'It is not how far along the path we are, but in which direction we are moving.'
When I was about 17 or 18 I was being prepared for a mission. It was an intense time in my life, a time of great change. I had been raised in a red neck family and had a lot of shortcomings, and was definitely not worthy of being a missionary for the Lord. And that bothered me. I did not want to go on a mission and give the Lord a bad name. I wanted to help, but I felt completely unworthy and completely incapable of being of any use to the Lord.
How could a guy who had done the things that I had done, ever have the Spirit enough to bring anyone to the Lord? It was a question that plagued me.
On one hand, I was begging the Lord to allow me to be of service somehow, then on the other, I knew that there were so many others who were far more worthy than me to go on missions. My heart was torn. I didn’t want to go, because I didn’t want to ruin the Lord’s work. As soon as people saw me and where I had come from, they wouldn’t want anything to do with God. Others were far more worthy than I, and I knew it. But even though they were worthy, so many of them wouldn’t go. And I begged the Lord to let me go, not because I was worthy, but because I was willing. My heart was broken because of my sins and transgressions, and I was willing to do anything the Lord required. I begged for Him to accept me.
Then I felt it; the undeniable presence of the Holy Ghost, which filled me and brought so much peace for my soul. I was accepted of the Lord.
Of course, that wasn’t enough for my brain, which reasoned; How can this be possible? How can I be accepted when I have done so many bad things? Perhaps being filled with the Holy Ghost was just a delusion of an unbalanced mind? Why would I be acceptable?
And the thought came to mind; ‘It is not how far along the path you are, but in which direction you are moving that makes a person acceptable.’
This was not just a random thought, because so much more was given with it, and of course being filled with the Spirit which showed how it all fit together. It was a totally new perspective for me, a new way to view God. He was really a loving Father, who has so much compassion for His children, as to pass all comprehension.
Oh, how I wish I could explain in words, the truth of who God actually is, of how He actually feels about us, but I am so inadequate in that area. Are there any words that can describe His feelings? Is it possible that a mortal tongue can do justice to a being beyond all description? I wonder if this was one of the reasons that the old prophets said things like, “no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard”, because there really is no way to describe the things of God.
In D&C 76:116, the prophet relates, “Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him;”
What a glorious thought! That we can purify ourselves, progress and move toward God, and He will show us who He truly is, who we truly are, and that we are acceptable to Him if we are moving toward Him.
'It is not how far along the path we are, but in which direction we are moving.'
So let’s move toward Him, the only true God, and His Son, Jesus the Christ!
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