From C. Robert Line. . . . Helps us to understand Other Doctrines
“Time makes more converts than reason.” ~Thomas Paine
Some may argue that a concept such as God’s time is not particularly significant to our salvation and therefore not worthy of our time and attention. The fact remains, however, that God’s time is an element of scriptural truth reinforced repeatedly in all the standard works of the Church. So why is God making scriptural mention of His frame of time? Understanding the fact that God knows everything because he sees everything all at once can positively impact the way we understand other doctrines of the Gospel as well.
For instance, concerning the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon (see Doctrine and Covenants 3, 10), a perplexing question arises: How did the Lord know, centuries before, the necessity of having Nephi create a near-duplicate record that one day would replace (or restore) the 116 page manuscript that would become lost? Nephi didn’t know why he was including it, but the Lord did. The Lord knew what would happen. He knew that the 116 pages would be lost. Was there a possibility Joseph and Martin would not lose those pages? Not a chance, because the Lord was not predicting what would happen. It was not because he knew Martin and Joseph’s weaknesses so well but because of His perspective (His time). He saw the mistake already made and was thus able to provide the duplicate record. Thus it is that “the works, and the designs, and purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught. For God doth not walk in crocked, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary form that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and His course is one eternal round. Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men” (Doctrine & Covenants 3:1-3). Understanding God’s time can have a positive impact indeed on how we see and understand a variety of other doctrinal themes, including and especially those significant to our salvation. ~C. Robert Line, Understanding the Doctrine of God’s Time (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2015) p. 13-14
