Ye Cannot Behold With Your Natural Eyes

The Saints book records this about the attitude of the Elders as they traveled from Kirtland to Missouri in the summer of 1831: “They traveled mostly on land, preaching the gospel along the way and talking about their hopes for Zion. Joseph spoke optimistically about the church in Independence…. As they neared Jackson County, the men admired the gently rolling prairie around them. With plenty of land for the Saints to spread out, Missouri seemed like the ideal location for Zion.” But when they arrived, some of them were disappointed. The account continues, “But when they reached the town, the elders were unimpressed by what they saw. Ezra Booth… thought the area looked dreary and undeveloped. It had a courthouse, a few stores, several log houses—and little else. The missionaries had baptized only a handful of people in the area, so the branch was not as strong as Joseph had expected…. Joseph was disappointed too. Fayette and Kirtland were small villages, but Independence was little more than a backwater trading post.” This feeling of disappointment led Joseph to question the Lord, “When will the wilderness blossom as the rose? When will Zion be built up in her glory, and where will Thy temple stand?” This was answered in the revelation that we now have as section 57 in which the Lord declared, “Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is not far from the courthouse” (v2-3). The Lord affirmed that there in Independence the city of Zion was to be built, and despite their disappointment they were not to go looking elsewhere—this was the place. When Edward Partridge complained to the Prophet Joseph that he “did not see how the Saints could establish Zion there,” Joseph replied, “I see it, and it will be so.”

               I think that the next revelation, also received while Joseph was still there in Independence, addressed their disappointment and concerns about the location. He declared, “He that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.” This is a powerful message to all of us when we feel we have undertaken to do what the Lord wants and yet our initial experience leaves us disappointed. To the missionary who struggles to find enjoyment in the work or to the mother who finds the demands of young children more tiring than fulfilling or to the member whose calling leaves them dissatisfied, the Lord says, “You cannot behold… the design of your God.” The revelation continues, “Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow. Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come.” If we want to receive what is to follow, we cannot quit now. Even if our expectations are unmet in the beginning, we must continue as we have commenced and trust that there is indeed a “great day to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:2-6, 11).

               In one sense the hopes of these early Saints were unmet as it concerned the building of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri. And yet with the building up of Nauvoo and its temple followed by the building of many stakes of Zion that came in the years and decades to come, the Lord really did have great things ahead for them. We must have the faith to move forward even when we cannot behold with our natural eyes how the Lord will fulfill His promises and trust that “the mouths of the prophets shall not fail” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:8).