Mysteries

Alma 40:3&5

"...nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them save God himself."

"...it mattereth not; for God knoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case."

This chapter of Alma is packed with wonderful doctrine about the state of spirits after we die and before the resurrection, but I think that this snippet of the third and fifth verses is just as profound if not moreso.  Many people often get caught up in trying to know everything there is to know such as: Where precisely is Kolob? How old is the earth? and other questions of that nature.  What Alma is saying here is that, while he does reveal the answer to such a wonderful mystery in chapter 40, there are other mysteries about the true nature of things that man does not know, but God does. 

For a long time throughout the history of this world, there were even more mysteries that had not been revealed until recent times.  Mysteries that Alma, Nephi, Moses, and other prophets possibly did not fully understand (though, we do not know what the Lord revealed to them with the understanding that they would keep it sacred and private).  As the world needed answers and as His church grew, those answers were given through revelation to prophets (Amos 3:7).  Thankfully the Lord continues to give revelation to his followers (Hebrews 13:8) so that we can have the fullness of the gospel and that we can understand those things which we need to understand.

This brings me back to my original thought, that we understand only that which we need to understand.  We do not need to understand precisely how old the earth is in order to receive salvation and exaltation, so why should we worry about it?  The Lord has revealed unto man that which He has chosen to reveal, and we should be satisfied with that.  I personally am thankful for that which He has revealed unto us throughout the course of time, and especially over the past 180 years.  My faith has made me happier than I could have ever imagined, and I pray that I can prevent myself from worrying about trivial matters that have no bearing on my current existence.  I understand that God does know all things, that that is sufficient for me.