In this, as in so many other things, the Lord will proceed in His own time and in His own way. We will not be approved or blessed in clearing the ground or pouring the footings for that great project until the Lord has said that it is time. But in this matter the timing is the Lord’s, not ours. For example, many of us or our descendants will doubtless participate in the fulfillment of prophecies about the building of the city of New Jerusalem (see D&C 84:2–4). Only then, at the precise time dictated by the Lord, was the gospel taken to the Gentiles (see Acts 10–11).Īs this example shows, continuing revelation is the means by which the Lord administers His timing. Then, at the appropriate time, this instruction was reversed in a great revelation to the Apostle Peter. During His lifetime the Lord instructed the Twelve Apostles not to preach to the Gentiles but “rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” ( Matt. In our service in the Lord’s Church we should remember that when is just as important as who, what, where, and how.įor a vivid illustration of the importance of timing, we can look to the earthly ministry of the Lord and His succeeding instructions to His Apostles. Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.” 1 “The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said: We should not try to impose our timetable on His. Faith means trust-trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “But,” He continued, “all things must come to pass in their time” ( D&C 64:31–32). “My words are sure and shall not fail,” the Lord taught the early elders of this dispensation. My first point on the subject of timing is that the Lord has His own timetable. They can even be confused about whether they made the right choice when what was wrong was not their choice but their timing. People who do the right thing at the wrong time can be frustrated and ineffective. Second, and only slightly behind the first, is to do the right thing at the right time. In all the important decisions in our lives, what is most important is to do the right thing.
“… A time to keep silence, and a time to speak” ( Eccl. “… A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing … “A time to weep, and a time to laugh a time to mourn, and a time to dance “A time to be born, and a time to die a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted … “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: The familiar observation that “timing is everything” surely overstates the point, but timing is vital.
Again he found a single sheet of paper, but this time it read, “Prepare three envelopes.” It was time for new leadership. Eagerly he opened the last envelope, anticipating the advice that would provide the solution for his troubles. Much later the now-seasoned president encountered his third major crisis. He opened the second envelope and read, “Reorganize your administration.” He did so, and the reorganization disarmed his critics and gave new impetus to his leadership. Two years later he faced another serious challenge to his leadership. When he opened the first envelope, he found a single sheet of paper on which were written the words “Blame the prior administration.” He followed that advice and survived the crisis. It was a year before the new president had a crisis. “Then open the first one, and you will find some valuable advice.”
“Hold these until you have the first crisis in your administration,” he explained. In a gesture of goodwill, the wise outgoing president handed his young successor three sealed envelopes.
One university president had come to the end of his period of service, and another was just beginning. Many years ago I heard a story at the inauguration of a university president that illustrates the importance of timing.
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