City Council

Today in our High Priests’ Group meeting we talked about something that happened here in South Texas recently. For the past several months the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been trying to purchase property in Mission to build a new meeting house for Mission 2 and Mission 3 Wards. They found a five acre lot that was suitable for our needs and had decided to buy it if it could be re-zoned by the city zoning commission for use as a business (evidently the commission considers a church a business).

This normally would not have been difficult, but the land was on the corner of an intersection, and the families that lived on the other three corners objected to having a church built there. They said their objections were not because it was a Mormon Church; they simply preferred that no type of business or church was erected there.

The Stake Presidency requested that as many members as possible attend the meeting of the City Council at which a decision would be made concerning the re-zoning of the property. I had to work during the time the meeting was held, so my wife and I did not attend; however, about seventy members of the Church did attend. A number of people spoke to voice their objections to the re-zoning. Three people spoke in favor of the re-zoning. Brother Brunson, a member of our Ward, was one of the speakers. During his presentation he spoke about the fact that Mormons are a Christian people and that we try to live according to our beliefs. He told those that were there that we do not smoke or drink and that we are an honest people.

Now, you are probably thinking that after all that, and with the Lord on our side, the Council voted unanimously to approve the re-zoning. Well, they did not. The vote was 3-2 in our favor, but because there was so much opposition, it had been decided beforehand that it would take a 4-1 vote to pass. We lost by one vote.

So does that mean that we wasted our time? Does that mean that the person that made the decision to purchase the property was not inspired? Did the Holy Ghost make a mistake in selecting that property? I don’t think so.

I don’t have all the answers, but I know that if there had been no opposition, and the City Council would have simply approved the re-zoning, a large number of Church members in Mission, Texas might not have taken the time and made the effort to attend a City Council meeting. Brother Brunson would not have had the opportunity to stand before the community and tell people who we (the Mormons) are. I was told that even though the re-zoning was not approved, many non-members that attended the meeting were very impressed by the way we presented our case and by the way our people conducted themselves.

I am sure that all of this has had a positive effect on those that attended, both members and non-members. I believe it is possible that the results were much more positive than negative. We lost a place to build a meeting house; we will find another place. Most of the people that attended that meeting now have a better understanding of who we are and what we believe. That is certainly more important than a piece of property.

The Holy Ghost does not make mistakes. As a member of the Godhead, He works under the direction of Heavenly Father, and Heavenly Father knows everything that is going to happen before it happens. Heavenly Father knew how this experience would turn out, but He also knew it would be for the best.

Heavenly Father knows everything about each of His children (see 2 Nephi 2:24). From the time we were conceived as His spirit children, He has known every single thing that we would do and every single thing that would happen to us, in the Spirit World and in mortality. Before any of us are born into mortality, He knows whether or not we will return to His presence in the Celestial Kingdom or end up in the Terrestrial or Telestial Kingdom.

So, a fair question to ask is: If He already knows what is going to happen to us, why make us go through this mortal existence? And, of course, the answer is: Because we don’t know. If Heavenly Father, in His infinite wisdom, simply decided where each of us is to spend eternity, without having the opportunity to prove ourselves in this life, all those that are sent to the Terrestrial or Telestial Kingdoms would have a valid complaint: “I didn’t get my chance.”

But since we do have to go through this mortal existence, each of has the opportunity to use our agency. Some will make wise decisions that will lead to Eternal Life. Others will make unwise decisions that will lead to something other than Eternal Life (see 2 Nephi 2:25-29). But when each of us goes before the bar of justice, we will come away knowing that our judgment, whatever the result, is just. We will know that we have decided our own eternal status. This is in accordance with Heavenly Father’s plan for our happiness.