To the casual observer, World History may seem like chaotic incidents: no thread, no system, no line of connection running through it. Kingdoms rise on the stage one after another and become great and powerful, then pass away and are forgotten. Changes swirl within and between countries seemingly without order or purpose. Yet all is not chaos. God is a God of order and the LDS student must be taught to keep his eye devoutly fixed on the hand of God. Bruce R. McConkie said, “From the beginning to now, the real history of the world has either been lost or so twisted and perverted that our present knowledge falls far short of the real truth about past events. When the real history of the world is written – as it will be by the spirit of inspiration – it will show God’s dealings with men, the place the gospel has played in the rise and fall of nations, and how eras of darkness and degeneration have resulted from apostasy from the way of the Lord.” In this lecture, we will ask and answer the question each LDS student of history should ask – What If? What if Charles Martell had not defeated the conquering Moors? What if Joan of Arc had not triumphed in France? What if the Spanish Armada had not been defeated? What if Luther had faltered at the Diet of Worms? What if Henry the VIII had not broken from the Catholic Church? By examining the importance of each of these and other incidents and answering “what if the outcome had been different,” one answer will be concluded. When great nations unexpectedly fall and victory is achieved by the most unlikely of heroes, we must recognize the hand of God in history. When LDS history students search out and recognize His hand in history, they not only see the plan for nations, kingdoms and civilizations but they also recognize that they, too, are a part of God’s plan.
