How Great the Goodness of Our God

One of my favorite children’s books to read to my kids is the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems. One of them is called Waiting is Not Easy! and that one certain rings true. In the book Piggie tells Gerald (the elephant) that he has a surprise for him, and the elephant has a really hard time waiting for it. Piggie continues to tell Gerald that he has to wait, and finally at the end of the book he takes his friend outside and shows him the surprise: a sky full of stars. As they stared in awe up at the sky, Gerald remarked, “That was worth the wait.” I thought of this story as I considered Elder Soares’s talk from the most recent general conference in which he encouraged us to feel “more spiritual wonder… for the gospel of Jesus Christ.” He explained, “The wonder I refer to is the sensation of emotion, awe, or amazement common to all who wholeheartedly center their lives on the Savior and His teachings and humbly recognize His presence in their lives. Such a feeling of wonder, inspired by the influence of the Holy Ghost, stimulates the enthusiasm to joyfully live the doctrine of Christ.” The awe with which these two characters looked at the starlight sky is the same kind of feeling that we should have as we consider the gospel and the Savior.

               Jacob in the Book of Mormon expressed this kind of awe for the Savior in his words to the Nephites. He exclaimed, “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster…. O how great the plan of our God!... O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled…. O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!... O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it” (2 Nephi 9:10-20). Jacob felt deep down the  I believe this is the kind of wonder and joy that Elder Soares was talking about that we should feel towards the Savior and the plan of God for us. As we consider His perfect life, His powerful miracles, His great atoning sacrifice, and His triumphant victory over the grave with His resurrection, we should indeed be full of awe for His greatness and our own nothingness compared to Him. When Moses saw the great power of God and all His creations, he explained, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed“ (Moses 1:10). I don’t think he was saying that man was worthless, but he had a glimpse of the greatness of God and was in total awe of the power and glory of the great Creator.

               I think the popular Christian song I Can Only Imagine also captures the kind of feeling and respect that we should have for the Savior. These are the lyrics: 

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for You Jesus

Or in awe of You be still?

Will I stand in Your presence

Or to my knees, will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine 

Though it may be far away, one day we will again see the Savior face to face and kneel before Him. To prepare for that future day we should today “immerse ourselves with faith and real intent in the Savior’s teachings, striving to incorporate His attributes into our way of being. In addition, we need to draw nearer to Him through our repentance, seeking His forgiveness and His redeeming power in our lives and keeping His commandments.”