Chances are when you hear the word cookie, something delicious and delectable comes to mind.
It may be your great-grandmother’s favorite recipe or that picture perfect pin on Pinterest. Whatever you imagined, there is a surprising lesson we can learn about God’s plan of happiness from something as simple as a cookie.
The Plan of Salvation
The Plan of Salvation, also known as the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Redemption, is the plan God has organized to bring us home to heaven and to make us more like him. It is centered on Jesus Christ. There are many parts of the plan, which help us understand where we lived before we came to Earth, what purpose there is to life, why following Christ is important, and what will happen after we die. At first, it can seem overwhelming. The questions we often think of when we consider the Plan of Salvation are often referred to as “questions of the soul.” They can touch the deepest yearnings and hopes of our hearts.
Cookie Recipes
The Plan of Salvation can become confusing when we lose perspective of the entire thing. We need to have all of the pieces to make sense of why there is a plan and how it can both save and exalt us. This is where we can learn a lot from our favorite cookies.
As any baker knows, perfecting a cookie recipe takes a lot of hard work. Each part of a cookie recipe is essential. If we were to eat salt or butter all by itself, it wouldn’t taste very good. Looking at the ingredients individually, we may ask, “Why would you put something like salt in a cookie?” However, a little bit of research reveals salt actually intensifies our ability to taste sweetness found in sugar or chocolate.
Something Delicious
When we put both a cookie recipe and our lives in the proper context, we realize we are making something delicious! Parts of the Plan of Salvation might not make sense at first glance. When we look at some of the pieces, such as trials or even death, we may not understand why we need them. As we study the Plan of Salvation as a whole, especially with a view of the end goal, we begin to understand why each part is necessary. God has something beautiful and wonderful in store for us if we follow the recipe he has given us.
Sometimes mishaps happen. We get impatient. Through our own decisions or the decision of others, we can find ourselves burned to a crisp or feeling flavorless. Yet there is an endless supply of opportunity provided by Jesus Christ so we can keep trying and keep going. God has promised there is something beautiful and wonderful in store for us if we follow the recipe he has provided.
Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. She now works full time as a marketing and product manager, writer, and editor. She currently hosts the podcast “Single to the Glory” about singlehood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aleah served a mission in California and loves baking, Lang Leav poetry, Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, and Bollywood movies.
