Nothing Shall Be Impossible

I was impressed by a powerful talk given by then Elder Nelson thirty years ago in general conference entitled With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible.  He gave us these encouraging words, “You who may be momentarily disheartened, remember, life is not meant to be easy. Trials must be borne and grief endured along the way. As you remember that ‘with God nothing shall be impossible’ (Luke 1:37), know that He is your Father…. It matters not that giants of tribulation torment you. Your prayerful access to help is just as real as when David battled his Goliath.”  To me that is how President Nelson has lived his life: with faith in the Lord to do even that which appears impossible to men.  For example, he was instrumental in the opening of doors to the Church in eastern European countries in the late 1980s (around the time he gave this talk), a formidable task indeed.  He also told us recently in general conference how he had faced the daunting challenges of trying to learn to perform heart surgeries when mankind’s ability to do so was just being developed.  He persevered despite terrible setbacks and accomplished what was considered impossible, even being able to perform the operation that would save the life of President Kimball.  I was also deeply impressed at this last general conference when he announced a temple in Russia, a country that has been closing its doors it seems to religion.  From my limited perspective of reading newspaper articles I was afraid we were on our way out the door in that country because of the increasing difficulty of preaching the gospel there; and yet here a prophet of God declared that we would not just continue building up the Church but we would build a temple there.  He believes in accomplishing the impossible through the Lord. 

               Several scriptures encourage us that with God’s help we can do anything that is required of us.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).  A virgin birth was indeed impossible to man, but through her purity and faith in the Lord she became a chosen vessel to bring the Savior into the world.  The Savior also taught us about doing the impossible when He said, “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matt. 17:20).  With faith in the Lord that leads to focused effort and earnest seeking, we can move the mountains that the Lord needs us to.  The apostle Paul put it this way, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).  And King Lamoni, after his miraculous conversion, said to Ammon, “I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things” (Alma 20:4).  The scriptures abound in stories that try to teach us this truth: with trust in God we can indeed overcome all challenges and “triumph over all [our] foes” (D&C 121:8). 

               When Jesus taught the disciples that it “is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” they were amazed and questioned, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus responded with this answer, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).  What’s interesting to me about this statement is that the Savior here was not talking about accomplishing great physical feats such as defeating Goliath or moving mountains or conquering an army.  Rather, he was talking about the great feat of overcoming the world.  With God it is possible for us to overcome the natural man, forsake the things of the world in search of the things of the better.  Indeed, Ezekiel described the most important miracle of all: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).  No matter what we have done, the Lord can perform the miracle of changing our hearts, for, with God, all things are possible.