Understanding the Plan

Two Sundays ago, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy visited the Island of Misfit Toys and even took an entire hour (a combined Relief Society/elders quorum meeting) to answer our questions about Church policies and gospel topics. It was an enlightening hour in which we were free, as a congregation, to ask him whatever question we wished.

Before taking our inquiries, he instructed us on the purpose of asking questions (I'm largely paraphrasing, as this is now 10 days in the past, but here you go for those who asked me what Elder Nash taught us):

1) There is no such thing as a bad question, though some are better than others.

2) It is exercising faith to ask questions; you learn so much by doing so.

3) Questions should be genuine and sincere and should not be made to show what you know.

4) Ask yourself: Is this the kind of question that lifts us spiritually?

5) You'll know how sincere your question is by your willingness to act on the answer.

Elder Nash ended up taking about four questions only over the course of that hour, but that is not to say that the time was in any way misspent nor were we shortchanged. On the contrary, it was a very good thing, for his answers were detailed, and he bore testimony of the rationale behind each one, sharing scriptures and teachings of prophets and Apostles in doing so.

One of the more poignant questions came from a member of the congregation who inquired: "How do we draw the line between loving others and standing up for what we believe in?"

Elder Nash asked a follow-up question, asking whether this was about the issue of gay marriage in particular, i.e. "condoning things we don't condone."

The short answer: It's all about understanding the plan of salvation.

He opened Moses 1:39 to us and spoke about God's work and His glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." He taught us that "the plan is the greatest expression of love ever made. The plan is to live God's life." The Savior said, "Here am I; send me." We accepted the Plan, and the evidence of that is that we are here on Earth.

Because of the plan, the Church does not teach "free" agency, but, rather, moral agency. Because of our acceptance of the plan, we agreed that we would be responsible for our choices.

In the October 2015 Ensign, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talks in detail about the plan of happiness and why understanding it is so vital to our comprehension of what we are doing here in this mortal realm. Elder Nash recommended that we read it.

One of my favorite lines from it reads: "Those who wonder if their current circumstance or condition cuts them off from eternal life should remember that 'no one is predestined to receive less than all that the Father has for His children.'" That applies to every "circumstance" or "condition."

Also:

"My invitation is that together we stand again in support of the Father's plan. This we do with love for all, for the plan itself is an expression of the love of God."

Again, Elder Nash reiterated that we must understand the plan and the vital importance of recognizing it as being the greatest expression of love ever made.

To achieve exaltation is not only to live with God but to live as God. He is married to a woman, our mother, and He has a large family consisting of many, many children.

In this life, though, the key is the same as it was in the premortal existence: Support the Father's Plan. Do it in love. Don't ever get angry. If someone chooses less than following, we will be kind, love them, and lift them up. Share the doctrine and your knowledge of it.

I'm not doing this enough justice here with my summary. I know that. You very much had to be there to fully feel the Spirit of what he taught us. I recommend Elder Hales's Ensign article, just as Elder Nash recommended it to us, for further reading. It is phenomenal.

So was our hour with Elder Nash.