Great and Marvelous Things

In the most recent general conference, Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy was released. In what would presumably be his final address in general conference, he said this: “Brothers and sisters, today I declare my witness and make a record of what I have both seen and heard during my sacred ministry as a Seventy of the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so, I testify to you of a loving Heavenly Father and His benevolent Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered, died, and rose again to offer eternal life to God’s children. I testify of ‘a marvelous work and a wonder’ and that the Lord has set His hand once again to restore His gospel on the earth through His living prophets and apostles. I testify that based upon what I have both seen and heard, there has never been a better time to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than today. I know this of my own knowledge, independent of any other source, because of what I have both seen and heard.” He was called as a general authority in 2009, and so this summary comes from 15 years of serving full-time in the Lord’s work. Before that he already knew something of what it meant to serve in the Seventy, for his wife’s father—Elder William R. Bradford—was a member of the Seventy when Elder Nielson and his wife got married, and Elder Bradford served for a total of 28 years. And so Elder Nielson’s witness of what he saw and heard comes from one who indeed experienced many things as it relates to the work of the Lord over his lifetime.

                Elder Nielson recounted his experiences with his wife participating in the work of the Lord in many parts of the world, specifically mentioning his visits to New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Fiji, Texas, California, and Florida. He then said this: “I testify today that I have observed this profound Restoration of the Savior’s gospel with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. I am a witness of God’s work across the world. There has never been a better time to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than today.” His testimony of how the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is changing lives across the world invites us to consider the grandeur of God’s work today and the awesome privilege we have to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. His words remind me of an experience I had as I served as a missionary in France. I remember driving from our place in Antibes up the coast of the French Riviera to the city of Nice to meet with other missionaries, and as I watched the sunrise over that beautiful water that our car overlooked, I was filled with the feeling of the greatness of the work of God that I was so blessed to participate in. The scripture that helped capture my feeling, and that we later wrote on a picture we took and gave to our branch president, was this one from the final words of the Book of Mormon: “And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled” (Moroni 10:31). Moroni, paraphrasing Isaiah, was looking forward to our day, the only dispensation that would not end in apostasy, and he saw how the work of the Lord would explode and fill the earth. His words come down through the ages to you and me: “Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God; for behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled. Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you. Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Momon 8:33-35). He has seen you and me, and he has seen the fulfillment of the prophecies of ancient prophets coming to pass in our day. Ours is the great opportunity, if we so choose, to be a part of the marvelous work and wonder so long waited for by ancient prophets when the salvation of God will be taken to all the world.

                I love Elder Nielson’s final words that I do indeed witness as well: “I join all of you, my friends, as we unitedly testify that these things are true. We make a record of what we have both seen and heard. You and I are witnesses who testify. It is with the power of this united witness that we continue to move forward with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel. I declare my witness that Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior and our Redeemer.”