Parley. Oliver. Peter. Ziba.
Heading out on the first mission for the tiny church.
Heading west, with strong end goal, but not sure how the details would play out.
They were going to share the Book of Mormon with the Native American tribes west of Missouri.
And the Lord told them He would be in their midst.
And that if they decided to let God prevail in their personal lives, that He would prevail against any obstacles they met.
And within a few months, they would return back home…
WITHOUT converting a whole bunch of Native Americans to the restored gospel.
A failed mission.
So… where was God?
Why had they failed if God said that He would prevail?
Because their mission resulted in the doubling of church membership.
DOUBLE.
It wasn’t the Native Americans.
It was the people they visited in Ohio along the way.
It was Sidney Rigdon. It was Edward Partridge. It was countless other faithful new Saints who were converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God most certainly prevailed.
Because not ONLY did church membership double, but the next location for all the Saints to travel to was established.
A place that would be home to numerous essential revelations.
A place that would house the first temple of the Lord in this dispensation.
A place where the Savior, Jesus Christ Himself, would visit.
The Lord most certainly prevailed on the sacred mission that these four men faithfully embarked on.
But we can’t define “prevailing” as accomplishing the end goal that we had in mind.
I mean, even the Lord told them that their mission was to the native tribes!
But how else would He had gotten these four faithful men to His beloved children in Ohio who were ready to hear the gospel?
It wasn’t a failure. Not by a long stretch.
When we let God prevail in our personal lives, nothing will prevail over us.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
8 Responses
Dear Cali, This was wonderful – I love your “Study Snippets” and the way you see things – makes me want to study deeper!!!
Thank you so much, Mary. I’m glad the Study Snippets are helpful to you.
Wonderful!
Thank you!
I teach youth Sunday School and your snippets are invaluable, as , after doing the reading, then the lesson, I print out your snippets which gives such a clear overview of the reading. Thank you so much for your insights.
I’m so glad they are helpful to you as a Sunday School teacher. It sounds like you do so much preparation, you must be a wonderful teacher.
He could have sent them to Ohio, but perhaps the first destination had other purposes. Teaching the Indians that all were not the enemy? Teacher training for these brand new member missionaries?
Tests of faith for all concerned? To just plant the seeds of truth for a later harvest?
Sometimes I havev found myself in a situation where I didn’t succeed or even feel lost and desperate, but looking back it was the preparation for myself or family. Good eventually came from it that I couldn’t see at the time.
I love these thoughts. Thank you for sharing them.