The Lord’s
Timing
The Right Thing at the Right Time
Dallin H. Oaks
Liahona Magazine July 2005
1.
The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of
doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our
timetable on His.
2.
For a vivid illustration of the importance of timing we can look
to the earthly ministry of the Lord and His succeeding instructions to His
Apostles. During His lifetime the Lord instructed the Twelve Apostles not to
preach to the Gentiles but “rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5–6; also see Matt. 15:22–26). Then, at the appropriate time,
this instruction was reversed in a great revelation to the Apostle Peter. Only
then, at the precise time dictated by the Lord, was the gospel taken to the
Gentiles (see Acts 10–11). As this example shows, continuing
revelation is the means by which the Lord administers His timing. We need that
revelatory direction.
3. The Lord’s
timing also applies to the important events of our personal lives. A great
scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants declares
that a particular spiritual experience will come to us “in his own time, and in
his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68). This principle applies to
revelation and to all of the most important events in our lives: birth,
marriage, death, and even our moves from place to place. 2
4.So what should be done in the
meantime? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares us for whatever life brings.
This kind of faith prepares us to deal with life’s opportunities—to take
advantage of those that are received and to persist through the disappointments
of those that are lost.
5.Commit
yourself to put the Lord first in your life, keep His commandments, and do what
the Lord’s servants ask you to do. Then your feet are on the pathway to eternal
life. You do not know what will happen. Do your best on what is fundamental and
personal and then trust in the Lord and His timing.
Do
not rely on planning every event of your life. Stand ready to accept the Lord’s
planning and the agency of others in matters that inevitably affect you. Plan,
of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you
through no matter what happens.
The
most important principle of timing is to take the long view. Mortality is just
a small slice of eternity, but how we conduct ourselves here—what we become by
our actions and desires, confirmed by our covenants and the ordinances
administered to us by proper authority—will shape our destiny for all eternity.
“Plow in
Hope,”
Neil A.
Maxwell
Ensign, May 2001
4. Since faith
in the timing of the Lord may be tried, let us learn to say not only, ‘Thy will
be done,’ but patiently also, ‘Thy timing be done.’” 1
David
A. Bednar
The Spirit Of Revelation
April
2011
5. In
the spring of 1829, Oliver Cowdery was a schoolteacher in Palmyra, New York. As
he learned about Joseph Smith and the work of translating the Book of Mormon,
Oliver felt impressed to offer his assistance to the young prophet.
Consequently, he traveled to Harmony, Pennsylvania, and became Joseph’s scribe.
The timing of his arrival and the help he provided were vital to the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon.
6. A light turned on in a dark room is like receiving
a message from God quickly, completely, and all at once. Many of us have
experienced this pattern of revelation as we have been given answers to sincere
prayers or been provided with needed direction or protection, according to
God’s will and timing.
The
Tender Mercies of the Lord
David
A. Bednar
April 2005
7. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender
mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.
Continue
In Patience
Dieter
F. Uchtdorf
April 2010
8. The lessons we
learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten
our happiness.
9. the ability
to wait—to be patient—was a key character trait that might predict later
success in life. 1
10.
without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience
is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses
action, and offers hope for peace.
11. There is an important concept here: patience
is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears.
Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and
doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship
with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is
not simply enduring; it is enduring well!
12.
Impatience, on the other hand, is a symptom of selfishness. It is a trait of
the self-absorbed. It arises from the all-too-prevalent condition called
“center of the universe” syndrome, which leads people to believe that the world
revolves around them and that all others are just supporting cast in the grand
theater of mortality in which only they have the starring role.
13.
The children of Israel waited 40 years in the wilderness before they could
enter the promised land. Jacob waited 7 long years for Rachel. The Jews waited
70 years in Babylon before they could return to rebuild the temple. The
Nephites waited for a sign of Christ’s birth, even knowing that if the sign did
not come, they would perish. Joseph Smith’s trials in Liberty Jail caused
even the prophet of God to wonder, “How long?” 4
In
each case, Heavenly Father had a purpose in requiring that His children wait.
Every
one of us is called to wait in our own way. We wait for answers to prayers. We
wait for things which at the time may appear so right and so good to us that we
can’t possibly imagine why Heavenly Father would delay the answer.
14. I learned that God’s promises are not always
fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His
timing and in His ways.
15.
Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back
on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the
Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most
difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the
foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity,
understanding, and happiness
Endure
It Well
Neil A. Maxwell
April 1990
16.
Patient endurance is to be distinguished from merely being “acted upon.”
Endurance is more than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance;
it is not only acceptance of the things allotted to us, it is to “act for
ourselves” by magnifying what is allotted to us. (See Alma 29:3, 6.)
17.
Sometimes spiritual obedience requires us to “hold on” lovingly, such as to a
rebellious child, while others cry, “Let go!” Enduring may likewise mean,
however, “letting go,” when everything within us wants to “hold on,” such as to
a loved one “appointed unto death.” (D&C 42:48.)
18.
Patient endurance permits us to cling to our faith in the Lord and our faith in
His timing when we are being tossed about by the surf of circumstance. Even
when a seeming undertow grasps us, somehow, in the tumbling, we are being
carried forward, though battered and bruised.
