The Lord Employs the Unlikely

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon Session of the April 1988 Conference.

I loved and needed this section from Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk. (I seem to always gravitate toward his talks. I did like some others in this session too! But this is just so good):

I feel impressed to counsel those engaged in personal challenges to do right. In particular, my heart reaches out to those who feel discouraged by the magnitude of their struggle. Many shoulder heavy burdens of righteous responsibility which, on occasion, seem so difficult to bear. I have heard those challenges termed impossible.…

To teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely. 

Turning to our day, have you ever wondered why the Master waited so long to inaugurate the promised “restitution of all things”? Any competitor knows the disadvantage of allowing an opponent to get too far ahead. Wouldn’t the work of the restoration of the Church have been easier if begun earlier? 

Suppose for a moment you are a member of a team. The coach beckons you from the bench and says: “You are to enter this contest. I not only want you to win; you shall win. But the going will be tough. The score at this moment is 1,143,000,000 to six, and you are to play on the team with the six points!” 

That large number was the approximate population of the earth in the year 1830 when the restored church of Jesus Christ was officially organized with six members. The setting was remote and rural. By standards of the world, its leaders were deemed to be unlearned. Their followers seemed so ordinary. But with them, the work was begun. Assignments had been revealed: 

The gospel was to be preached to every kindred, nation, tongue, and people. 

Ordinary folk were to become Saints. 

Redemptive work was to be done for all who had ever lived. 

The great dispensation of the latter days had commenced, and they were the ones to usher it forth! 

Furthermore, the Prophet Joseph Smith was unjustly held in the unspeakable isolation of a distant prison. In such obscurity, then and there, he was told by the Lord that “the ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name”. 

If any tasks ever deserved the label impossible, those would seem to qualify. But, in fact, our Lord had spoken: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible”. To teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely… 

How is it possible to achieve the “impossible”? Learn and obey the teachings of God. From the holy scriptures, heaven-sent lift will be found for heaven-sent duties.… 

Foster your faith. Fuse your focus with an eye single to the glory of God. “Be strong and courageous”, and you will be given power and protection from on high. “For I will go before your face,” the Lord declared. “I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up”.