The Omniscience of God

The Omniscience of God

God … knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows, 2 Ne. 9:20 (Morm. 8:17; D&C 127:2).

I know all their works, 2 Ne. 27:27.

Lord knoweth all things which are to come, W of M 1:7.

Spirit knoweth all things, Alma 7:13.

he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart, Alma 18:32 (D&C 6:16).

God knoweth all the times which are appointed unto man, Alma 40:10.

except he was a god he could not know of all things, Hel. 9:41.

I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John … desired, 3 Ne. 28:6.

Lord … showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth, Ether 3:25.

God knowing all things, being from everlasting, Moro. 7:22.

I have told you things which no man knoweth, D&C 6:24 (15:3).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well. (That My Family Should Partake, p. 86)

This is a stunning thing for us to contemplate in all seasons! His planning and precision pertain not only to astrophysical orbits but to human orbits as well…. Therefore, what about our individualized orbits and schedules? Do we appear on the scene on time, and “shine as lights in the world” as the Apostle Paul urged? (Philippians 2:15). YES, there is a personalized plan for each of us. Like the Christmas star, each of us, if faithful, has an ordained orbit, a prescribed path, as we pass through this second estate. (The Christmas Scene, Deseret Book, p.3)

There cannot be a grand plan of salvation for all mankind, unless there is also a plan for each individual. The salvational sum will reflect all its parts. (Ensign, Feb. 1979, 69)

President Henry B. Eyring

Part of the tragedy you must avoid is to discover too late that you missed an opportunity to prepare for a future only God could see for you. The chance to learn another language is for me a painful example. My father was born in Mexico. He grew up speaking Spanish as his first language. I lived in his home for more than 20 years. Sadly, I never asked him to teach me a word of Spanish. Now I am the first contact in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the Church in Mexico, in Central America, and in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It was no accident that I was born into a home with a Spanish-speaking father.

But there was another opportunity. My father was a great teacher. He was a chemist. He even kept a blackboard in our basement for his children. He was eager to teach me mathematics. He spent hours trying to help me solve problems for my physics classes. He pled with me to think more often about those things that then seemed so uninteresting and so unimportant. Years later I was called by the Lord to the Presiding Bishopric of the Church and given responsibilities for computing and communications systems. What a blessing I might have had by taking the counsel I give you now.

Your life is carefully watched over, as was mine. The Lord knows both what He will need you to do and what you will need to know. He is kind and He is all-knowing. So you can with confidence expect that He has prepared opportunities for you to learn in preparation for the service you will give. You will not recognize those opportunities perfectly, as I did not. But when you put the spiritual things first in your life, you will be blessed to feel directed toward certain learning, and you will be motivated to work harder. You will recognize later that your power to serve was increased, and you will be grateful. (Ensign, Oct. 2002, 14)

Elder Richard G. Scott

The Lord has placed currents of divine influence in your life that will lead you along the individual plan He would have you fulfill here on earth. Seek through the Spirit to identify it and carefully follow that direction that the Lord has put in your life. Align yourself with it. Choose, willingly, to exercise your agency to follow it. Do not be overcome by concentrating solely on today, its challenges, difficulties, and opportunities. Such preoccupations must not totally capture your 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 now is a part of a much bigger plan the Lord has for you. You lived part of it in the premortal existence. You were valiant there and came here because you wanted to grow and enjoy greater happiness. What you decide to do now will affect how well you fulfill that divine, personal plan He has for you. (Ensign, Nov. 1999, 87)

Elder LeGrand Richards

When I was eight, my father, who had just recently been ordained a patriarch, gave me my blessing. Among other things, he said that I had not come here upon earth by chance, but in fulfillment of the decrees of the Almighty to accomplish a great work, and then he defined that. All my life, I have prayed that if I didn’t come by chance, that the Lord would help me to accomplish what He sent me to do, so that when my mission here on earth was completed, he wouldn’t have to say to me: “This is what we sent you to do, but you failed and we had to raise up someone else to do your work for you.”

True success to me is to accomplish the purpose for which the Lord sent me upon the earth. (in Olpin, Quiet Success Thoughts, Part 1)

William Law (18th Century English Clergyman)

If it is said the very hairs of your head are all numbered, is it not to teach us that nothing, not the smallest things imaginable, happen to us by chance? But if the smallest things we can conceive are declared to be under the divine direction, need we, or can we, be more plainly taught that the greatest things of life, such as the manner of our coming into the world, our parents, the time, and other circumstances of our birth and condition, are all according to the eternal purposes, direction, and appointment of Divine Providence?” (A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Sovereign Grace, 1971], p. 148; also in Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, p.67)