“The Lord Is at Work with Us”

Last week, I wrote a blog post about focusing on what we can control and leaving the rest to God. The same is true of information gaps. A feature of mortality is that we often have to act on incomplete information, and that can be particularly hard when we receive instructions from God without a lot of context.

Mormon found himself in that situation as he compiled the history of his people. He was delighted when he found the small plates of Nephi but perplexed by the inspiration to include them, unabridged, in his book. He felt the need to add the following explanation for his future readers:

I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.

Words of Mormon 1:7

Mormon’s testimony identified the boundary of his knowledge:

1. He didn’t understand why he needed to do this.
2. He was certain that God wanted him to do it.
3. He humbly acted on revelation without understanding the full context.

When Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto, which formally ended the practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many church members were confused and frustrated. Some of them had sacrificed much and suffered severe persecution for their adoption of the practice. Nearly 1,000 of them had served time in prison because of it. Now, many of them felt betrayed, as though church leaders were simply surrendering to their persecutors instead of holding fast to their convictions. (See Saints, Volume 2, Chapter 40: The Right Thing.)

After the Manifesto was presented and sustained in the October 1890 general conference, George Q. Cannon, the First Counselor in the First Presidency, explained that Church leaders didn’t have all of the answers:

The Presidency of the Church have to walk just as you walk. They have to take steps just as you take steps. They have to depend upon the revelations of God as they come to them. They cannot see the end from the beginning, as the Lord does. They have their faith tested as you have your faith tested. So with the Twelve Apostles. All that we can do is to seek the mind and will of God, and when that comes to us, though it may come in contact with every feeling that we have previously entertained, we have no option but to take the step that God points out and to trust to Him.

“Discourse,” Deseret Weekly, Nov. 8, 1890, 649–50

A little over a year later, Wilford Woodruff shared a similar sentiment at a church conference:

I have had this spirit upon me for a long time. … When the hour came that I was commanded to [write the Manifesto], it was all clear to me. I went before the Lord, and I wrote what the Lord told me to write. I laid it before my brethren. … These men agreed with me, and ten thousand Latter-day Saints also agreed with me. Why? Because they were moved upon by the Spirit of God and by the revelations of Jesus Christ to do it.

I leave this with you, for you to contemplate and consider. The Lord is at work with us.

“Remarks Made by President Wilford Woodruff at Cache Stake Conference, held at Logan, Sunday afternoon, November 1st, 1891,” Deseret Weekly, November 14, 1891, 660; see also Official Declaration 1, paragraphs 18-19

Wilford Woodruff and his associates didn’t need all of their questions answered in order to move forward in faith. They just needed an assurance that God had spoken.

The same is true today. Church leaders seek and strive to follow revelation, but they don’t claim to understand all of the reasons for the guidance they receive. As President Russell M. Nelson explained in his first talk as president of the Church:

When we convene as a Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, our meeting rooms become rooms of revelation. The Spirit is palpably present. As we wrestle with complex matters, a thrilling process unfolds …

In our meetings, the majority never rules! We listen prayerfully to one another and talk with each other until we are united. Then when we have reached complete accord, the unifying influence of the Holy Ghost is spine-tingling! … No member of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve would ever leave decisions for the Lord’s Church to his own best judgment!

“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives,” April 2018 general conference

Today I will follow the examples of Mormon, Wilford Woodruff, and Russell M. Nelson. As I pray and seek for revelation, I will focus on understanding what God wants me to do. I will act on the guidance I receive, even when I do not yet fully understand it.