A Work For Thee

To my daughter, 

                This week we studied two marvelous chapters in the Pearl of Great Price, and there are two lessons in particular that I hope you will take away from these. The first is that God is the greatest Being in the universe and is so much more advanced than us that we are nothing compared to Him. Moses saw a glorious vision where the Lord told him, “Look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease. Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.” The vision of the works of God were so great that when the vision was over the conclusion of Moses was this: “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed” (Moses 1:4-5, 10). He had seen the glory of Pharaoh and all of his incredible wealth, for he grew up in the court of the Egyptian ruler, but even that was nothing compared to the grandeur of God. Abraham similarly saw a vision of the stars and the creations of God in the heavens, and he learned about the spirits that God had created. The Lord declared simply to him, “I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.” He further explained to Abraham: “I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning” (Abraham 3:19, 21). God is more intelligent than all of us; He has progressed in every way so much further than each of us. He rules over all the universe, knowing all and seeing all, and this should cause us to humbly bow before Him each day. We must never forget that, compared to Him, we are nothing. King Benjamin put it this way: “I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily” (Mosiah 4:11).

                The second lesson which I hope you will remember from these chapters might seem at first contradictory to the first lesson. It is this: you are a child of God with infinite potential to become like Him. On our own we are indeed nothing, but with God we can become even as He is. Moses was told this by the Lord in his vision: “Behold, thou art my son…. And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:4, 6). Moses learned that he was a son of God, and I know similarly that you are a daughter of God and you have the potential to become even like His Only Begotten Son. In Abraham’s vision he was shown “the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these were many of the noble and great ones.” Abraham learned that he was one of these “noble and great ones” who was foreordained even before this life to do great things on earth: “Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born” (Abraham 3:22-23). I believe that you too were chosen to do great things on earth before you were born. The Lord has sent you to earth with many talents and many opportunities, and “unto whom much is given much is required” (Doctrine and Covenants 82:3). Like Moses, the Lord has a work for you personally to do on this earth, and I believe this statement from the Prophet Joseph Smith is as pertinent to you as it was to him: “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council.”

I hope that you can remember these two important principles. You are nothing compared to God, but with Him you can do a great work on the earth as you fulfill your mission. Always seek to learn what He would have you do and then do your best to accomplish it, and you will be one of His great daughters here on earth. 

Love, 

        Dad