The Lord and me - and you.

I’ve tried to imagine, and can’t really, the great wisdom, power and majesty of the Lord in His dealings with us. Or perhaps I should say, in the way I have come to believe He deals with us.

This is kind of where I’ve come to in my feelings about that:

We know we are here on the Earth because we wanted to be like our Father in Heaven; that is, to have a physical body and to prepare it so it would be in a condition that would allow us to take it back with us to the condition He lives in – to be like Him, and have the freedoms and wisdom and power that He has acquired. We wanted to have an eternal companion and family, like He does. We wanted to be like He is and do as He does.

We chose to come here. There are those who chose not to come. I don’t know exactly how they went about making that choice, although I doubt it was their goal to not come here, to not have a body, to not have a family, to not be like our Father. I imagine they were told, and somehow believed, it would work the way they wanted it to, and they would be the ones who would be here. But, in the wonderful, fair, freedom of choice, majestic process that took place there, we all made our choice – and they chose not to come – and they lost everything, and they have come to hate us, are now trying really hard to keep us from getting back there. And they have drummed up plenty of people who did choose to come who are helping them do it. Some of them pose as our friends.

We chose to come. The scriptures tell us that we rejoiced to come. That suggests to me that we were pretty confident we could make it back. We at least wanted the chance to try. I suppose we each had our own feelings and reasons and such. There were probably those who were humbly uncertain but felt if the Lord would help them along, as He promised He would, they could maybe make it. On the other end of things, there might have been those who proudly felt they wouldn’t have any problem – ‘just hurry and get me down there and I’ll be back in great shape’. And everything in between.

The Lord is helping us, every one of us, every person born on the earth, in every possible way. Sometimes He helps us directly. More often He helps us through our parents and other people. We know some things about that and I believe it suggests a number of things.

• For example: Every person born on the Earth is blessed with the ‘Spirit of Christ’, and is thereby taught truths and is led if he/she will allow it.
• Everyone ‘knows’ right from wrong.
• Everyone ‘knows’ and recognizes the basic truths of the Lords Plan. Consider how, after centuries since the true gospel has been taught, and in spite of being taught false concepts, people ‘recognize’ or ‘remember’ the fundamental truths – what the Lord is like, what we’ll be like after we die, life didn’t begin at our birth, how we should live and treat each other, etc.
• Everyone, worldwide, receives answers to his/her prayers. Some people recognize that and respond, others ignore or deny it, or don’t pray very often even in their mind and heart. But when they do He answers and they really do know it.
• Everyone receives the Lords help in every way that individual will accept it. For example, if a person responds to the guidance of the Spirit of Christ they will find the truth and accept it. They will then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and, if they live what they have learned, have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.
• Everyone is treated equally. Over the course of the Pre-existence, Mortal Life, and the Spirit World every person has every chance, and receives all the help he/she will accept, in the process of becoming like our Father.
  

And when it is time to be resurrected and judged by the Lord we will all have been treated equally – and more by far than that, we will each one, everyone, ‘all men’, have received every help, all the help, that we would accept. If we fall short to any degree it will be because of our own choices, made in whatever manner we make them - there will be no place for blame. We will not feel to blame the Lord or any man, for we will then know that we were given every chance and every help that we would receive. All men, all women, all mankind, every individual, everywhere.

And now back to why I’m writing this – back to the first sentence or two. Is it possible for us to even imagine the wisdom and love required of the Lord to conceive a way for each one of us, as we deal with the challenges we each face, so that we will, each one, everyone, say, at the time of judgment: I was treated fairly, and I received all the help, every possible help, from the Lord that I would accept. I don’t have the ability to understand the depth of knowledge and feeling and wisdom, knowing myself, and my dealings with children and others, how He can always, every time, do all that can be done to help me and not, in mercy or tenderness, do too much for my good, or, in His desire to help me or in the need to teach me, do too little.

But I know He does just that. I know He has dealt with me that way. I have had every chance. I have been presented with every possible help. Sometimes I have chosen to receive His help, sometimes I have not. Some time ahead I will fall at His feet and weep – many tears of gratitude and joy for what He has done for me, and perhaps some tears of regret because I didn’t respond to His offers of help.