But If Not
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 46, “There Is No Other God That Can Deliver,” on Gospel Library
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Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden statue about ninety feet tall and commanded everyone to bow down to it when the music played (Daniel 3:1–5).
Read Together
Anyone who refused would be thrown into “a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:6). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused, and the king gave them one more chance (Daniel 3:13–15).
17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
What It Teaches
The king asked, “Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (verse 15). The three men answered that their God was able to deliver them and would. “But if not,” they added, they still would not bow (verses 17 and 18). They would obey God even if he did not save them from the fire.
Elder Dennis E. Simmons gave a talk named for their answer. “Faith is total trust in Him. Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not.”
Elder Dennis E. Simmons, “But If Not …,” General conference, April 2004
The king heated the furnace seven times hotter, and the fire killed the soldiers who threw the men in (verses 19 to 22). Then the king saw four men “walking in the midst of the fire,” and “the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (verse 25). The Lord let them go into the furnace, and he sent his angel to be with them there (verse 28).
They came out without even the smell of fire on them (verse 27). The king who had threatened them said, “There is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (verse 29).
Talk About It
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego decided what they would do before they knew how it would end. What would a “but if not” sound like in our family?
Take to Church
The three friends said God would deliver them, “but if not,” they would still obey. The Lord sent his angel to be with them in the fire, and he is with us in ours.