"[The eternal law of foreordination] prevailed in the first as well as in the second estate. It should not disconcert us, therefore, that the Lord has indicated that before they came here He chose some individuals to carry out certain assignments in mortality, and that these individuals were foreordained or set apart to those assignments," wrote Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve in But for a Small Moment.
"Foreordination is like any other blessing -- it is a conditional bestowal subject to the recipient's faithfulness. Prophecies foreshadow events without determining the outcome, this being made possible by a divine foreseeing of outcomes. So foreordination is a conditional bestowal of a role, a responsibility, or a blessing which likewise foresees but does not fix the outcome."Elder Maxwell explained that the doctrine of foreordination pertains not only to prophets but also to "God's precise assessment beforehand as to each of those who will respond to the words of the Savior and the prophets. From the Savior's own lips came these words: 'I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.' (John 10:14.) Similarly He said, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.' (John 10:27.) Further, He declared, 'And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.' (D&C 29:7.)"
"This responsiveness could not be gauged without divine foreknowledge concerning all mortals and their response to the gospel -- a foreknowledge so perfect that it leaves the realm of prediction and enters the realm of prophecy.
"It does no violence even to our frail human logic to observe that there cannot be a grand plan of salvation for all mankind unless there is also a plan for each individual. The salvation sum will reflect all its parts.
"As part of His infinite foreknowledge, for example, the Lord will need to have perfect comprehension of all the military and political developments in the Middle East for all time. Some of these are unfolding only now, bringing to pass a latter-day condition in which Jerusalem, as Zechariah foretold, will be a 'cup of trembling,' a 'burdensome stone for all people.' 'All nations' will be gathered 'against Jerusalem to battle.' (Zech. 12:2-3; 14:2.)
"It should not surprise us that the Lord, who set bounds and habitations before the world was (see Acts 17:26; Deut. 32:8), would know centuries before the event how much money Judas would receive -- thirty pieces of silver -- at the time he betrayed the Savior. (See Matt. 26:15, Matt. 27:3; Zech. 11:12.)"