Hearken Unto the Voice of the Lord

When Alma spoke to Korihor, he appealed to the beauty and order of nature to give evidence of the existence of God. He said, “Yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). All the creations on the earth should be a witness to us that there is a divine Creator, from the beauty of the mountains to the wonder and complexity of the animals. The stars and planets in the sky should similarly witness to our souls that there is Someone who ordered them so and set this earth in orbit for us. In modern revelation we have a similar invitation to consider the witness of divinity we find in creation: “He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever…. And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets. And they give light to each other in their times and in their seasons…. The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God…. Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:41-47). As we consider the heavens and the earth, as we view with an eye of faith the sun and the moon and the stars, we can witness that we have seen God moving in His majesty and power. The feeling we should have as we view the grandeur of creation is perhaps best described in these words of the hymn How Great Thou Art:

 

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

 

When through the woods and forest glades I wan­der

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

 

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art! How great thou art!

               

As we look with wonder to the earth and the heavens, we cannot help but likewise express our awe at the power of God witnessed in His creations.

In Helaman 12 we find another message that the wonder of creation should give to us as we ponder it with eyes to see. Mormon lamented the unsteadiness of men and their unwillingness to heed to the voice of the Lord. He described the creations of God this way: “The dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God. Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake. And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley. Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake; Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center. Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved. Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done” (v8-14). In other words, all the creations—from the dust to the hills to the mountains and to the earth itself—obey the Lord when He commands. Man is the only creation who chooses not to obey the voice of the Lord. I believe that Mormon wants us to be reminded to hear and obey the Lord as we consider the wonders of creation. All of these perfectly obeyed God as they were formed and ordered and put in place for mankind. And so, as we ponder on the beauty and majesty of planets and rivers and mountains, we should remember not only that God put them there but that they obeyed perfectly. We must strive to emulate that obedience and this invitation of Mormon: “Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved” (v23). As we strive each day to repent and hear God’s voice for us in our lives, we will be led back to Him.