All Things Are Present Before Mine Eyes

The Lord gave this introduction in one of His revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made; The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:1-2). I love this language and the Savior’s declaration that He encompasses the past, the present, and the future. He is in the past, the Alpha, the beginning, He who encompassed and understood all things even “before the world was made.” He is in the present for all things current are before His eyes. And He is in the future, for He is the Omega, the end, and can behold “the wide expanse of eternity.” I have always considered that last statement to be one about physical space, meaning that eternity is the wide expanse of the physical universe. But perhaps what He really means is that He can look upon the wide expanse of time since eternity is typically a term used to denote duration and not distance. He can look upon the wide expanse of the past, present, and future—all things are before His eyes. As He said to Moses, “Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?” (Moses 1:3) He is, as He stated elsewhere, “from everlasting to everlasting, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:1). We usually see only the present circumstance and often that only narrowly, but He sees the beginning from the end and all things in between.

                There are perhaps two applications of this idea for our own lives as we work to help those in our stewardship, especially children. First, like the Savior, we must be present for them. I love the statement made by President Nelson’s wife many years ago when she was asked about “how it felt to be the wife of a man who was so busy in his profession and in his Church calling.” She responded, “When he’s home, he’s home!” There are so many things to distract us from being home or being there in the present for our children and family. But like the Savior we should seek to be present—physically, mentally, and spiritually—so we can fully engage in the lives of those who need us most. Though we don’t physically see the Savior, that is exactly what He does for us as He said in the same revelation: “But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:7). His eyes are always upon us, He is in our present and we should strive to do the same in our own families. The second application I see from Doctrine and Covenants 38:1-2 is that we should seek to comprehend and act in the present based on our understanding of all things past, present, and future. As we interact with those we love we should see them not just for what they are doing in the present but for who they were in the past and who we know they can become in the future. We can seek to have “all things present” before us to understand the best course of action. For example, as we struggle with their disobedience now we should remember that in the premortal existence they chose to be obedient to the Savior. As we deal with disappointment and setbacks that tempt us to lose hope in the present we can seek to “beheld with an eye of faith” the future (Ether 12:19). We should not just see them for who they are now but who they can become in the future through the Savior who declared that we can all become “even as [He is]” (3 Nephi 27:27). To know how to best act in the present our perspective must not be myopic but eternal like that of Him who knows and sees all things.