I have loved reading the Doctrine and Covenants this year so far. And even though we're only a couple of weeks in, I have seen Joseph Smith in a new light.
But, before I go on, I must say, you MUST read The Saints vol. 1. And then you MUST read The Saints vol. 2.
Okay, now that I've thrown that out there, let's get on with the reason for my post, shall we?
As I said, I have loved seeing Joseph Smith in a new light. As in, seeing him as a normal kid, who, at a young age, had an infection spread to his leg that settled in his bone. Back then, pain medication was limited, but before he even knew about the Word of Wisdom, he refused to drink any alcohol for pain management, because it didn't feel right to him. Wow.
Joseph spent the following years of his life searching for a church to not only join, but more importantly, to help him to repent for his sins and find forgiveness from God. His family joined churches, but Joseph just couldn't really commit to any one organization. Finally, after what we know to be a very diligent searching of the scriptures, James 1:5 in the New Testament jumps out at him, and it settles into his young heart as being important.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him."
So, in today's terms the scripture basically reads, "Hey, if you sincerely and faithfully have a question for God, ask Him, and He won't deny you an answer."
So, Joseph, at 14 years of age, finds a quiet spot in a grove of trees near where he lives (I also love how President Nelson points out that Joseph knew where to go to pray, because he followed the example of his mother, Lucy, and went where she would go to pray. Very cool).
Joseph kneels down, and as he begins to pray, he is first seized upon by the powers of the devil, and just as he is about to feel like he is to be destroyed by this power, he manages to pray to God to save Him, and that is JUST. WHAT. HAPPENS!
Heavenly Father AND Jesus Christ appear, and answer the prayer that Joseph Smith was giving. A lot of people just think of this experience as something super cool and amazing, and they say, 'yeah, yeah, yeah, Joseph then asked what church to join and Jesus tells him to join none of them, and that they're all wrong, blah blah blah.'
Well, that is not all that happened! And there is SO much more that goes into this amazing event!
First of all, Heavenly Father calls Joseph by his first name, which, let's pause here for a second and let that settle in. Can you imagine? Hearing God call YOU by your first name? SO COOL!! And a real testament to the fact that He really does know the individual! He knows EACH and EVERY one of us!
Second of all, let's clarify why Joseph Smith was there in the grove in the first place. He was there to find forgiveness of his sins through repentance, by finding the church that could lead him in the right direction. He needed the right authority to do this, correct? So, WHO suffered for our sins? Why, Jesus, of course! And who has the power to forgive us? Uh, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ...and that's EXACTLY who appears in the Sacred Grove! The priesthood of God wasn't on the earth at that moment; there was literally no one BUT Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that could authorize forgiveness of young Joseph's sins, and THEY CAME FOR HIM!
That's a LOT to take in, I know, so when you're ready to read on, I'll wait for you on the next line below...
Hi! Ready for the other realizations that I've had about Joseph Smith?
What else happened during the First Vision? Jesus does tell Joseph Smith that he should not join any of the current churches of the time, for they were 'wrong', but let's read in Joseph's own words as to why they were wrong...
"...they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
Now, I am not going to go into what we already have heard, or talked about or know about the Apostasy or the people or the churches that were popular at that time. What I want to point out is that in joining none of the current sects on the earth at the time, Joseph Smith was being tutored by Jesus Christ, to ready himself to restore the Lord's church on the earth...
But Joseph didn't know that yet.
This teaches me that even though Joseph saw and spoke with both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, he wasn't told right then, all that would happen to him in the future. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ obviously knew that Joseph:
A) Would be the first prophet of Lord's church of the latter days
and
B) He would restore the original church of Christ to the earth in the latter days, and all that in included in that overwhelming task.
And Joseph didn't know this yet, because to be fair, that was probably a lot for a 14 year old boy to handle.
That teaches me that the Lord tells me what I can handle, but at the same time, prepares and encourages me to receive more. Have you ever had an experience where you're receiving so much inspiration you don't know if you can take it all in? I have, only a few times in my life, and I liken it to holding a cup in front of an open fire hydrant. All of that powerful water is hitting that cup so fast, hardly any of the water can stay in the cup. That's my mind. The cup. With a few droplets of inspiration that hang in there after being inundated with spiritual blasts of water. I'm glad Heavenly Father doesn't let us bite off more than we can chew. Seriously.
***Sorry...back to Joseph***
Three years later, now that the boy Joseph Smith is 17 years old, he's visited by another heavenly messenger...Moroni, the very prophet that safeguarded the golden plates, which would later be translated by Joseph Smith, and become "The Book of Mormon".
Joseph Smith didn't know about all of this, though. Not all of it, anyway. He was told about the plates, where they were, and the cautions and other instructions that were given him. He went to the hill Cumorah to see the plates as he was instructed, and there, he was told by Moroni that he would have to go back and forth over a period of four years, until the Lord would allow Joseph remove the plates from the hill. This was another period of testing and tutoring for Joseph. I am not sure as to what exactly he was instructed and taught during those four years, but that will maybe be in another post of mine later on.
I love that the Lord allowed Joseph to have these visits with Moroni for those years. Think of the conversations! Think of what he learned from an ancient prophet! If I were Joseph, I would have asked Moroni all about his people, and how their ancient civilization lived. Or maybe I realistically would have stood there dumbfounded every time Moroni would appear, and struggle to think of what to say. Hmm..that actually sounds more like me. Awkward around an angel. Yep. Definitely me.
Okay, I'm almost done.
The last thing that I wanted to point out, is something that really struck home to me at a very tender time. As some of you know, my amazing father-in-law is terminally ill with cancer. All treatments haven't worked, and his time on this earth is short.
As I was reading Doctrine and Covenants section two where Moroni shares with Joseph Smith that 'the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord' would come again to the earth (meaning that the sealing power, the ability to link families together forever, would one day be restored to the earth again), warmed my heart.
This is an amazing declaration and promise that was given to Joseph Smith! That soon, the power to bind families together forever was going to be a reality! What's my amazing realization regarding this, is that just two months after Joseph Smith receives this revelation, his oldest brother Alvin, dies.
Why would the Lord (through Moroni), tell Joseph Smith about the restoration of the sealing power of the priesthood, BEFORE Joseph even translates The Book of Mormon, or receives the Aaronic Priesthood and gets baptized OR even restores the church?
I am sure there are many reasons that I do not know, for I am not God. But I do know one; Heavenly Father knew that the Smith family was going to lose Alvin, and He wanted them to know that there was a way for them to see Alvin again after this life. He wanted them to have hope.
Isn't that beautiful? Amazing? Wonderful?
We all go through hard things in life; but as I look back on the days before we found out about my father-in-law's diagnosis, there were some pretty amazing things that I see now were ways to prepare us for the future. My father-in-law was able to spend three amazing weeks with my girls. We were able to have some pretty awesome talks. And after he was diagnosed, my husband was able to go and spend an entire month with him. Even now, our conversations with him have deeper meaning; I learned that he and I have the same favorite number, and that he always wanted to become a lawyer, which is what he did as his profession. Though we may lose him here, we won't lose him forever. We have hope in that.
The Lord is SO good. He prepares us for hard things, to help us go through harder things, etc. And everything is easier, if we go through those hard things WITH Him.
In retrospect, I can see two versions of Joseph Smith's life; the worldly version, where he struggled, never really blossomed financially, and faced one disappointment, death, setback, persecution, betrayal after another.
OR, there's the other version. He chose God. He chose to go through his 38 years of life with the Lord. He chose to hope.
Because of him, I can read and learn and study the written words of prophets in the Book of Mormon. I can attend the Lord's true church, and participate in life saving ordinances found in the Lord's holy temple. I can be with my family forever.
So what can I learn from Joseph Smith? I can choose God. I can choose to see that path, and follow it, no matter where it takes me. And I know that the Lord has prepared me for what is to come.
I can hope.
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