Divine Purpose Amid Chaos

Hill Cumorah Monument

Standing on the Hill Cumorah I was dumbfounded thinking about the monumental and long-prophesied events of the restoration which occurred amid such unsettling and precarious events for those involved.  

Was not this the fulfillment of what Daniel saw in vision - that the gospel shall be as a stone cut out of the mountain without hands to roll forth and fill the whole earth?   Did not Isaiah, Nephi, and even the Savior himself, all foretell of this "marvelous work and a wonder" - which is an apt description for the appearance of God the Father and the Son, ministering angels, gold plates, restoration of priesthood authority, and many other marvelous revelations and manifestations?

So if all of this was prefigured and heralded hundreds of years before hand, why did it appear to come about under conditions which seem to deny divine intervention or any allusion that heaven was smiling down on the principle actors?  Joseph and Emma lost their first born son shortly after the translation of the first 116 pages of the Plates of Mormon.  The Smith family lost their farm during this time, prior to the Book of Mormon being published.  Joseph and Emma had a falling out with Emma's family and had to take shelter with the Whitmers whom they had never met.  It was with great difficulty that a publisher was finally found to publish the Book of Mormon, and Martin Harris lost his farm in the deal.

While the hand of the Lord can be seen, it would be a vast understatement to say that divine providence was definitely not manifest in a manner that removed all obstacles, worries, and inconveniences.  The much heralded restoration came about while those involved struggled economically and in most other areas of their lives.  It is strikingly reminiscent of the difficulties and inconveniences spoken of in the New Testament of a taxing journey while in the final stages of pregnancy, being required to give birth in a stable, and then having to flee for refuge to a foreign land. To Mary and Joseph it seemed like everything that could go wrong, went wrong. They had no one - no family, no friends, no one to assist them. Yet the star appeared the very night the Christ child was born. Think about that - how many centuries before had that star been placed in orbit to appear precisely the very night as prophesied! 

This is all to say that the most anticipated and divine events to ever transpire on earth appear to happen amid great turmoil; and particularly so for those involved.  It must have been very confusing to be part of something so marvelous and of divine importance, while their own lives seemed so unpredictable, frenzied, and even tragic.  Nevertheless, it is very evident that the divine purposes of God are fulfilled among incredible chaos and the thorny vicissitudes of life.

If this is the case for those most important and well prophesied earthly events, is there a possibility that something similar may occur in our own insignificant, convoluted, and muddled lives?  Could the turmoil and confusion caused by such things as: the death of a parent in the Spanish Influenza epidemic, loss of a farm during the great depression, a disabling stroke and related business loss, or even sexual abuse or Alzheimer's (to identify only a few of the unsettling and upsetting experiences of our family in the last hundred years); as well as minor inconveniences and unplanned detours, actually work to accomplish God's purpose in our own lives?

It appears naive to assume or believe if one is righteous that nothing bad will happen, or that the Lord will intervene in every situation so the righteous do not suffer. The divine pre-existence decree, "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" [Abraham 3:25] seems to indicate we will be tested in multifarious ways whether we are obedient and trusting of the Lord or not.


Therefore we should not be surprised or confused in the middle of the confusion.  We have ample evidence as indicated above that the Lord's purposes are brought about and accomplished amid what appears to be chaos, even in our own unassuming, topsy-turvey lives.