For a Wise Purpose

In the April general conference President Eyring told this story from his life: “I was married in the Logan Utah Temple. President Spencer W. Kimball performed the sealing. In the few words he spoke, he gave this counsel: ‘Hal and Kathy, live so that when the call comes, you can walk away easily.’ As he said those few words, I saw clearly in my mind, in full color, a steep hill and a road leading up to the top. A white fence ran on the left side of the road and disappeared into a row of trees at the top of the hill. A white house was barely visible through the trees.” He told of how a year later his father-in-law bought this house President Eyring had seen in vision, and he and his wife lived there in the guesthouse on the property. He continued, “During the 10 years we lived in that lovely family setting, my wife and I would say almost every day, ‘We had better enjoy this because we aren’t going to be here long.’ A call came from the Church commissioner of education, Neal A. Maxwell. The warning given by President Kimball to be able to ‘walk away easily’ became a reality. It was a call to leave what seemed an idyllic family situation to serve in an assignment in a place that I knew nothing about. Our family was ready to leave that blessed time and place because a prophet, in a holy temple, a place of revelation, saw a future event for which we then were prepared.” That call was to become the president of Ricks college in Rexburg, Idaho where he served for about seven years. What impresses me about this story is the length of time between President Kimball’s prophetic counsel until it was needed: over 10 years. President Eyring and his wife showed incredible faith by keeping themselves ready for that counsel even when they could have easily forgotten it during all those years.

                This story reminds me of Mormon’s statement as he chose to put the small plates with his abridgement of the large plates during his compilation of the Nephite records. After describing how he had “found these plates” (i.e. the record on the small plates that Nephi and started and which was finished by Amaleki known), Mormon wrote, “I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren. And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will” (Words of Mormon 1:3,6-7). He did not know the reasons he needed to include these small plates in what would become the Book of Mormon, but he did it because the Spirit whispered to him that this was needed for the future. The need for this would not be evident for over 1400 years when Martin lost the 116 pages and the Lord commanded Joseph not to retranslate the book of Lehi. Instead, He commanded his prophet to translate the record of these small plates that Mormon had been inspired to include.

                In the April general conference the prophet announced twenty new temples. He prefaced this by saying, “We are building now for the future!” At a time when few could even go to a temple because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Church has been building temples at a rate that seems more ambitious than ever before. Why? Because the prophet sees the future need for these houses of the Lord. Surely there is a principle in this for us. We must seek to do now those things that will prepare us for the future. We must learn to listen to the voice of the Spirit guide our lives like it did for Mormon and President Eyring. And we must have faith in the promptings of the Spirit even when it takes years for the Lord’s purposes and reasons to be unfolded to us. This is how the Lord put it in an 1832 revelation: “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; And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, 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 78:17-18). We do not see the future as He does, but we can trust that if we are willing and ready to follow Him now, He will lead us along to the “great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared” for us in the years to come.