In one brief statement we have a combination of wise advice and precautionary counsel that reminds us of the great care taken in formulating the Book of Mormon’s content. There is so much put into so few words, it rewards anyone who will take the time to read it closely. This Chapter will examine the variety of great ideas contained in this one verse:
“And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order:”
King Benjamin has been teaching about charity and love of your fellow man. He has compared us to the beggars who petition for mercy from their fellow man. He has reminded us we have an obligation to relieve the suffering of our less fortunate brothers and sisters, and never hold back our charity. This he ties to our need to beg for forgiveness and mercy from God.
When the enormity of the obligation to develop charity for others has been explained, King Benjamin then pauses in this verse to give some perspective. “These things” do not have to be done all at once, in a hurry. There shouldn’t be a mad rush about our development or repentance. We sometimes find ourselves in circumstances from which we cannot extract ourselves in a single day or even a year. Sometimes, to be successful, we must first plan, then prepare before we are able to make a change in life. It takes more than whimsy. Although the decision may be made in a moment, implementing the decision to change may require much more.
“Wisdom and order” require us to take some thought and care. We can be quite harsh in judging ourselves. The patience we afford others, especially those we love, should be equal to the patience and love we extend to ourselves. Some of life’s problems do not develop overnight. They will not be cured overnight. The challenges we face need to be confronted with wisdom and order and should include a plan to do battle.
We view David’s triumph over Goliath as a single day’s work. It was not. Years went into the preparation before the events of that day. The scriptures tell us David confronted Goliath after spending years practicing with a sling while protecting his flock. As a shepherd, he had confronted and killed a lion and a bear using this weapon. He was no novice. On the day of the fight, he also went to battle with more ammunition than a single shot. While it took only a single shot to drop Goliath, David took the precaution and armed himself with five stones. This was a well prepared encounter by a prepared young David. It required courage, to be sure, but it was not foolhardy on David’s part. He believed he could triumph based upon his past victories.
It would have been unwise to attempt this without first proving the weapon. He had proven the weapon on other deadly enemies he had slain before. The prior experience gave him the steady hand and careful aim to come off victorious in this day’s fight. Because of his prior experience he knew it would be unwise to assume a single stone would be enough. David knew his instrument. He knew also that given the time it takes to make a shot, if he did not fell the warrior in the first five throws, there would not be time for a sixth. This was an orderly and thoughtful approach to the combat. He knew what was needed, and he took the necessary five stones.
We think we can jump into any fray and the Lord will somehow permit us to win. David’s triumph is often used as an example to show how God will support us in unlikely outcomes. It is interpreted to mean God will support the apparently weaker combatant, and therefore, we can also overcome life’s challenges using neither wisdom nor order. That is not the lesson, however. A closer reading of David’s triumph shows just how important wisdom and order really are.
This verse’s counsel about how to confront repentance and personal development is directly on point. If we are going to succeed in overcoming life’s trials, we aren’t going to do it in a single great leap. Sometimes the only way across will require we first take the time to build a bridge.
“…for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.”
We buy on credit because we do not want to wait. Why wait if we can have it now? Culturally we are driven to want and obtain things quickly. Wall Street wants us greedy and impatient. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is a cultural obsession. But when it comes to the Gospel, we cannot rush the work which must be done.
Much of our individual frustrations as Saints come as a result of trying to move too quickly toward perfection. We fail to realize perfection is the process of cooperating with God. We don’t need to accomplish anything. We only need to get our hearts right. Once our hearts are right, everything else follows in the ordinary course.
Life is not the time to enjoy exaltation in any event. That comes later. Life is the time to overcome vanity, pride and selfishness. It is the time to lose ourselves. When we do that, it does not matter that we still have a great gulf between us and perfection; we are nonetheless perfect. Submission is perfect.
We do have a great work before us to attain exaltation, however. This life’s agenda is very limited, even though the full effort involved will last many lifetimes. The Millennium alone will last a thousand years. It is amusingly naive to hear the Saints talk about “getting exalted” as a result of this life’s activities. Joseph Smith understood more about this subject than most. His comment was as follows: “When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel-you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.” (DHC 6: 306–307, emphasis added.)
We are not here to “get exalted.” We are here to continue progression which began a long time before our current birth. At the moment, you are being “added upon” by what you experience here. At some point, you will have received what you need in this sphere, and can move on to the next stage of development. When you have gained everything you need from this life, you will have received the “fullness” from God. It is called the “fullness” because it is all that can be obtained here. It is not possible, however, to inherit everything God ultimately offers while here. For that, it will require a great work “even beyond the grave” as Joseph put it. Indeed, it isn’t even possible to fully understand God while here in this life.
We don’t need to take on everything at once. We only need move in the right direction. If we walk gracefully through the troubles which come our way, we are doing what is needed. The only battles we need fight are the ones which block our path. Other people’s battles are not ours. Our fight is with our own weaknesses, temptations, and lack of charity. That fight is conducted a few minutes at a time. We shouldn’t run ahead, nor do we need to mourn past failings. It is enough to start where you are and live gracefully the next few minutes; then again the few minutes after them; and then continue to do so. The greatest task for all of us is to endure to the end.
“And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize:”
When you keep this estate, and gain a fullness of what is offered here, you can move on to another sphere. There, however, you will continue to develop until, as Joseph puts it: “you …go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.” Abraham described it in these words: “they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.” (Abr. 3: 26.)
There are limits to what can be learned here, and therefore there are limits to what is expected here. You are not expected to do more than what is allotted to men in the flesh. Here, we are all very limited. Moses learned: “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1: 10.) Jacob similarly said: “Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.” (Jacob 4: 8.) We are not accountable for what we do not know. And we cannot know more than God reveals to us.
Christ set the great example. He progressed from less to more. He may have been exalted before birth (or, more correctly, received the sure promise of exaltation before birth), but He nonetheless was not all He would become as a result of His mortal experience. He had the “fullness” before birth, but remained less than what He would become as a result of coming into the flesh. While in the flesh, he was less than He would become after His resurrection. Yet, once again, He obtained a fullness during mortality.
It is important to realize this word “fullness” is referring to completion of development. Each stage of experience has its own definition of what it means to gain a “fullness.” Fullness in the preexistence is not the same thing as a fullness in mortality. In turn, the fullness of mortality is not the same thing as the fullness which comes next. Each stage of development has conditions, limitations and an agenda. Right now you are only accountable for seeking a fullness of what pertains to mortality.
We have an account of how Christ progressed. This account describes both His preexistent progression, and His earthly progression. More importantly, it is the account of both how He progressed, and how we are instructed to progress. This account has been given to us as our own guide. We, like Him, are expected to proceed in an orderly way to receive the fullness. Here is how:
Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us. And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace. And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first. And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son. And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father; And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him. And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John. I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness. For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace. (D&C 93: 8–20.)
Christ did not have what is described as “the fullness” at first. He obtained it through progression from less to more. He went through that developmental process from a lesser to a greater, then finally to a state of fullness. It wasn’t a single, great leap. His pattern is ours. “Grace for grace” is the description. Live graciously.
In Mosiah 4: 27 we learn we must be “diligent” in our efforts. Diligence requires persistence. So, we add to our patience, persistence. Almost every obstacle yields to patient persistence. Gaining the fullness of what is offered here also comes from patient persistence.
“…therefore, all things must be done in order.”
This part of the verse repeats advice given in the beginning, but expands it to remind us about how important order really is. Everything in the Father’s work is orderly. It is not haphazard or ill-suited to accomplishing the task. As a body of believers, we are not going to get where we need to without an orderly progression. D&C 132: 8 reminds us: “Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.” As part of patient persistence, we must keep in mind the true order of things.
As a result of the books I have written, I have had the great privilege of meeting a number of Latter-day Saints who have profound spiritual gifts. Often their gifts have been a source of friction between them and the Church. That friction is unnecessary and unbecoming for us as Saints. We need to love and value each other. We should never resent or be jealous of each other’s gifts. Gifts are not given to men and women to make them prideful, or give them license to create disorder in the Lord’s house.
We all have gifts given us by the Lord. But possessing gifts does not mean you are greater than your fellow Saint. While I was watching the Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City in 2002, as the Games were in the final stages of opening ceremonies, the torch came through Salt Lake County, and the final runners passed the torch on live television. Each runner was accompanied by a crowd of runners beside and behind them, and the streets were lined with cheering spectators. The police escorted, and the television crews filmed, as the runners at last brought the torch into the stadium. At the final stage, where the torch finally ignited the Olympic Caldron, the stadium gave a standing ovation, while the Olympic anthem played. This was broadcast throughout the world. The flame, which originated on Mount Olympus in Greece, had made its way to Salt Lake City.
Throughout this process, the runners who carried the flame were never deceived about their own importance. They knew the cheering crowd, police escort and television broadcast was not because of them. It was because of what they carried. It was the flame which originated on Mount Olympus that warranted the attention. Should they run the same route the next day, without the torch, no one would pay them any attention. They knew, even as they ran in the procession, that it had nothing to do with them. On this day, in this setting, while a worldwide audience tuned in to watch, their significance was wholly derived from the flame they carried.
So, too, are the gifts of the Spirit. They are not yours. They come from above, a gift from God. You may carry them while here, and may attract attention because of them, and may even excite acclaim from those who see the gifts. But the gifts come down from “Mount Olympus” and are not you. You are never more than the “torchbearer” in this process. Therefore, the honor, glory and reverence for these things belong to “him who is the giver of the gift.” (D&C 88: 33.) It is always a mistake to believe your own gifts make you more important than your fellow man. Similarly, the office held by a Church authority is what is respected, not the person occupying the office. Men come and go, but the office remains with us. When holding the position, the Bishop, Stake President, Relief Society President, Quorum President or Primary President should never think of themselves as better than their fellow man. They only temporarily hold a flame lit on Olympus, which will be passed to another. When it is, the new holder will receive the same attention, hold the same authority, and get the same credit as the one who held it before. The flame, not the person, matters.
The Church must be orderly. If it is not, it will fall apart. The restoration of the Gospel will languish in disarray if the Church does not have the capacity to govern itself and keep all its parts in harmony. Although this may seem odd, it is nevertheless true: Those with spiritual gifts present a potential threat to the Church’s order. Those who hold such gifts must realize this in order to understand how the necessary “order” presents a challenge to them. However inadvertent their potential harm may be, they present the threat of harm because of their gifts.
The Church has an ordained system of government. It is managed through priesthood quorums, at the top of which is the President of the High Priesthood. That President is the organizational mortal head of the Church. The only authority higher is the Lord Himself. Through the President come commandments for the whole Church, and no one in the Church is authorized to command him. This is the order. The Lord expects this order to be followed. Until the revelations and commandments of the Church change, it is the order which must be followed. No one who is in the right way, however gifted, will feel inclined to challenge or rebel against this authority. Indeed, there is no need to do so. Even Christ taught respect to authorities who were far less than deserving of respect. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” (Matt 23: 2–3.) He taught this respect was due even to the unrighteous men who would ultimately murder Him. It appears, therefore, this obligation of deference knows no limit. Even if you think those who preside over your ward, stake or area are unworthy, (and certainly some of them have been, and others will be in the future) it is unimportant. The Church is comprised of flawed mortals, and that will not change. The character flaw of any given Church leader is irrelevant to his standing in his office. He will be released soon enough. No one remains a Bishop or Stake President for long. And if they failed to develop charity and the pure love of Christ while serving, that is their failure and not yours. On the other hand, if you fail to develop charity and love for a flawed man, that is your failure.
Spiritual gifts present a temptation to violate this order. Wittingly or unwittingly, they hold a form of power which can also be easily abused. The only authority higher than the Church’s President is the Lord Himself. When someone possesses gifts of the Spirit, they are presumably in contact with the Lord Himself. If, for example, someone has the gift of healing, and can heal the sick or injured, those who become aware of the healer’s gift are likely to conclude the Lord would not heal through a person if the person were not “worthy” or “approved.” They very well may be worthy to heal. But being “worthy” or “approved” for purposes of healing does not make them so for other purposes. And it certainly does not make them automatically qualified to begin commanding or directing other people’s lives or the Church.
Any gift, from prophecy to tongues, from visions and visitations to miracles and healing, can be given to the members of the Church. But possessing any or all of these gifts does not make the holder entitled to ignore the order of things. The gifts are for the Church to enjoy. But they are not given to become a source of competing authority, or a disturbance or disruption in the Church. In describing the varying gifts, the Lord reminds us they are given to the Church. They are for the benefit of the Church. They are not for the benefit of the individual, nor for the ego of the recipient. They are not even given for any individual to get notoriety, but instead for the Church to be edified and uplifted.
The Lord wants us to gain equilibrium. Gifted saints are a part of the Church. So, too, are leaders. Leaders may struggle with their own personality quirks and egos. They may resent being called to preside over a ward member whose own gifts are greater than the theirs. Such a leader will need to grow, and develop charity for themselves and for the ward member whose gifts belong as a part of the Church. All gifts, just like all callings, come from above. They both belong to the Church. Gifted members must find a way to love, and show charity to the insecure and resentful; even if these weaknesses manifest themselves in a leader. They cannot retreat into judging and bitterness over the reactions they excite. Saints, just as all other humans, fear things which they do not understand. It is important to realize possessing gifts may seem threatening to many others.
The “order” we are reminded of requires each of us to work to accommodate one another. None of us is without flaws, fears, and anxieties. Your calling will not make you more gifted. Your gifts will not make you called. You are both a Saint and a fellow citizen in the Church of God. Each of us is given for the blessing and benefit of the other. If we can find how to love each other, and how to lose resentments and jealousies, we will also find ourselves all closer to God. We cannot bridge the gap which separates us from Zion until we confront this issue. Zion will need to be one: One heart, and one mind, living as one.
These things need to be done in order. This Chapter’s verse is a profound reminder of the great harmony required by the Gospel. It is more music and art than mere science. It requires beauty. Blending together the varying personalities and abilities of divergent people into one, harmonious whole will be a beautiful thing. But it cannot happen without every heart becoming attuned to the need we have for wisdom and order. None of us can build Zion without all the others.
We need each other. The circumstances in which we find ourselves help shape us. When we want to sprint, we find we are limited by our family, friends, callings, neighbors, jobs or other circumstances. This is not inadvertent. It is necessary. It is a blessing to be given these tensions and conflicts. Reconciling them requires patience and compromise. The greatest revelations of our hearts to the Lord, ourselves and to others comes as we struggle to show kindness and patience while confronted with all the inevitable conflicts of life. When we lose ourselves, we find ourselves. The graceful resignation to accept our circumstances as a gift from God comes only through having circumstances which differ from our own view of the “ideal.” What you have in your life is ideal. Keep in mind Alma’s reflection as he wished for better circumstances for his ministry: “But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.” (Alma 29: 3.) We are meant to see the gulf between our present life and what would be “perfect.” Then we are meant to live perfectly inside the life we have been given. There is enough difficulty, enough challenge, enough struggles, enough opposition given to every one of us to allow us to grow into a meek and graceful disciple of Christ.
Mosiah 4: 27 is a clarion call for us to become one.