"Go Forth With Trust" -Mallory Manning

"Go Forth With Trust"
Mallory Manning

When Nephi told his father, Lehi, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them,” [1] he set an example for every follower of Christ for generations and millennia to come. The task with which Nephi and his brothers were charged by the Lord was daunting, arduous, and could very well have cost them their lives. Laman, Lemuel, and even Sam were reluctant to go; the journey back to Jerusalem alone would take days, and Laban was a powerful and wealthy man. They did not see how they would be able to obtain the records of their ancestors from him without some kind of army. Nephi, however, was willing to do whatever the Lord asked of him, because he loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him, and because he trusted that if the Lord gave him a commandment, He would make it possible for him to achieve the task he was given. Nephi’s example presents us with a template of how to live our lives in service of the Lord: we must be willing to do whatever is necessary, no matter how difficult, we must trust the Lord, and we must realize that our Heavenly Father uses us as tools not only to bless our own lives but the lives of others.

Heavenly Father blesses us when we are willing and eager to obey His commandments and serve Him in any way we can. Ruth was an excellent example of a loving and willing servant. After the terrible heartbreak of losing her husband and brothers-in-law, instead of leaving Naomi to return to her home as the other wives did, she said to Naomi, “Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” [2]. If we were to replace the role of Ruth with ourselves, and the role of Naomi with our Heavenly Father, would we not want to have it recorded in the eternal records of heaven that we said to our Father, “Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go,” showing an example of love and dedication to the Lord similar to Ruth’s for Naomi? Going forth to do as the Lord commands will not always be easy; in fact, it will sometimes appear an insurmountable task. However, the Lord does not charge us with work we are incapable of fulfilling.

As we are given work by the Lord, whether it be through church callings, worldly circumstances, or personal revelation through the spirit, we can only be a successful and useful servant to the Lord if we trust that He will make all things with which He commands us possible. He will help us either through a change in the circumstances or by helping us to improve our own capabilities, and we must remember that we are never alone in our tasks. President Thomas S. Monson said, “Though the task seems large, we are strengthened by the truth: 'The greatest force in this world today is the power of God as it works through man. If we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to the Lord's help. That divine help, however, is predicated upon our worthiness. To sail safely the seas of mortality, to perform a human rescue mission, we need the guidance of that eternal mariner--even the great Jehovah. We look up, we reach out to obtain heavenly help” [3]. We cannot hope to complete the journey to the Celestial Kingdom without the Lord to guide us. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” [4]. The trust we have in the Lord and his plan for us does not have to be blind, however. If we develop a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, through prayer, scripture study, and pondering, the Spirit can reveal to us the truthfulness and value of the Lord’s commandments. Even if we do not see the purpose of everything we do now, through the Spirit we can know that there is a divine and correct purpose to each of God’s commandments. Although we can only see a few feet along the path to eternal life, God sees the entire trail from above and knows exactly where to lead us.

We cannot always see the ways in which our actions, or our non-actions, affect other people. We can only do the very best we are capable of, and look always for opportunities to do the Lord’s work in helping and uplifting others, and in serving as an example to those around us. We are not the only ones struggling through this life, and any journey is made easier if it is travelled with others who are moving in the same direction. President Thomas S. Monson once said, Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save” [5]. The king of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis was so willing to do the will of God and to serve his fellow men as well as he could, that he told Ammon, “Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down to our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them” [6]. Nephi, as well, was continually seeking to encourage and uplift his brothers and family, and begged them to repent when they rebelled against Lehi and Heavenly Father. I have personally found that it is easier for me to be happy, obedient, and righteous in my life when I am involved in serving others or looking out for the happiness of others before my own.

The journey we are taking is long, demanding, and confusing. We are travelling on the path with blinkers on our eyes and a veil over the skies, with a knowledge of our destination and a general idea of the direction we must go, but no idea how each turn and hill will affect us. We can only reach our destination- eternal life in the presence of our Father in Heaven- if we trust in him, and stride forth with confidence in the direction He shows us. Let us all say in our hearts, “I will go and do,” and, “Lord, I will follow thee” [7].

Works Cited:
[1] Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 3:7
[2] Bible Old Testament, Ruth 1:16
[3] Thomas S. Monson, "The Call for Courage," Ensign, May 2004, 57
[4] Bible Old Testament, Proverbs 3:5-6
[5] Thomas S. Monson, "How Firm a Foundation," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 68
[6] Book of Mormon, Alma 27:8
[7] Bible New Testament, Luke 9:61