Grace and Assurance

Warren Cowdery, the brother of Oliver Cowdery, joined the church in 1834 in Freedom, New York. Soon after this he wrote a letter to his brother in which he said the following: “I have a thousand times wished I could have that evidence that you have had.” He also wished for “a preacher of our order” to come to his area who would “do us good, by strengthening and building us up in the most holy faith.” He desired to have someone sent to them to help strengthen their faith and teach them. Lisa Tait commented, “It must have been unexpected when, two months later, Joseph Smith received a revelation appointing Warren to be a ‘presiding high priest over my church, in the land of Freedom and the regions round about.’ As is so often the case, Warren was to be the answer to his own request.” Indeed, section 106 which was given for him, states, “It is my will that my servant Warren A. Cowdery should be appointed and ordained a presiding high priest over my church, in the land of Freedom and the regions round about; And should preach my everlasting gospel, and lift up his voice and warn the people” (v1-2) Warren was to be the one to preach the gospel and warn the people in Freedom; he was to be the answer to his desire and be the one to strengthen the faith of the people. I love this example and it surely is a pattern the Lord continues to follow: He often uses us to fulfill our own requests to Him!

               There is perhaps no better example of this idea in the scriptures than Nephi. It seems that he always was the one to solve his own problems, with the Lord’s help. When he needed to get the plates, he didn’t pray to have the Lord send Laban his way but rather went himself and was led by the Spirit to find him and obtain the record. When the family was starving, he didn’t pray for food to be sent; rather, he made a new bow and asked the Lord through his father where to go to find animals. When he was in Bountiful and the Lord asked him to build a boat, Nephi didn’t ask the Lord to send him tools and wood but he instead asked the Lord where he could go to find ore. This was the pattern of his life—he was the answer to his own problems with the help of the Lord. I love the promise that the Lord gave to Warren and I think to all of us when we strive to be the answer to our challenges: “And I will give him grace and assurance wherewith he may stand” (v8). He does not usually take the challenges away, but He will give us grace and assurance that will enable us to stand on our own. We often talk about “self-reliance” in the church, and by that we mean that we have the ability to care for our own needs and face our challenges through our own resources. I think, though, that the term should really be something like “divine-reliance.” In other words, we aren’t totally dependent on ourselves; rather, we are dependent on the Lord who gives us grace and power to solve our own problems. As we separate ourselves “from the crafts of men” and “gird up [our] loins” and “humble [ourselves] before” Him, He will give us the strength to do anything He requires.