He Shall Reveal All Things

Christ in the Temple by Heinrich Hofmann

In Sunday School we have recently covered the familiar story from the book of Luke in which the Savior visited the Temple as a young boy of 12.  While there, the young Messiah was "sitting in the midst of the doctors, and they were hearing him and asking him questions.  And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers" (Luke 2:46-47, with JST in 46).  Here he was, a young boy of twelve, and in the words of the Prophet Joseph, "He had all the intelligence necessary to enable Him to rule and govern the kingdom of the Jews, and could reason with the wisest and most profound doctors of law and divinity, and make their theories and practice to appear like folly compared with the wisdom He possessed" (Joseph Smith, Teachings, 392).  It was clear to all who witnessed the scene, that He was "more intelligent than they all" (Abraham 3:19).

So it has always been.  In the words of the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "In intelligence and performance, He far surpasses the individual and composite capacities and achievements of all who have lived, live now, and will yet live!" such that "we cannot teach Him anything!" Yet, as Elder Maxwell explained, "We can listen to Him.  We can love Him, we can honor Him, we can worship Him!  We can keep His commandments, and we can feast upon His scriptures!"  (Neal A. Maxwell, "O Divine Redeemer").

I've been touched lately by the notion of just how much our Savior knows, and that invitation for us to listen to Him.  I've often wondered what kinds of questions I might have asked if I had been one of those doctors of the day.  Sadly, many likely wasted this once in a lifetime opportunity by asking questions about obscure texts with high theological importance, but little practical value.  In pondering this, I recently reread some verses in D&C 101 with new eyes.

This revelation came in the midst of the Missouri persecutions, with the Saints having been forcibly removed from their homes in Jackson County.  Surely as these saints sat in makeshift camps along the Missouri river, freezing and hungry, and unable to return to their homes in Independence, they were filled with all sorts of questions.  Surely they looked and wondered how this could have happened to them.  Hadn't God promised that they would have the privilege of laying the foundations of Zion?  Hadn't they tried to be faithful?  Hadn't they given much to the Lord's work and Kingdom?  How could this have happened?

In view of all these questions and so many more, the Lord said the following to comfort His saints: "Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things--Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof--Things most precious, things that are above, things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven" (D&C 101:32-34).

It struck me, that in a coming day, I will have an opportunity just like those doctors in the temple, a chance to sit and ask Him anything and get all of the answers I desire.  For years I was intrigued by the questions mentioned in those verses.  This would be the day where questions about dinosaurs and fossils, and the age of the earth, and everything else would finally be answered, and wouldn't it be grand!  And surely, as is promised in these verses, those answers will come in that day.  But last night I was struck by the thought that if He came today, I wouldn't ask Him any of those questions.  I've long since decided that those answers didn't really matter to me and had very little bearing on my faith in the Lord and His gospel.  The questions I would ask Him about would be personal in nature.  I would ask Him about worries I had about my family and friends.  I would ask about trials I have been through and blessings that seem to have been withheld.  I would ask about how to overcome challenges that I've struggled with.  And above all, I would ask Him how I could become more like Him and how my family and I could return to His presence.  I would ask Him real questions about real challenges, and then I would try to listen.

As I thought about these things, I thought to myself, "What a tragedy and a waste it would be if the first and only questions that came into my mind in His presence were about items of intellectual minutiae!"  While I don't doubt the importance of those matters in their various spheres, and while I trust that they are things that I will have to understand at some point in eternity, I can no longer imagine wasting precious seconds in the presence of God's Son by asking questions about items of curiosity when there are souls to be saved and people to be strengthened with the answers to life's most important questions.

And here is the beautiful truth:  While He does not promise to give us all of the answers we desire right now, we need not wait for the Millennial day to petition Him for answers.  We have the opportunity each day to take these important questions to Him, to sit at His feet and then to learn of Him, "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little" (2 Nephi 28:30).  Some of these answers will have to wait, but many will come to us as we seek His wisdom in prayer.  Indeed, He has promised, that "If your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things" (D&C 88:67).  As we fill our souls with the light of God's Only Begotten Son, the understanding we desire will begin to come.

Brett