Thy Kingdom Come by Neil L. Anderson

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/thy-kingdom-come?lang=eng



   I was excited to see that today's talk was by Elder Anderson. While not my favorite to listen to, in studying I find that Elder Anderson is one of my favorites. He leaves great gems hidden all along his talks. I may end up quoting more than writing today.
   While studying, I actually was reminded of several of the other talks I have read this week. He seems to bring them together quite nicely and I am glad I read them in this order. He starts out by talking about our day. It is a tough day, with wars and rumors of wars, and the Earth in constant commotion. Yet, it is a great day because we live in the time of the restored Gospel. He says "We rejoice in these days and pray that we will be able to courageously face our struggles and uncertainties. The difficulties of some are more severe than those of others, but no one is immune. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said to me, “If everything is going perfectly for you right now, just wait.”" That's fun. Remember how I said I live in constant fear of trials. Elder Maxwell, through Elder Anderson, just reaffirmed all my fears. Gotta love that. Maybe I should do a talk on preparedness next...
    Like the last talk this one reminds us to keep an eternal perspective and submit to the will of the Father. But he does it in a way that I really like. He talks about the many miracles the Lord has worked in bringing the church forward in these days. I won't recount those here. His main point in doing it was, "seeing and believing the Lord’s miracles in establishing His kingdom on earth can help us see and believe that the Lord’s hand is at work in our own lives as well." That makes perfect sense to me. Perhaps it is Elder Anderson's use of logic in his talks that I understand. Heavenly Father doesn't need our help. He could bring the church to the Earth in a moment if He wanted. He lets us help so we can grow. I think of it like prayer: He knows what we need. He doesn't need to hear it from us, but prayer is a tool given to us for us, not for Him.
   Sometimes it's hard to see His hand in our lives. Maybe when those times come it is because we stop looking. I know if I look for Him, He's right there staring at me in my kids' health, in my marriage, in Kyle's job. His hand is all over my life and I am so grateful for it.

    Again, time for a quote, though in this case it is Elder Anderson quoting scripture. He says "Remember the young man who cried out to the prophet Elisha as they were surrounded by enemies: “Alas, [what] shall we do?” Elisha answered:
“Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
“[Then] Elisha prayed, … Lord, … open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord [did open] the eyes of the young man; and he [did see that] the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire.”"
   That is such a beautiful story to me. Really, it should be a cross stitched pillow somewhere. If we could see the way our Father's hand is in our life, we would be amazed, I think. Amazed and given a peace and an unearthly power to submit to the Lord.
   And all of this isn't even the point of the talk. This is just the part of the talk to spoke to me. The actual point is that the Second Coming is at hand and it is going to be glorious.