A Grain of Sand in the Sahara

To my son,

                Yesterday we talked about eternity and what it might mean that we have had no beginning or end. It certainly is hard to understand these ideas, but I thought I’d share some scriptures and quotes today that discuss our eternal nature. When the Savior spoke to Moses He said this: “Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?” (Moses 1:3) He also said this to Adam, words which I believe were meant for us as well: “And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity” (Moses 6:67). We are like Him in that we are eternal, without beginning or end. Elder Uchtdorf put it this way in general conference: “Brothers and sisters, we are eternal beings, without beginning and without end. We have always existed. We are the literal spirit children of divine, immortal, and omnipotent Heavenly Parents!” President Kimball, who was the prophet many years ago, similarly said this: “We are eternal beings. We have no way of comprehending how long we dwelt in the presence of God as his spirit children. We are here in mortality for a moment of testing and trial. Then we will come forth in the resurrection, receive an inheritance in whatever kingdom we deserve, and go on living the commandments to all eternity.” He continued, “The life that is to be is forever. It will have no end. Men will rise from the grave and not die after. Life is eternal, unending; never after the resurrection will the children of our Father taste death…. Today is just a grain of sand in the Sahara of eternity. We have also a hope in Christ for the eternity that lies ahead.” I love that analogy—imagine our lives as a single grain of sand in a vast desert, with the rest of the sand representing our lives hereafter! Though our mortal minds certainly can’t understand what eternity really means, we can do our best to live our lives here on earth to be prepared for that which is to come.

                Abraham learned about our premortal lives, the creations of God, and the eternal nature of our existence in a grand vision recorded in the scriptures. The Lord said this to him: “If there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.” Indeed, we have no way now of fully comprehending that! In his vision he also saw those who were prepared in the premortal world to come to the earth. He recorded, “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.” Abraham learned that he was one of them, and I believe that you too were one “noble and great” who was given a mission even before you came to this earth to perform. You were “called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of [your] faith and good works” (Alma 13:3). You exercised faith in Jesus Christ in the premortal world as you chose to come to this earth. And just as the Lord told Moses, “I have a work for thee, Moses, my son,” I know that He too has a work for you to do in this life to serve His children and help bring them back to Him to fulfill their divine potential as daughters and sons of God. After learning this Satan came to Moses and tried to convince him that he was just a “son of man,” but Moses knew what he had learned from the Lord and declared, “For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten” (Moses 1:13). Indeed we are all created in the similitude of Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten, and we have infinite potential because of Him and His great atoning sacrifice. As we strive each day to put our trust in Him and keep His commandments, He will guide our lives and lead us back to the Father to live eternally with Him. I know that you are of infinite worth in His eyes, and unspeakable blessings await you in this life and in the eternities as you make and keep covenants with the Savior!

Love,

Dad