The Lord Has a Plan for Us!

As you continue to live as you are living, will the blessing promised in you patriarchal blessing be fulfilled?

We need to make decisions with the end in mind.
We need to be prepared for the challenges that will come. (Righteous lives often follow difficult paths.)
We need to share this vision with the people we love. (I needed to hear this one today.)

The last time I spoke at this pulpit, I was worried about my accent in English. Now, I am worried about the speed of my Portuguese. I do not want to speak more quickly than the subtitles.

He is probably a very rate example of someone who spoke in English when he had no options and then in his native language after they changed the policy. I wonder if the change came in party because there were general authorities who weren’t comfortable speaking in English.

In the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “Through years of serving the Lord … , I have learned that the difference between happiness and misery in individuals, in marriages, and families often comes down to an error of only a few degrees.”…

At the end of the 1980s, our young family was made up of my wife, Mônica, two of our four children, and me. We lived in São Paulo, Brazil, I worked for a good company, I had finished my university studies, and I had recently been released as bishop of the ward where we had lived. Life was good, and everything seemed to be as it should be—until one day an old friend came to visit us.

At the conclusion of his visit, he made a comment and asked a question that unsettled my convictions. He said, “Carlos, everything seems to be going well for you, your family, your career, and your service in the Church, but—” and then came the question, “if you continue to live as you are living, will the blessings promised in your patriarchal blessing be fulfilled?”

I had never thought about my patriarchal blessing in this way. I read it from time to time but never with the intent of looking toward the blessings promised in the future and evaluating how I was living in the present.

After his visit, I turned my attention to my patriarchal blessing, wondering, “If we continue to live as we are living, will the promised blessings be fulfilled?” After some pondering, I had the feeling that some changes were necessary, particularly in relation to my education and profession.

It was not a decision between what was right and wrong but between what was good and what was better, as Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught us when he said: “As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best.”

I think I’m going to do that with my patriarchal blessing.

We Need to Consider Our Options with the End in Mind

Making decisions that can impact our lives and those we love without having the broader vision of their consequences can bring some risks. However, if we project the possible consequences of these decisions into the future, we can see with greater clarity the best path to take in the present.

It is all too easy to make decisions based on current considerations only.

We Need to Be Prepared for the Challenges That Will Come

if we don’t prepare for the challenges we will be detailed in our path of obedience.

We Need to Share This Vision with the People We Love

I need to have a vision and then share it with my family.

I know that the Lord has a plan for us in this life. He knows us. He knows what is best for us. Just because things are going well does not mean that we should not from time to time consider whether there might be something better. If we continue to live as we are living, will the promised blessings be fulfilled?