Editor’s note: We are grateful to Dan for sharing the following poem with us. As you can see, we welcome submissions from men as well as women!

~by Daniel M. Tucker

Dan writes: I have given “God’s Plan” on Father’s Day in our last ward congregation and it was published in our local paper.

Does God Have A Plan?

As I struggle through life while I am here on earth,
I wonder what happened before my birth.
It’s a thought that never struck me while I was a teen,
My body was hard and lean and mean.
“I will live forever” was the attitude I had,
Then I got married and became a dad.

The morning our first child was born, I’ll never forget;
When I held her, I thought, “Is this the first time we’ve met”
As she looked at me so helpless, I started to cry.
Where did she come from, and how, and why?

In some distance place did our spirits know each other?
Did I know my wife, my dad or my mother?
When we leave the womb is that when it all starts,
Or from a spiritual existence did we just depart?

Now I am a grandfather, time has slipped by;
But when a grandchild is born I still have to cry.
I am more convinced than ever; we are part of a plan
That is all controlled by God’s gentle hand.

I believe there is an existence before our birth.
We now live by faith while we sojourn on earth.
“A soul has a great worth,” we are told by God’s Son.
It doesn’t make sense if at death it’s all done.

So now I wonder, “What is it that makes me, me?”
I know I have a body that I can feel and see,
But my thoughts, my memories, the things that I try,
Is that my spirit, and do spirits ever die?

If there were a plan, it wouldn’t be complete
If our loved ones and Christ we again couldn’t meet.
So I’m not too worried when it comes time to die
Blessings are in store if I live right, and I try.

As I look all around, the thoughts I have now
Are that life just goes on, I don’t know when, why or how.
But when a great-grandchild is born after I die
Will I get to watch? Do I still get to cry?

By: Daniel M. Tucker

[email protected]

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To learn more about God’s plan for us, see the following:

Plan of Happiness— more about Mormon beliefs at Mormon.org

The Plan of Salvation — information and articles about God’s plan at lds.org

The Plan of Salvation— article at Why Mormonism? (unofficial site)

Plan of Happiness (“Who am I? Why am I here? What’s it all for?”) — Prezi presentation about God’s plan