Elder Kyle S. McKay or the Seventy said in April 2019 conference: . . . “my message today is that, even while we are patiently waiting upon the Lord, there are certain blessings that come to us immediately.
When Alma and his people were captured by the Lamanites, they prayed for deliverance. They were not immediately delivered, but while they patiently waited for deliverance, the Lord showed forth His goodness with certain immediate blessings. He immediately softened the hearts of the Lamanites so they wouldn’t slay them. He also strengthened Alma’s people and eased their burdens.2 When they finally were delivered, they traveled to Zarahemla, where they recounted their experience to an amazed audience. The people of Zarahemla marveled, and “when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of … bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.”3
The immediate goodness of God comes to all who call upon Him with real intent and full purpose of heart. This includes those who cry out in earnest desperation, when deliverance seems so distant and suffering seems prolonged, even intensified.
So it was with a young prophet who suffered to the brink in the dank of a dungeon before finally crying out: “O God, where art thou? … How long shall thy hand be stayed … ? Yea, O Lord, how long … ?”4 In response, the Lord did not immediately deliver Joseph, but He did immediately pronounce peace.5
God also gives immediate hope for eventual deliverance.6 No matter what, no matter where, in Christ and through Christ there is always hope smiling brightly before us.7 Immediately before us.
Moreover, He has promised, “My kindness shall not depart from thee.”8
Above all, God’s love is immediate. With Paul, I testify that nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.”9 Even our sins, though they may separate us from His Spirit for a time, cannot separate us from the constancy and immediacy of His divine paternal love.
These are some of the ways and means by which “he doth immediately bless [us].”10 Now, to bring these principles current and close, I share with you the experiences of two people whose lives stand as testaments of the immediate goodness of God.”
To appreciate the rest of this wonderful talk and a couple of examples Elder McKay shares, click. . .‘The Immediate Goodness of God’ and scroll down to foot note 10. . . start with the next paragraph.
