The Lord gives commandments we are expected to keep. But sometimes, like finding an eternal companion, or bearing children, those commandments go unmet—not because of rebellion, but because the opportunity simply hasn’t come. The desire is there; the timing just isn’t.
In my study today, John Bytheway brought two verses together that helped me understand this better.
Then in Doctrine and Covenants 124:49, the Lord explains, “When I give a commandment … and [my children] go with all their might … and their enemies come upon them and hinder them … it behooveth me to require that work no more … but to accept of their offerings.”
In 2 Nephi 5:16, Nephi says, “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land.” He wanted to build something beautiful, just like Solomon’s temple, but he didn’t have the same materials. Still, he did what he could with what he had.
Isn’t that beautiful? The Lord accepts our offerings when we do all we can, even if we can’t fully carry something out. He sees our hearts.
I’m so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows the difference between unwillingness and impossibility—and who blesses the desires of our hearts, even when we’re still waiting for the chance to act on them.
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