“he is the
same yesterday”
-Nephi
could not be more blatant or clear unless he were to say “God is ready to show
you these things also if you would only prepare yourselves for the
experience.” Do not think for one second
that we are any different than he or are operating under different rules. The level of technology might have changed,
but how God deals with his children is constant and always will be.
-God
is constant, He does not change and cannot be swayed. He is absolutely secure in who and what He
is. Compare this to mortal man who is so
equivocal, liable to be swayed, unsettled and unsure. Paul identified this tendency and urged us to
be more like God: “That we henceforth be
no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, wheeby they lie in wait
to deceive.” (Eph. 4:14).
-we
are not, like God, unchangeable mostly because we –to be honest- need to
change. We need to become more
righteous, more pure. We need to work
toward a more Christlike character. To
stay the same yesterday and today would be to remain unqualified for eternal
life. Some people stubbornly cling to
their character weaknesses and faults.
On the other hand, in those things we can be perfect in -in Sabbath observance, in payment of
tithing, in honesty- we should be constant, the same yesterday, to-day, and
forever. By being such, people can count
on us. God can trust us. There are few things that generate more
security for a spouse than knowing exactly how their partner will act in a certain
situation -that they will be true, that
they will be reliable in a specific situation or while doing a specific
thing. This is equally true and vital
for children who need a sense of security in their lives: to know that dad and mom love each other, to
know that mom is around when they walk through the door from school and yell
out, “Mom!?”. The psychological and
emotional assurance of such things is incalculable. When we have achieved this type of righteous
consistency we have become like God by being the same yesterday, to-day, and
forever.
“the way is
prepared… from the foundation of the world”
-God’s
plan, the plan of salvation, is not some hastily conceived or constantly
evolving plan. It took shape before the
seeming chaos and complicated scenarios of this life rolled out. There is no situation that breaches the
parameters of the plan. The way leading
to salvation accounts for all contingencies.
-our
plans are frequently much less prepared or well thought out. This applies to our life plans, to our
vacation plans, to the prepartions we give to our callings, etc. Mortals are masters of improvisation and
procrastination. God does not organize
his reality in this manner and neither should we -if, that is, we wish to be successful in our
endeavors. For example, a Young Men’s
Wednesday activity deserves much more advanced and careful planning than we
often give it. It is subsequently much
less successful or impactul than we hoped.
We will answer for this one day.
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