ to that stone in a revelation to Joseph Smith:

The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.

Doctrine and Covenants 65:2

One of the lessons of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is not to underestimate the power of seemingly small things. Like an insignificant stone, the restored gospel was first delivered to a small group of people and has only gradually been shared with large numbers of people around the world. The impressive growth wouldn’t have happened without people willing to work on a much smaller scale, looking forward with an eye of faith.

Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni all said they were writing to “the ends of the earth.” (See 2 Nephi 33:10, 13; Mormon 3:18, 22; Moroni 10:24.) From their vantage point, it must have been nearly impossible to visualize their words being studied by millions of people all over the world. But they believed in God’s promises and wrote to the most expansive audience imaginable.

President Russell M. Nelson recently said:

We live in a day of great momentum in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am filled with joy as I see progress in so many areas.

The little stone that the prophet Daniel saw in his dream of the latter days is rolling forth to fill the world.

“Confidence in the Presence of God,” General Conference, April 2025

Today, I will work on small things with confidence that their impact can grow. I will trust—like Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni—that my small efforts to do God’s will and assist with His work can have an outsized impact as they join with the efforts of other disciples and are magnified by the power of God.