The Author of Our Story

Paul wrote that we should be “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Moroni similarly wrote of those who are brought into the church that we should “keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith” (Moroni 6:4). Sister Camille Johnson used these verses in general conference to suggest that we should let Christ also be the “the author and finisher of [our] story.” In other words, we should let the Savior guide our lives to do things that we would perhaps otherwise not have done. We should, as she quoted President Nelson, “let God prevail” in our lives. She suggested that it will take faith and going beyond what is comfortable for us in order to do this: “The natural man or woman in us is resistant to turning things completely over to the Lord and trusting Him entirely. Maybe that is why we choose to stick with the narrative we have written for ourselves, a comfortable version of our story unedited by the Master Author.” To let God prevail, to let the Savior be part of writing our story, means having the faith to do those things that He wants us to do individually in our lives. As we do so we will find that His writing is much more compelling and powerful than our own, but it will likely also include more struggles and trials as we work to overcome the challenges He includes. But, as she noted, that is for the better: “Don’t we love the glorious culmination of a story we read when the protagonist overcomes the struggle? Trials are the elements of the plot that make our favorite stories compelling, timeless, faith promoting, and worthy of telling. The beautiful struggles written into our stories are what draw us closer to the Savior and refine us, making us more like Him.”

               This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson includes these words of the Lord to President Thomas B. Marsh: “Let thy habitation be known in Zion, and remove not thy house; for I, the Lord, have a great work for thee to do…. Therefore, gird up thy loins for the work. Let thy feet be shod also, for thou art chosen, and thy path lieth among the mountains, and among many nations.” He continued later in the same revelation with this praise to Thomas: “Thou art the man whom I have chosen to hold the keys of my kingdom, as pertaining to the Twelve, abroad among all nations…. Whithersoever they shall send you, go ye, and I will be with you; and in whatsoever place ye shall proclaim my name an effectual door shall be opened unto you” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:6-7,16,19). What an incredible promise! The Lord would send him into the nations, through figurative and literal mountains, to take the gospel to all the world, and the Savior promised to be with him throughout it all. What is sad is that he did not stay true to fulfil that work: he left the church in Missouri about a year later and stayed away for 20 years. He did not join the Twelve on their incredible mission to England where so many miracles took place. He did not travel to new countries to preach the gospel as the Lord had invited him today. He did not let the Savior write his story. Eventually, though, he found his way back and in the mid-1850’s he wrote to Heber C. Kimball, “The Lord could get along very well without me and He has lost nothing by my falling out of the ranks; But O what have I lost?!” Indeed his life could have turned out very different for this man who was chosen to do a “great work” for the Lord and whose path was meant to be among the nations. We hear often of the miracle of the thousands of converts who Wilford Woodruff—one who helped fill the vacancies left by Thomas B. Marsh and others—helped bring into the gospel in England. Perhaps we would also be recounting similar stories of the missionary efforts of Thomas B. Marsh if he had remained true to the Lord’s will for him. His story is a reminder that the Lord respects our agency; though He may have glorious plans for us in our future, He will not force us to live them if we choose not to. Sister Johnson’s invitation to all of us is to have the faith to ask for His direction, to hand the pencil to Him and “allow the Master Author and Finisher to write our story with us, letting the role He needs us to play take precedence over other ambitions. Let Christ be the author and finisher of your story!”