Is the Plan Working?

by kdm | Sep 3, 2022 | Today's Post

Is the Plan Working?
By Elder Adrián Ochoa

Of the Seventy

I testify that the plan of happiness works. It was created by your Heavenly Father, who loves you.

Is the plan working?

Recently I had a conversation with a young adult who served a mission several years ago and was now involved in his professional work. In some ways, his life was going well. But his faith was in decline. He was sinking into a sea of doubt about the Savior and His Church. He explained that he wasn’t receiving the blessings he expected from the restored gospel. He didn’t feel that the plan of happiness was working in his life.

My message today is for all those who might have similar feelings. I speak to those who at one time “felt to sing the song of redeeming love” but do not “feel so now.”1

Our Heavenly Father has prepared a wonderful plan for our eternal happiness. But when life does not unfold the way we hoped, it might seem that the plan is not working.

Perhaps we feel the way Jesus’s disciples felt when they were in a ship “in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.”2

Then, very early in the morning:

“Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

“And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, … and they cried out for fear.

“But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

“And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, … Lord, save me.

“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”3

Could I share with you three principles I learn from Peter? I pray that these principles might help anyone who feels that the plan of happiness isn’t working in their lives.

First, act in faith in Jesus Christ.

I am in awe of Peter’s faith. At Jesus’s simple invitation to “come,” he left his storm-tossed ship. He seemed to know that if Jesus Christ invited him to do something, he could do it.4 Peter trusted the Savior more than he trusted his boat. And that faith gave him power to act with courage during a stressful, frightening situation.

Peter’s faith reminds me of an experience that I heard from Elder José L. Alonso. Shortly after Elder Alonso’s son passed away, leaving a family with young children, Elder Alonso overheard the children talking.

“What are we going to do?” they asked.

A nine-year-old daughter answered, “Daddy is OK. He is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Like Peter, this little girl saw beyond her challenges and trusted in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Faith in the Savior brings peace and the strength to move forward.

If you look back on your life, I believe you will see that you have exercised faith many times. Joining the Church is an act of faith. Speaking with Heavenly Father in prayer is an act of faith. Reading the scriptures is an act of faith. Listening to my message in this general conference is an act of faith. As President Russell M. Nelson has said, “Do not minimize the faith you already have.”5