To Whom Be Glory For Ever

I love these words of Paul praising the Lord to the Romans: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever” (Romans 11:33-36). His words remind me of those of Ammon who rejoiced after the Lord poured out His blessings upon the converted Lamanites: “Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men?... And my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name” (Alma 26:16, 35). Both Paul and Ammon, through their labors as missionaries, came to understand the greatness and grandeur of God. They recognized his omnipotence and glory and exalted in His goodness and power. This feeling of awe they portrayed in these words surely is needed more by us today as we often leave much to be desired in our repetitive prayers and lackluster worship. We should always retain in remembrance this understanding and feeling of who God is in comparison to ourselves: “Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made; The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes; I am the same which spake, and the world was made, and all things came by me” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:1).

                  These verses highlight the need we have for more reverence and awe before the Divine. I think that the converts of Ammon provided a powerful example of how we should feel towards the Lord. The brother of Lamoni rejoiced in Him using these words: “And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son…. And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations. Oh, how merciful is our God!” (Alma 24:10, 14-15) He and his people had come to know the Lord and felt His power in transforming their lives and forgiving their sins. And so they spoke with great gratitude and reverence for the Lord, just like Jacob who similarly looked to the Lord with awe: “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace!... O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster;… O how great the plan of our God!” (2 Nephi 9:18, 10, 13) As we come to understand all that the Lord has done to redeem and save us, as we learn of His mercy and grace and power to change us, we too should look to Him with this same level of gratitude and veneration. We will then say with Paul that to Him “be glory for ever.”