Which Purpose I Know Not

1 Nephi 9:5 – “Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.”

I love that this verse shows the obedience and faith of Nephi. God had a plan and a purpose for Nephi to make the plates, but he didn’t tell him what it was – he told him to make the plates and left it at that. Because of his trust and love for God, Nephi didn’t require any more information. He believed God had a valid reason and that was enough for him. He made the plates and kept a faithful record. Thank goodness for that attitude and example, because where would we be without the things he wrote?

It’s difficult to act without knowing why, but just as Nephi had no idea what purpose or impact his writings would have on the world, we have no idea what impact we will have on the world either. We’re capable of so much more than we ever give ourselves credit for. When we set our goals as high as the trees, God sets his goals for us as high as the clouds. Make a commitment to follow the Lord as he directs you. Act in faith. God is aware; He is in control. If he asks you to do something, there’s a reason. You will find out in time what that reason is, and when that time comes you’ll be so grateful that you took the leap and followed the promptings of the spirit.

God knows you – he truly does. He understands your wants and desires, but he also clearly knows and understands your needs. If you will give him your heart and vow to follow him, he will lead you to a greater happiness than you could ever imagine on your own. Because he can see the true potential within us, he won’t let us settle. At times it may feel like something perfect was ripped out of your life, but sometimes your Plan B is God’s Plan A. So give his plan a chance. When you pass right through the destination you have in mind for yourself and end up in the destination God knows you truly deserve, you won’t be regretting it. Yesterday I was at a conference where one of the speakers said, “Ask the Lord what he wants you to become. If you strive for that, you will NEVER be disappointed in who you are and who you’ve become.”

Searching for Purpose

Nights like tonight are especially encouraging. Nights where you know you’re heard and know that even though you’re only one person out of billions, you matter.

I guess that makes it sound like something drastic happened, but that’s not the case. I just really love the little moments when I can receive the comfort and guidance from heaven that I can’t always seem to find on my own. For whatever reason, tonight was a little bit of a struggle for me. I was feeling down – maybe lonely or lost – because of the everyday trials that come along. As I knelt to say my prayers I expressed those emotions to Heavenly Father in the best way I could, and asked that as I did my nightly reading I would be comforted and guided to know what my purpose is.

When I ended my prayer I grabbed the book I’ve been reading from this past month – Pathways to Perfection by Thomas S. Monson – and opened up to a talk he’d given called The Search for Jesus. Just three paragraphs in is when I knew I’d been heard. “No search is so universal, no undertaking so richly rewarding, no effort so ennobling, no purpose so divine.” …Did you catch that? Purpose. The exact thing I prayed for. So I kept on reading and was trying to soak in everything I could, but as I read I was kind of having a little side conversation in my mind about what to do next. “Okay, so I need to search for Christ…how exactly do I do that? I feel like I’ve already been doing that…” Then the next thing I read let me know that He was still listening. “The formula for finding Jesus has always been and ever will be the same – the earnest and sincere prayer of a humble and pure heart.”

“Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

I don’t want to be a complete spoiler, so I won’t give away the rest of the talk. I highly recommend reading it, though, because it’s powerful. It gives a reminder that we need to make room and time for Christ in our lives. I’ve made some room and some time, but I think I should probably make a little more. I mean, Heavenly Father and Jesus have obviously made time for me in their lives. They sent that message to me tonight. Loud and clear.