Work Together for Good

Sister Kristin Yee related an experience she had painting a picture of the Savior in the most recent general conference. She told of her intense labors trying, with much difficultly, to create the oil painting. After much prayer and continued effort, she felt she was finally done. She said, “When I thought the oil painting was finally complete and dry, I began to apply a transparent varnish to protect it from dirt and dust. As I did, I noticed the hair in the painting start to change, smear, and dissolve. I quickly realized that I had applied the varnish too soon, that part of the painting was still wet! I had literally wiped away a portion of my painting with the varnish. Oh, how my heart sank. I felt as though I had just destroyed what God had helped me to do. I cried and felt sick inside.” After receiving encouragement from her mother, she did her best to fix what had been damaged. She continued, “So I prayed and pled for help and painted through the night to repair things. And I remember looking at the painting in the morning—it looked better than it did before. How was that possible? What I thought was a mistake without mend was an opportunity for His merciful hand to be manifest. He was not done with the painting, and He was not done with me. What joy and relief filled my heart. I praised the Lord for His mercy, for this miracle that not only saved the painting but taught me more about His love and power to save each of us from our mistakes, weaknesses, and sins and to help us become something more.” Even though she had made a serious mistake, through the help of the Lord she was able to not only fix it but, in the end, make the painting even better than it was originally. This story gives me hope that our mistakes and failings in the past do not mean that all is lost; rather, even when we have originally done wrong, through our efforts to repent and correct our mistakes, the Lord offers redemption for a better outcome than we could have hoped for in the first place. The Savior’s words to the Nephites still speak to us today: “Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me” (3 Nephi 9:13-14). As we seek to repent and come unto Him, His healing and mercy not only erase the sins but blesses us in whatever way needed to bring us to eternal life. As He said in this dispensation, “Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for all things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church” (Doctrine and Covenants 100:15). Perhaps even those sins and mistakes that we regret can be part of what will “work together for [our] good” as we strive to repent and walk uprightly.  

                Two stories related to the Book of Mormon come to mind which I believe highlight this principle. The first is that of Zeniff who was “over-zealous to inherit the land of [his] fathers” (Mosiah 9:3). This ultimately was the cause of wars and much suffering among his people both in his days and in those of his son Noah and grandson Limhi. I think it is clear that by the end of his life, Zeniff recognized his mistake, but he could not go back and change the fact that his people were in a precarious situation amongst the Lamanites. And yet, despite his poor choice, there were ultimately great things that came from this group of Nephites among the Lamanites. Through the teachings of Abinadi, Alma was converted and began their church. We have his powerful teachings at the Waters of Mormon (from which came the name of the whole book), which are still commonly quoted today when discussing baptism. Hundreds were converted and they established the righteous city of Helam. The people of Limhi also discovered the ancient records of the Jaredites as they searched in vain for the city of Zarahemla, and from those records the Nephites gained an important knowledge of the ancient inhabitants of the land (and the marvelous revelation of the brother of Jared). So even though Zeniff’s decision to inherit the land of Nephi was not the best one, through the Lord many good things ultimately came out it. The Savior redeemed it. It was the same with the lost 116 pages. Clearly Joseph made a poor choice to let Martin take the pages, and Martin broke the covenant he made by showing them to too many people. Joseph was in anguish over the mistake and the loss of so many translated pages. And yet, after Joseph’s repentance, the end was better than the beginning for we got the translation of the small plates instead of the original large plates. Those contained “prophesyings and revelations” and were “choice,” giving us teachings of the Savior from Nephi, Jacob, and Enos that we likely otherwise wouldn’t have. The Lord turned the mistake into a something even better through His redemptive power.

                These stories should give us assurance that the Lord can work even with our mistakes, and that as we seek sincerely to repent and fix what we have done wrong, He can turn it to our good. As Sister Yee summarized, “Like my painting, the Lord is not done with us when we make a mistake, nor does He flee when we falter. Our need for healing and help is not a burden to Him, but the very reason He came…. Each day is a new day filled with hope and possibilities because of Jesus Christ. Each day you and I can come to know, as Mother Eve proclaimed, ‘the joy of our redemption,’ the joy of being made whole, the joy of feeling God’s unfailing love for you.”