I Will Lead You Along

President Nelson said this in the April general conference: “I know the Lord has great and marvelous plans for us—individually and collectively. With compassion and patience, He says: ‘Ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath … prepared for you; And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.’ My dear brothers, I testify that He has been, and is, indeed leading us along, as we seek to hear Him.” I love this promise from the Lord that He will lead our lives, just as earthly parents will lead their little children along. Children will not understand all of the reasons or complexities for why they must do certain things, but they implicitly trust that their parents do and will follow their lead. We can do the same as we put our trust in God and seek to be led in our lives by Him. I was reminded that this is actually the name of the biography of President Erying: “I Will Lead You Along.” This is surely related to the emphasis that President Eyring has placed on looking for the Lord’s influence in our lives and finding ways to remember that. He has recounted the effect of writing faithfully in a journal in his life and has encouraged us to see how the Lord is leading us along: “I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: ‘Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?’ As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day.” He continued, “My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness.” As we find ways to see and remember God’s influence in our lives, we will indeed be led along by Him.

               President Nelson’s invitation in this conference was in the same spirit as President Eyring’s: we need to find ways to see how the Lord has been in the details of our daily activities and what He has been teaching us. As I think about how the Lord has led my life, I realize the wisdom in this counsel to take the time to remember and reflect. Most often the Lord does not lead us along in dramatic ways; rather, with gentle nudging He points us in the right direction and helps us walk in the path where He wants us to be. And if we don’t pay attention or take the time to think about it, we may not see what He is doing for us and where He wants to take us. As I ponder how I have seen the Lord lead me in my life, one particular experience comes to mind. Several years ago we were looking to hire a quality assurance specialist in my software company and I had a bunch of resumes that I was going through. I was seeking to narrow down the candidates to a few that we could do some interviews with, and I remember pausing on one particular applicant whom I was about to pass over. For whatever reason what I saw in the resume didn’t stand out and I wasn’t going to keep her in the running. But I felt a small nudge to keep her among the candidates which we would interview, which I did. Ultimately she was the one we selected even though there was another candidate referred to me by a friend who at the beginning of the process I had been confident was the one we would choose. The young woman we did hire turned out to be a fantastic employee who is still with our company several years later. The new job resulted in a move across the country for her, and she has subsequently married here and is starting a family. I believe her life has been blessed from taking the job and certainly our company has benefited enormously from her work. As I have reflected on that experience I firmly believe that the Lord was leading me along so that she would be hired. I realize too that I could have easily missed that prompting, and that experience reminds me how much more diligent I should be in seeking to hear the voice of the Lord throughout each day. I believe that as we seek to see and remember how God is guiding our life we see the fulfillment of His promise to us in the words of Isaiah: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10).