Confess the Lord's Hand in All Things by Parris Egbert

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• published: 07 Jun 2012
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Are we able to confess the Lord's hand in all things? Our blessings, our trials, and even advancements in modern technology are evidence of His love. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/parris-k-egbert_confess-the-lords-hand-in-all-things/ "In June 1831 the Lord commanded the Prophet Joseph Smith to travel to Missouri. The Prophet records, On the 19th of June, . . . I started from Kirtland, Ohio, for the land of Missouri, agreeable to the commandment before received, wherein it was promised that if we were faithful, the land of our inheritance, even the place for the city of the New Jerusalem, should be revealed.1 The group travelled about 870 miles—500 of it on foot. I’m not sure about you, but the last time I walked 500 miles was, well, I don’t believe I’ve ever walked 500 miles. The trip took this group about one month to complete. This was a time of great expectation and anticipation. The Church had been organized, the priesthood had been restored, the Book of Mormon had been published, and now the Lord was gathering His people to Zion. The Saints were thrilled by the possibilities. The Lord then taught the Saints one of the principles of the gospel that would be crucial for them to learn: And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.2 While the Saints were prosperous and things were good, this was not a difficult requirement. However, the events that would occur over the next few years would prove to be a test of the most valiant Saint. How difficult it would be, while mobs were raging, family and friends were being murdered, and innocent Saints were being driven from their homes, to confess the Lord’s hand in all things and to obey His commandments. I have chosen this scripture as the basis for my talk today. We live in an exciting time. Never in the history of the earth has our Heavenly Father given so much to His children. I fear that with our abundance of luxuries—our automobiles and cell phones, our video games and GPS navigation systems, our lives of plenty and ease—we sometimes forget to confess the Lord’s hand in all things. Let me give just a small glimpse of how truly blessed we are. President Spencer W. Kimball was the president of the Church for much of the time I was growing up. He was an incredible man who had a great vision of the future of the Church. In an address he gave in 1974, he said, I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse.3 I remember as a young man hearing this statement and wondering what the Lord had in store for us. President Kimball’s statement of us hardly having a glimpse was more accurate than I imagined. As I look at where technology has gone since that time, I am absolutely amazed. Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which this prophecy has been and is being fulfilled. From the days of Adam until 1805, relatively few technological innovations occurred. We did have the wheel, gunpowder, the abacus, and the printing press, but other than a few innovations such as these, people living in 1805 really didn’t live all that differently from those who lived thousands of years before them. During Joseph Smith’s time, there were no cell phones and, in fact, no phones at all. During his lifetime modern matches would be invented, as would the typewriter, the sewing machine, the telegraph, and, later in his life, the bicycle.4 Travel was mainly done on foot, horse, carriage, or boat. Music was played by live bands. There were no electronic computers, but Charles Babbage did invent a mechanical calculator during this time frame. Medicine was still very primitive. The stethoscope was invented a few years after Joseph’s birth, and vaccines wouldn’t become available for another forty years or so.5 Now skip forward a few years..." - Parris K. Egbert Parris K. Egbert was chair of the Computer Science Department at BYU when this devotional address was given on 24 May 2011. Follow BYU Speeches: https://www.facebook.com/byuspeeches/ https://twitter.com/BYUSpeeches?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor https://www.instagram.com/byuspeeches/ https://www.pinterest.com/byuspeeches/ © Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.