Brothers and sisters, today I’ve been
assigned the topic of speaking on the Prophet Joseph Smith and on Section 135
of the Doctrine and Covenants.
In verse 3 of that section, then-Elder
John Taylor writes: “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus
only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever
lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book
of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the
means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it
contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations
and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many
other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men;
gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and
left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in
the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient
times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum.
In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!”
I suppose if the 500+ members of this ward
were each asked to give a talk on this same topic, we’d get 500+ different
talks. That is one of the beauties of belonging to ward like this, with such a
variety of experiences. And while my personal knowledge of the “salvation of
men in this world” may be somewhat limited, I have felt today to speak on both
what the Prophet Joseph has done for my salvation and my family’s, which I can
speak to. To this end, I have come up with a list of five of the important
lessons he has taught me.
First,
I want to speak about Joseph’s First Vision, knowledge of which is vital to our
testimonies of the restored gospel. I want to tell you my Mom’s story hearing
it for the first time. (It turns out that if you do some chores for her and
offer to take her out to lunch, she’ll do favors for you like retelling stories
like these.)
It was a spring day in March 1960 when two
missionaries serving in the small town of Birtley, England, found my Mom’s family.
Mom’s grandmother, my great-grandmother Graham, had been converted to the
gospel in the late 19th century, and though my grandmother had been
raised in the Church, she married a man who was uninterested in the gospel. And
so, Mom and her siblings were raised without ever hearing the words Mormons or Joseph Smith. The missionaries visited because Grandma Attey’s name
was on the membership rolls. She made an appointment for them to return the
next night while Grandpa Attey was out drinking at the pub following a long day
working in the coal mines, thinking that the elders would be perhaps become
discouraged in the effort and maybe would leave the family alone.
The missionaries, Elder Dent and Elder
Nielsen, taught Mom and her sister, Honour, the First Discussion. Elder
Nielsen, a Utah boy who had been out in the mission field for only three weeks,
nervously and humbly told the girls about Joseph Smith, who claimed to have
received a vision in which he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and, through
them, was given a divine calling as a prophet. Mom later told me there was a
visible glow about the young missionary as he spoke and that she “knew right
away that it was true.” She heard a voice telling her it was all true.
At the time, Mom was studying William
Wordsworth’s “Ode to Intimations of Immortality” in school, and when the
missionaries told her about the Plan of Salvation, it was like she knew it
already. By the third discussion, her mother had already told her about the
Word of Wisdom, and she had given up drinking tea. Mom was baptized April 30,
1960, at age 16.
My Aunt Honour, as I mentioned, also
listened to the story of the First Vision and knew it was true, but at the time
she was dating the man who would become her husband, and he was against it. My
Uncle Bill, like my mom, also listened to all six discussions, and the
missionaries told her that he was a “golden investigator”; it was if he had
studied all of the discussions before and knew all of the answers, but his wife
was, likewise, against it. Neither would join the Church in this lifetime,
though Aunt Honour tried attending years later after her divorce, and unfortunately
she was treated poorly by some of the members who noticed she smelled of smoke;
smoking was a habit she tried to quit for many years.
It skipped a generation, but Joseph
Smith’s First Vision twice brought my mom’s side of the family into the Church.
I am also here because, likewise, a great-great-grandfather on my father’s side
heard the story of Joseph Smith in Denmark in the 1860s, and he and his family
left their homeland behind to immigrate to Utah in the days of the Perpetual
Emigration Fund.
As for my own experiences sharing the story
of Joseph’s First Vision in Peru: I don’t know if a light ever shone around me,
but I loved teaching people about it more than any other principle of the
restored gospel, helping them to recognize that they were feeling the Spirit in
the process.
The second
thing I learn from Joseph Smith is that God will answer our questions. So much
of his work “for the salvation of men in this world” that Elder Taylor praises
about Joseph in D&C 135 came about as a result of Joseph asking additional
questions besides the one that brought on the First Vision. And by receiving
answers, he acted on them with boldness and faith. He never stopped asking
questions!
The restoration of the priesthood, for
example, came about because Joseph and Oliver Cowdery read some things in the
translation process that caused them to have questions. They prayed and were
subsequently visited by John the Baptist and, later, Peter, James, and John.
The revelation on the Word of Wisdom, to give another example, came about
because Emma was tired of cleaning up tobacco stains as a result of the
brethren’s use of the product at Church meetings.
At
the April 2008 general conference, Elder David A. Bednar taught: "Joseph's questions focused not just on what he needed to know but also on what was to be done! His prayer was not simply, 'Which church is right?' His question was, 'Which church should I join?' Joseph went to the grove to ask in faith, and he was determined to act."
Elder
M. Russell Ballard also taught: “There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking
questions or investigating our history, doctrine, and practices. The Restoration
began when Joseph Smith sought an answer to a sincere question. . . . Although
we may not be able to answer every question about the cosmos—or about our
history, practices, or doctrine—we can provide many answers to those who are
sincere. When we don’t know the answer, we can search to find answers
together—a shared search that may bring us closer to each other and closer to
God. Of course, we may not always find satisfying answers to our questions. At
such times, it’s good to remember that there is still a place in religion for
faith. Sometimes we can learn and study and know; sometimes we have to believe
and trust and hope.”
Third:
Joseph’s life teaches us that even prophets are not perfect and sometimes make
mistakes.
In
the October 2014 general conference, Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy said:
“At
the youthful age of 22, even Joseph Smith forgot which way he faced when he
repeatedly importuned the Lord to allow Martin Harris to borrow the 116
manuscript pages. Perhaps Joseph wanted to show gratitude to Martin for his
support. We know that Joseph was extremely anxious for other eyewitnesses to
stand with him against the distressing falsehoods and lies being spread about
him.
“Whatever
Joseph’s reasons were, or as justified as they may appear, the Lord did not
excuse them and sharply rebuked him: ‘How oft you have transgressed . . . and
have gone on in the persuasions of men. For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God’ (D&C 3:6–7). This poignant
experience helped Joseph remember, forever after, which way he faced.”
Elder
Bednar shared: “Some people find the human limitations and shortcomings of the
Brethren troubling and faith diminishing. For me, those weaknesses are faith
promoting. The Lord’s revealed pattern of governance in His Church provides for
and attenuates the impact of human frailty. It is truly miraculous to me to
witness the Lord accomplishing His will through His servants despite the flaws
and failings of His chosen leaders. These men never have claimed to be and are
not perfect; they certainly are, however, called of God.”
These
are comforting thoughts because I, too, make mistakes and have shortcomings.
Like Joseph, I, too, have a choice as to whether I can harden my heart when
I’ve been reprimanded or I can humble myself and repent.
Fourth: Joseph Smith’s
life teaches me that we can overcome our trials through obedience and putting
our trusting in the Lord.
In
Joseph’s account of the First Vision in the Pearl of Great Price, we read that
while he was praying, “immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely
overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue
so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to
me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my
powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the
power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was
ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not
to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen
world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any
being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the
brightness of the sun, which
descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found
myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound”
(Joseph Smith—History 1:15-17).
This
experience teaches us that light conquers darkness, that the power of God is
always stronger than that of the enemy of all truth.
This
story gives me hope because I live with OCD, anxiety, and depression. I suppose
we’d talk about it more in church if there weren’t so much of a stigma still attached.
Through this illness, I’ve had occasions when I felt “thick darkness gathered
around me” and “despair” that Joseph speaks of. You honestly don’t know how difficult
until you experience it yourself or see a loved one battle it up close, and
it’s not something I’ll be cured of in this lifetime; and yet, if there any in
the congregation today who are suffering right now, I’m here to tell you: It
can and does get better. There are therapies and, if necessary, medications to
help you learn not only to live with depression but to thrive. If you need
someone to talk to, our bishop can refer you to see someone at LDS Family
Services who can be an answer to your prayers, or a therapist from a similar
organization can also help you reclaim your life. Priesthood blessings,
fasting, and prayer help. If you need someone in this ward to talk to, come and
find me, or call or text me at any hour of the day or night. (I’ve lost two
friends to depression-related suicide over the past decade, and I don’t want to
lose any more!)
Joseph
was well acquainted with trials and suffering throughout his lifetime. He was beaten
and tarred and feathered and faced persecution and mob violence from outside of
the Church and murmuring and apostasy from within it. He and Emma lost six of
their 11 children before age one. He also spent a great deal of time jailed for
crimes he did not commit.
In
the July 2017 Ensign, Pres. Henry B.
Erying teaches: “We all have trials to face—at times, very difficult trials. We
know that the Lord allows us to go through trials in order for us to be
polished and perfected so we can be with Him forever. The Lord taught the
Prophet Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail that the reward for enduring his trials
well would help qualify him for eternal life. . . . So many things beat upon us
in a lifetime that it may seem hard to endure well. It can seem that way to a
family depending on crops when there is no rain. They may wonder, ‘How long can
we hold on?’ It can seem that way to a youth faced with resisting the rising
flood of filth and temptation. It can seem that way to a young man struggling
to get the education or training he needs for a job to support a wife and family.
It can seem that way to a person who can’t find a job or who has lost job after
job as businesses close their doors. It can seem that way to those faced with
the erosion of health and physical strength, which may come early or late in
life for them or for those they love. But a loving God has not set such tests
before us simply to see if we can endure difficulty but rather to see if we can
endure them well and so become polished.”
Fifth: Joseph Smith
teaches me to sacrifice.
We
each have been asked and will yet be asked to sacrifice much to help build up
the kingdom of God here on Earth, be it missionary service, fulfilling our
callings, home and visiting teaching, temple service, and beyond.
In
another great article in the July Ensign,
Elder Bednar talks about Zion’s Camp and those who followed Joseph on what was
an unpopular and very criticized expedition led by the Prophet. But it also let
Joseph know whom he could trust, and when the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was
first formed in this dispensation, eight of them had served in Zion’s Camp, and
all of the Seventy had done likewise.
Joseph
taught them: “Brethren, some of you are angry with me, because you did not
fight in Missouri; but let me tell you, God did not want you to fight. He could
not organize his kingdom with twelve men to open the gospel door to the nations
of the earth, and with seventy men under their direction to follow in their
tracks, unless he took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and
who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham.”
On
another occasion, Joseph taught: “A religion that does not require the
sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith
necessary unto life and salvation.”
The
Prophet, of course, paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life to seal his
testimony.
I
join with you all (and with this amazing choir) in saying, “Praise to the man
who communed with Jehovah.” Unfortunately, we live in a world that largely
cares more about the Karashians (and other celebrities) than about what Joseph
Smith taught. We still have a lot of work to do. But we have opportunities to
preach the gospel and to share goodness all around us, and we do not have to
look very far to find them.
“The
Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from
progressing; … the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent,
till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every
country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be
accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
To
bring my talk full-circle: We recently performed the temple work for Aunt
Honour and Uncle Bill. I got to stand in for Uncle Bill when he was sealed to
my grandparents. Mom said to me the other day, “I have no doubt that they
accepted it right away,” and so do I.
One
other thing Joseph revealed: Families are forever if we remain faithful to our
covenants. That knowledge gets us through losses like the one my family
recently went through with my dad. How grateful I am to know that this
separation is only a temporary one.
I
testify that Thomas S. Monson today holds the prophetic mantle that Joseph once
held. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost and His influence in my life, not only
testifying to me of these truths but also acting in His role as the Comforter;
He has been with me in unexpected and needed ways these past few months. Above
all, I give thanks to our Savior for His Atonement, and for showing us the way
back to Him through His prophets and through His revealed truths.
