A rephrase of Rex Butterfield’s ‘In Gratitude for the Omniscience of God’

At times during my classes, I share my thoughts about a God that loves in time. Related to God’s physical body and his spatial location in time, we often discuss the importance of understanding the implications of using the Omnis in our discussion of God’s attributes. One student shared Rex’s devotional with me. Anybody that has followed MostMovedMover will know that his devotional would cause me some angst.

This rephrase is my attempt to show the import of love and how we do not need a fixed-future omniscience to praise God the Father and the atoning sacrifice of His son. I used his talk, sometimes just his structure, to build this message. You might enjoy comparing his message to mine to notice the changes.

The rephrase

The Lectures on Faith, supported by Joseph Smith and written by many of the early leaders¹, notes that

‘Three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.

First, the idea that he actually exists.

Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes.

Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will.’²

If any of these elements are imperfect and lacking, our ‘faith unto salvation’ will also be imperfect and lacking. Instead of living towards the image of God, we settle for a lesser image of emulation.

The Doctrine of Omnibenovlence

For today’s purposes, let’s focus on just one element of His character and attributes. It is an attribute that we often give verbal assent to, but that, when examined closely, has some startling implications. The attribute about which I wish to speak is God’s omnibenvolence³—the fact that He is all-loving. On this subject, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf once offered his certain witness as he explored this doctrine⁴. He said:

My purpose is to offer my certain witness that your Father in Heaven knows you, hears you, and will never abandon you. As you incline your hearts to Him and strive to follow His way, He will intervene in your life and direct your path as you journey through this great and exciting adventure of mortality.

For the next few minutes we have together, let us faithfully and fearlessly explore the doctrine of God’s love and some of its implications.

Of all the attributes that God possesses, the most important is His omnibenevolence. The Lectures on Faith, approved by Joseph Smith, note that ‘it is equally important that men should have the idea of the existence of the attribute mercy in the Deity in order to exercise faith in him for life and salvation.’⁵ Please remember that; we’ll come right back to it. Without His omnibenevolence, He wouldn’t be able to save us.

Sometimes, because of the startling implications of this doctrine, we try to tout His ‘otherness’ to borrow a phrase and concept from traditional Christianity that is not aligned with our Faith.⁶ Because we can’t explain how He loves so fearlessly, we sometimes say “God does not need our love, But we need His." While it is true that he can continue in holiness without our love, he is profoundly changed by the lack of our love. 2 Nephi 2:26 reads, “[B]ecause that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, …; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon,” 2 Nephi 9:8 asserts that, “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace!” Further, when Enoch visited with the Lord on the mountain, he learned, to his bewilderment, that God loves and weeps: “…How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?”⁷ It appears that even prophets want God to be strong and not suffer when His children choose differently than He wishes. But God’s love makes him vulnerable.

Please note that all things are present with God. Thus, in the words of Elder Uchtdorf again, ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. … Mortality is an open-ended, choose-your-own-adventure story.’ In these and other scriptural passages about our journey with God, there are no qualifiers. There is no parenthetical expression that says that he may not be there to guide us, or he will turn his back to prove he was right. There are only simple, clear assertions that he is present with us. And by present, it means, well, lovingly present!

Omnibenevolence and agency

Perhaps one of our struggles with His omnibenevolence is that we wonder if we genuinely have agency if God is all-powerful and all-loving and wants the best for us. We feel like our agency bumps up against His mighty love. If you permit a short personal experience, it may illustrate this point.

When I was a bit younger than you, my seminary teacher taught us that God’s love is conditional. The members of my community worried about how that impacted God’s relationship with us. The youth of my day and their parents were somewhat spiritually immature. They organized a parent night riot to challenge his teachings and have him removed from the seminary. He was moved from our seminary at the end of that year. It was true that we were spiritually immature about the love of God at that time. As a result of President Nelson’s 2003 article on Divine love, we learned, ‘While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional.’⁸ We learn from then Elder Nelson’s talk that relationships are two-way. As God’s love is conditional, he changes by our choice to love Him. We learn that authentic relationships in the ’now’ of time change how we respond to each other. We build trust and trust builds more love.

A familiar example from Joseph Smith’s life can illustrate why each of us should be eternally grateful for God’s love. By June 14, 1828, the prophet had translated 116 pages of manuscript from the plates.⁹ Joseph Smith had been helped by a wealthy man roughly twice his age—Martin Harris. Martin’s wife, Lucy, was not supportive of the work, and even after having a dream that told her she was fighting against the work of the Lord, still criticized the work. To allay her fears, Martin asked for permission to show her the 116 pages; God trusted Joseph’s importuning request, and permission was granted after multiple requests. While this third request did gain the Lord’s approval, his first two requests did not. As a result of Martin’s breach of covenant, and to some extent Joseph’s, the 116 pages of the manuscript were lost.

We can imagine what Joseph might have felt as he lamented, “All is lost! All is lost! What shall I do? I have sinned—it is I who tempted the wrath of God. I should have been satisfied with the first answer which I received from the Lord.”¹⁰ What is it that might have been lost? Perhaps in Joseph’s mind, in addition to the 116 pages that were lost, the work of the Restoration had been destroyed because he feared man more than God. You see, fear and love are entangled within the same confines of a relationship.

Though traumatic for the young prophet, this event did not take the Lord by surprise. While Joseph couldn’t retranslate the 116 pages because of the changes already made (see D&C 10), the Lord had provided a way for His work to continue 2400 years in the past. He knew the necessary contingencies he needed available to support Joseph in their relationship and to support the budding church.

Nephi was merrily keeping a record of what happened to his family when, in 1 Nephi 9, he received a prompting to make a duplicate set of plates. Please notice what he says about this prompting concerning God’s knowledge. At this point, He knows ‘all things from the beginning’ and is preparing for contingencies where He may need to use His power:

Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.¹¹

About 1,000 years later, as Mormon was compiling the record, he found the duplicate record that Nephi had made and received a similar prompting to include it in the record. Please notice Mormon’s additional commentary that God knows certain things about the future. He knows those things ‘which are to come’ and can use his power to prepare for them:

And this I do for a wise purpose for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.¹²

Neither Nephi nor Mormon knew why they included the duplicate record, but the Lord understood this possibility. He, and we, now see this as history. Think of it, brothers and sisters: the Lord prepared a way for He and Joseph Smith to continue in a covenant relationship 2,400 years ahead of time! He would not have done that were he less than omnibenevolent.

You see, His omnibenevolence gives God the hope that Joseph will trust His promises. While Joseph worried that he should not have asked more than once, God seems much more concerned that Joseph trusted ’the hands of a wicked man’¹² instead of Him. In this experience, I see a God teaching Joseph that they are in a relationship. That God has elected him. Joseph doesn’t have to fear the relationship breaking on God’s accord. He is a relational God. I see God reminding Joseph that the critical relationship is with God, not fallen man or wicked man. God is reminding Joseph of the relationship’s importance.

God tells Joseph that partnering with Men will end in frustration. God’s partnership has not been and will not be frustrated. Joseph may importune for things that are not optimal, and God will continue to answer those prayers. However, Joseph must remember that he is in a relationship with God at the cost of all other relationships. In partnering with a relational God, Joseph is covered by His extended arm and protected in every time of trouble.

It is my testimony to you that God has prepared a way for you, too. He knows you. He is with you. He is there when you face your problems, and I promise that He has the omnibenevolence and omnipotence to stay in relationship with you just like He did for Joseph Smith. In the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we learn that the Lord is no respecter of persons; if He protects Joseph Smith with his power and love, He’ll do the same for us.

Now, please remember that earlier, we discussed that Joseph Smith taught that God could not save any portion of His creations if He were not omnibenevolent. Here is one reason why His love is that important and why we should be eternally grateful for His mercy. Brothers and sisters, the year now is 2024. The Savior atoned for us nearly 2,000 years ago. How could he continue to care and stay involved in our lives (and I testify that He did, in reality, atone for us) if He didn’t gain the power to be with us and care for us right now? Imagine that He overlooked or forgot his relationship with just one child of God, and that single child happened to be you. Your gate to deliverance would lack a mediator. Imagine what would happen then. Not a pleasant thought, is it? And please keep in mind that it wasn’t just the sins of the world He atoned for; he gained the right to mediate with us in our lived lives. Please listen to the Holy Ghost as you hear former Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf’s words about this:

With unspeakable gratitude, you will see that God Himself, in His abounding love, grace, and compassion, was always there watching over you, blessing you, and guiding your steps as you walked toward Him.¹³

The Savior could not succor us individually if He did not have the power to support us in our infirmities, pains, and sorrows. Not only does the atonement grow out of God’s mercy, it also grows out of His omnibenevolence. Our worry about our agency being threatened by God’s power and omnibenevolence should be swallowed up in our gratitude that He loves us even after all the dumb stuff we do. We can use His power to help us overcome those things. And frankly, we should be much more concerned about becoming entangled in sin and having sin impinge on our agency than we are about God taking our agency. He will not do that.

Implications of God’s omnibenevolence

Having discussed the doctrine of God’s omnibenevolence, we can press forward to the implications that His omnibenevolence has for us. Sometimes, this impact can be felt daily.

Implication #1: Prophecy. Occasionally, we hear people, sometimes even church members, share their opinion that the Brethren are old, out-of-date, and old-fashioned. Some even dismiss prophetic teaching as mere opinion. Brothers and sisters, if we do this, we do it at very grave relational peril. If we have living prophets (and I testify that we do) and an omnibenevolent God (and I testify that we have that, too), prophecy is much more than mere direction, and prophetic counsel is much more than an indifferent opinion. It is counsel from a loving prophet who is in communion with a loving God and who has been given His trust. To reject prophetic invitation, therefore, is to reject Him who trusts that prophet. It is no wonder that in the scriptures, the severing of the relationship with prophets inevitably led to a lack of protection from God. One of the sad common threads of each fallen society, from the flood to Sodom and Gomorrah, to the Jaredites and Nephites, and at all points in between, is that each society severed its relationship with living prophets. Some societies killed the prophets, while others cast them out.

In the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants revealed to Joseph Smith, the Lord issued a loving plea as he saw that ‘[we] seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness’ but ‘walketh in [our] own way, and after the image of [our] own god’ because we have left His ‘ordinances, and have broken [His] everlasting covenant’ such that we are ‘cut off from among the people.’ While our being cut off may not be physical right now, there is a spiritual separation that comes. Perhaps that is why, in Doctrine and Covenants 21, we are invited to “give heed unto all his words as if from [God’s] own mouth, in all patience and faith.”

Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles observed,

Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder.

Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship.¹³

Ignoring the trust and love that God gives His leaders, therefore, can take the Holy Spirit from our lives, leaving us to ourselves, and trusting in the arm of flesh has never ended well for those who have tried it.

Sometimes, prophetic counsel may contradict our own opinions or views. Sometimes, we may need to humble ourselves and come before the Lord in the spirit of “not my will but thine, be done.” Sometimes, we may even need sincere repentance. However, when dealing with prophets sent by an omnibenevolent God, that is what is required. If we are willing to try on such love for size, we might find it to be more comfortable than the fear of the world.

In addition, following the prophets always binds us nearer to God, and the time is already upon us that we and our families need the safety that comes from following the prophet. Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf noted:

Walk as best as you can on the path of discipleship. Don’t get overwhelmed. Just do the small things as perfectly as you can, and the big things will fall into place. Don’t let discouraging voices dissuade you from your journey of faith. Remember, you don’t answer to your critics. You answer to your Father in Heaven. His values count.¹³

Here, I make a sincere plea: please thrust the prophet both in the big and little things. Doing so will bring companionship and safety.

Related to setting aside prophetic counsel is not even seeking that counsel and, further, sometimes not even seeking the Lord’s guidance through prayer. Sometimes, we decide what will be convenient for us. We decide, “I don’t want to go on a mission until…” or, “I don’t want to get married until…” or, “We can’t start having children until…” and then follow with a phrase related to our plans and convenience. May I suggest we see God in partnership with us as we face such struggles? Isaiah’s words related to this are sobering: “Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.” It takes humility and love to trust the promptings of a living prophet, but the safety of this partnership is undoubtedly worth it. Things turn out better when we choose to love an omnibenevolent God when He calls, whether through promptings or prophets.

Implication #2: you’ll be asked to do hard things, and that is okay. Each of us has probably heard the sentiment that this world is just so wicked now that for someone to get married and start a family during this time may not be wise. Can’t we wait for the millennium to begin so that all the wickedness will be taken away and our children can “grow up without sin unto salvation?” Other difficulties in the latter days can cause us to shrink and wonder if we are equal to the task. Brothers and sisters, it isn’t a mistake that you were born when you were. God, who loves, cares for you, and can handle the state of the world you are living in. The timing and place of your birth were not mistakes. Those determinations were made by one who “doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world.”¹⁴ You can press forward with faith and courage that He trusts that you are equal to the task. He loves you. He loves the children He is going to send to your family.

The Old Testament king, Hezekiah, was also asked to do something difficult. The Assyrian army had marched toward Jerusalem, leaving destruction in its wake. None of the cities could withstand the siege of the Assyrians, and smoke from their destruction would have been visible from Jerusalem at that time. Hezekiah knew from a prophet, Isaiah, that they would be put under siege and had already had workers tunnel over 1700 feet through stone to bring water within the walls of Jerusalem, but this wasn’t enough to deliver the people. In those dire circumstances, Hezekiah received a letter from the Assyrian king that said, “Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?”¹⁵

Hezekiah turned to the Lord, took that letter into the temple, and spread it out before the Lord. Please listen to the Holy Ghost as you hear the words of Hezekiah’s prayer:

O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou are the God even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear; open thine eyes, O Lord and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the Living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even thou only.¹⁶

The same omnibenevolent and powerful God who hears and answers our prayers responded to this humble plea. Isaiah promised that they wouldn’t even shoot an arrow into Jerusalem, and indeed, an angel smote the Assyrian army before they could destroy Jerusalem.

Brothers and sisters, God can protect us in the situations we find ourselves in. Though there will be bumps in the road, you are equal to those bumps and can overcome them, which leads us to our final implication: difficulties will come, but the Savior’s wisdom and power can support us through them.

Implication #3: Difficulties will come, but the Savior can support us through them. It is interesting that of all the attributes of the Savior that Isaiah could have emphasized, of everything the prophet could have taught, he seems to be intrigued by the fact that the Savior would be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” In a time of his severe trial, Joseph Smith learned that “the Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” There is no depth of sorrow and anguish that the Savior does not understand. And the price He paid to know and understand us was a loving price indeed.

President Henry B. Eyring taught something that I’d like to use as a preface for this discussion. He said:

It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. The Book of Mormon gives us the certain assurance of His power to comfort. And faith in that power will give us patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience.¹⁷

This is what Alma meant when he said, in Alma 7:13, “Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh.” Let’s start with Him and His disciples in the upper room to gain a view and a greater appreciation for what the Savior did.

After the last supper, after Judas was dismissed and after they had sung a hymn, the Savior and His disciples left the upper room to proceed toward the Garden of Gethsemane. As the map from the LDS edition of the scriptures shows, the traditional spot of the upper room was on the Southwest corner of Jerusalem, near the Hinnom Valley. I must confess that I don’t know which direction the Savior went to travel toward Gethsemane. Still, I have a hunch that he avoided passing through the midst of Jerusalem, seeking privacy and solitude for Himself and His disciples. Please remember that the last supper was a Passover meal, and each Passover coincides with a full moon. While we don’t know what the weather was like, it is possible that the full moon illuminated their path as they proceeded toward Gethsemane.

Just as an aside, the valley that they would have walked along, the Hinnom Valley, was formerly a place where gruesome sacrifices to false gods were made. Because of that, at the time of Jesus, the garbage from the city was burned there. With its continual burning, the valley became known as Gehenna, or as we say it in English, hell. It is interesting to think that the Savior possibly passed symbolically through hell on His way to confront all the fury of hell.

As the Savior would have proceeded along this path, the graveyard that is in the foreground would have soon come into view. We can only imagine His thoughts as he saw those whited sepulchers for perhaps the first time that night, gleaming in the light of a full moon. He knew what He was about to do, and he certainly knew that He would soon be joining the hosts of the dead. I wonder what feelings He had as He viewed those tombs.

When He arrived in Gethsemane, and as the atoning process had begun, he cried out “Abba, Father, All things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”¹⁸ Finite, mortal minds cannot really comprehend what was happening to the Savior at that moment, but we can understand that, in some way, the Savior gained the atoning power to intervene for our sins. To quote Elder Eyring:

He atoned for our sins, and He paid the price to allow us to be forgiven and to be resurrected. So, it’s what He did that qualified Him to give us forgiveness, to change our hearts. It’s the Holy Ghost doing that, not the Atonement, as if it’s a thing itself. And so, when you feel forgiveness, that’s not the Atonement; that’s the Savior giving you a feeling of forgiveness because of the Atonement.¹⁹

May I add my witness that the Savior did atone? He knows us. because He suffers with each one of our personal heartaches, sorrows, and losses. Truly, He is acquainted with our grief. Because of His powerful atoning sacrifice, He also can succor us. Because of His omnibenevolence, we can be sure that, to paraphrase Elder Maxwell, the temperature on the furnace of affliction will not be too high. He knows just what we need to refine, purify, and join us together eternally.

Where can I turn for peace?

Where is my solace when other sources cease to make me whole?

…Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand?

He, only one.²⁰

Conclusion

As all thoughts on the character of God require a level of personal interpretation, I hope my interpretation syncs with the doctrines that bind us to God. Now, in conclusion, I’d like to be very personal. I want to bear my witness, given to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, that there is a God in Heaven. He is our Father. He loves us. He knows us personally, even better than we know ourselves. He cares for us as if the only time that matters is the eternal now.

There was a time later in our marriage when my wife and I were on different pages concerning our family size. We were wandering in a place from which we did not want to extricate ourselves. My wife had previously wanted another child, but I wasn’t as convinced. I’ll spare you the details, but each of us grew comfortable with our family. Her previous miscarriages and our older age made us wonder if our family was finished. Heavenly Father was there meekly and patiently, willing to support us in our decision. I recognized that my wife’s previous desire was warranted, and she was willing to hear me. We both felt God. He taught us that He was willing to support His sons and daughters. Our family is now the size it will be on this earth. In each step along the way, we know that he loves us.

I am grateful for His omnibenevolence, and I have felt His guiding hand supporting me in each place and each time to learn what I needed for employment, to meet my wife whom I love, to invite me to where He wanted me to be employed, and to help us raise seven wonderful children. I am grateful for His Son and know that He atoned for us. I also know that none of these things would be possible without His omnibenevolence. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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