Great Things

President Oaks encouraged us in the most recent general conference to be of good cheer no matter what difficulties we are in or what challenges we face. He said, “In the midst of hardships, the divine assurance is always “be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18). One of the reasons that we can be of good cheer is because we have a promise of the great blessings that the Lord will give to the faithful. The previous verse in this section says this, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you.” In the midst of our daily trials that encompass us and cloud our vision, we can take comfort in knowing that we do not understand how great blessings the Lord has prepared for us. We are only “little children” in our ability to see what is yet to come if we hold out faithful.

                There are many verses that testify to the fact that we do not fully understand how great blessing God has in store for the faithful. The Lord said in the beginning of a revelation to the Prophet Joseph, “Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings” (Doctrine and Covenants 41:1). He wants to grant us the greatest of all blessings; indeed He promised, “And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). Isaiah testified that these blessings are so great that we cannot comprehend them: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him” (Isaiah 64:4). The apostle Paul quoted this verse when he later wrote, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). In our dispensation the Lord confirmed this when He said, “For since the beginning of the world have not men heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath any eye seen, O God, besides thee, how great things thou hast prepared for him that waiteth for thee” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:45). At least part of the reason we cannot understand the great things He has prepared for us is because we do not yet have enough faith: “Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief” (Ether 4:14).

As we seek to come unto Him, to hear His words and to trust that we can indeed be of good cheer because of His plan for us, we can start to learn of those “great things” that the Father has laid up for us all in this life and the next. President Oaks left us with this powerful counsel: “There is boundless power in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Our unshakable faith in that doctrine guides our steps and gives us joy. It enlightens our minds and gives strength and confidence to our actions. This guidance and enlightenment and power are promised gifts we have received from our Heavenly Father. By understanding and conforming our lives to that doctrine, including the divine gift of repentance, we can be of good cheer as we keep ourselves on the path toward our eternal destiny—reunion and exaltation with our loving heavenly parents.” Surely in that day of reunion we will say that all of the challenges and difficulties we faced paled in comparison with the glory of His eternal reward.