“Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It”
John 2:1–11
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Elder L. Whitney Clayton said:
“The Savior performed His first recorded miracle at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Mary, His mother, and His disciples were there as well. Mary apparently felt some responsibility for the success of the feast. During the celebration, a problem arose—the wedding hosts ran out of wine. Mary was concerned and went to Jesus. They spoke briefly; then Mary turned to the servants and said:
“‘Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
“‘And there were set there six waterpots of stone. . . . [These waterpots weren’t used to store drinking water but were used for ceremonial washings under the law of Moses.]
“‘Jesus saith unto [the servants], Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
“‘And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
“‘[Then] the ruler of the feast . . . tasted the water that was made wine’ and expressed surprise that the best wine was served so late in the feast [John 2:5–9; see also John 2:10].
“We usually remember this event because transforming water to wine was a demonstration of the power of God—it was a miracle. That is an important message, but there is another important message in John’s account. Mary was ‘a precious and chosen vessel’ [Alma 7:10], called by God to give birth to, nurture, and raise the very Son of God. She knew more about Him than anyone else on earth. She knew the truth of His miraculous birth. She knew that He was sinless and that He ‘spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him’ [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 3:25 (in the Bible appendix)]. Mary knew of His extraordinary capacity to solve problems, including one as personal as providing wine for a wedding feast. She had unshakable confidence in Him and in His divine power. Her simple, straightforward instruction to the servants had no caveats, no qualifications, no limitations: ‘Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.’ . . .
. . . “We must fill our own waterpots up to the brim. When we trust and follow [Jesus Christ], our lives, like water to wine, are transformed. We become something more and better than we ever otherwise could be. Trust in the Lord, and ‘whatsoever he saith unto you, do it’ [John 2:5].”
(“Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 97, 99.)
