Great Things

One theme that we see throughout the scriptures is that the Lord has done “great things” for the faithful.  The Psalmist declared, “The Lord hath done great things for us” (Psalms 126:3).  After her incredible experiences Mary exclaimed, “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things” (Luke 1:49).  In the Gospels we see “how great things Jesus had done” to the many of the people as He healed them and performed incredible miracles (Luke 8:39).  Nephi spoke of “what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban” (1 Nephi 7:11).  Mormon recorded that the Nephites, after their long war, “did remember how great things the Lord had done for them” (Alma 62:50). Indeed, one of whole the purposes of the Book of Mormon was to “show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers” (Title page).  These examples and others show that the Lord has down mighty works for His people in the past, and this should help to develop faith in the Lord and His miracles.  But our faith must go deeper than believing in what the Lord has done; we must also show trust in what the Lord will do.  The scriptures speak of “great things” that will be done in the future for the Saints.  In the chapter describing events of the last days, Joel declared: “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things” (Joel 2:21).  In the Book of Mormon, the Savior gave this invitation: “Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you” (Ether 4:14).  In modern day revelation this idea has been repeated several times.  The Savior said that “the time speedily cometh that great things are to be shown forth unto the children of men” (D&C 35:10).  He also declared to the righteous, “For verily I say unto you, that great things await you” (D&C 45:62).  Quoting the Old Testament, we also have this magnificent promise: “For since the beginning of the world have not men heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath any eye seen, O God, besides thee, how great things thou hast prepared for him that waiteth for thee” (D&C 133:45).  All of these scriptures help us to see that we need to have faith not just in the past but also in the future.  We have to learn to trust that just as the Lord did wonderful things for the children of men in the past, He will do great things for us if we can just “rend that veil of unbelief.”  (Ether 4:15).