Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased) from his book ‘Finding Peace, Joy, and Happiness shared from Chapter nine under the above title:
One of the great purposes of mortality is to obtain an understanding of the Lord’s specific plan for your own life. He has placed currents of divine influence in your life that will lead you along the plan He would have you fulfill here on earth. In October 1974 Semiannual General conference, President Spencer W. Kimball gave a message that has repeatedly blessed my life. He spoke of how icebergs are quietly moved through the ocean by currents that guide them. He taught that we are more like ships than icebergs, for we have our own motive power and a rudder to give us advantage. He said:
“The icebergs spanded by the Greenland ice sheet follow a highly predictable course. As the silent Labrador Current ceaselessly moves to the south through Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, it takes with it these mountainous icebergs, even against the force of the winds and the waves and the tides. Currents have much more power to control its course than the surface winds. . . .
“Youth . . . are subjected to so many swirling winds that we sometimes wonder if they can survive. The winds of fashion push those about who are insecure and who require the feeling that they are in step with the crowd. The winds of sexual temptation drive some to . . . dash bright prospects or to degrade themselves. Bad companions, addicting drugs, the arrogance of profanity,the slough of pornography—all these and more act as influences pushing us, if we are not being carried forward by a strong, steady current toward the righteous life.”1
I have come to know that there are currents of divine influence in our life that will lead each of us along the individual plan the Lord would have us follow while on earth. They are identified to us through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Seek through that Spirit to identify that plan and carefully follow the direction the Lord will provide. It will come through answers to prayers and pondering on counsel of others who are worthy. Align yourself with it. Choose, willingly, to exercise your agency to follow it. Do not be overcome by concentrating solely on today, it challenges, difficulties, and opportunities. Those things are relatively insignificant surface winds and waves of today. Such preoccupations must not totally capture your interest and attention so as to consume your life.
Oh, how I would encourage you to weave deeply into the fabric of your soul the recognition that your life is now a part of a much bigger plan the Lord has for you. You lived part of it in premortality. You were valiant there and came here because you wanted to grow more and enjoy greater happiness. What you decide to do now will affect how that divine plan He has for you is fulfilled. More than that, your decisions today can powerfully affect your children and grandchildren. If you are not married, think carefully about the preparation of the parents of your own children. Of course I mean you and the eternal companion you will be or have been sealed to in the temple.
The more closely you follow the current of divine guidance, the greater will be your happiness here and for eternity. . . . (continued with Divine Currents II.
Elder Richard G.Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007), 107-09
