3/21/2017 - Section 3:2-20

March 21, 2017

Section 3:2-20

Truth Absolute, Humility, Pray Acceptance of Answers, Obedience Brings Lord’s Support, Repentance,

When Bob and I married, I still had two years of college ahead of me. I transferred from BYU to University of Florida where he was continuing work toward his degree in architecture. I remember the first day of one of my classes there. It was a small class —maybe 15 people. We were all expected to take an active part in the discussion. The professor wrote on the board: “absolute truth”, and then asked if there really was an absolute truth and what was it. I was the only one who said “yes!”. When asked what that truth might be, I responded that absolute truth was found in the teachings of God. The class and the professor quickly and efficiently negated my answer. But their actions didn’t change my surety that I was right. I had FELT the love of my Heavenly Father. I had received answers from Him. I had always found peace and comfort from following His commandments. He exists as surely as my earthly parents exist.

Christ states very plainly in v’s 2 & 3 the eternal truth of things. My class was right in that societies DO change, values of the populace DO change—but I am still secure in saying the Lord does not change: “For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.    Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men.” God is constant. It is people who try to change and to find new paths. I have proved that the more closely I am able to follow God’s commandment, the happier I am. And when Christ returns in glory the entire world will know that. They still may not follow Him, for that is their agency, but they will know of His existence, His glory, His power, and I hope, His love.

V 4 explains the difference between humility and boasting when enjoying the blessings of the Lord. A proud person (full of worldly pride) is a selfish person, and selfishness does not lead to deep happiness. The Lord gives us a plainly marked course to happiness. He allows us, and encourages us, to partake of His strength. But for us to be truly strong and happy, we must recognize the power that enables those feelings, for if we grow selfish our hearts grow tough and our minds become focused only on ourselves—and those are the very things that isolate us from the Lord, and His refining influence.

I love v 8: Christ is explaining where Joseph fell short when he refused to accept the Lord’s answer to his prayer about giving Martin Harris the 116 pages. “Yet, you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.”  After clearly explaining to Joseph how he should have handled Martin Harris’ requests, the Lord goes on in v 9 to explain, once again, Joseph’s calling to him for he has yet to fully understand it, and then to reinforcing God’s love and mercy, and then prompting Joseph to repent and become stronger in keeping the Lord’s commandments and following the Lord’s promptings.

Christ continues with his teachings and explanations, and then starting in v 19—a very simple statement that carries such truth and recognition of the Lord’s constancy, he says: “And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain these records—that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people….that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved.”

We all make mistakes—every day we make mistakes. But repentance is there for the small errors as well as the gross errors. And the result of that sincere repentance—for the large AND small things—is clearly stated. That is what I want: to return to Heavenly Father having done the things on this earth that I had promised to do before leaving His presence. I don’t understand all that will come when we return to Heavenly Father, but I do understand that if we have followed His commandments to the best of our ability, we will be ready for an eternal future that we desperately desired in our pre-existence and that the Lord so strongly desires for us. That’s why he stands ready to help us—but it is almost always at our request.

Joseph Smith wrote: “After I had obtained the above revelation [D&C 3], both the plates and the Urim and Thummim were taken from me again but in a few days they were returned to me, when I inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said thus unto me: [D&C 10].”

1/18/21 – D&C 3

This is the section that speaks about the loss of the 116 pages that were translated from the Book of Lehi. Joseph is learning how to be a prophet, which means he first has to learn how to follow the Lord. He has recorded the truths he has learned, and fortunately for us, he has also recorded the mistakes that he has made in this journey of learning just how to be the servant of the Lord. Giving the manuscript of his translation to Martin Harris was against the Lord’s advice. And when Martin indeed lost it, that part of the scripture was gone…it was irretrievable. This was a terrible time for Joseph as he realized the enormity of his decision to beg the Lord to change His mind. The Lord let Joseph make this mistake, and learn from this mistake. But during that learning, Joseph also “learned something else just as important about doing God’s work: God is merciful, and if Joseph sincerely repented, he was “still chosen” (v 10) God’s work is, after all, a work of redemption. And that work “cannot be frustrated” (v 1)” (from Come Follow Me Manual)

V 1: “The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.” My take on that is that the Lord WILL use us to help fulfill His purposes. That is part of what we should be learning here on earth. My part in this—as I see it—is that I simply need to keep plugging away and doing my best. If I will stay close to the Lord during these efforts, I will be able to expand my spiritual education and knowledge. 

One of the things I’ve discovered during my times of spiritual education (and am still learning) is that humility is always preferred to pompousness. V 4: For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.” And then in v’s 7-8, the Lord is teaching Joseph and pointing out where he went wrong: “For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words---Yet. You should have been faithful, and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.”

Help is always within our reach. Our part of that bargain is that we just need to continue faithful. 

The Lord explains it clearly in v’s 9-10: “Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall. BUT REMEMBER, GOD IS MERCIFUL; therefore repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you…”

The Lord goes on to tell Joseph just why these golden plates were preserved, and He assures Joseph that nothing will stop His promises and purposes. For the Lord’s purpose is that all “may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that though their repentance they might be saved.” The work will go on no matter what, and if we stay close to Heavenly Father, He will help us to be a part of this growth. That’s one of the main things we were sent here to learn. 

1/19/2021 – D&C 3

Chronologically, this is the first revelation Joseph received from the Lord that he recorded at the time.

I’m trying to find more background to these sections in the D&C. I was so struck when I started looking at dates. It was after Joseph had not wanted to accept the Lord’s original answers to his prayers about Martin Harris (who had been so helpful in so many ways) and Martin’s desire to take the translation to show only to his wife. After Joseph’s repeated prayers (I think it’s been called Joseph’s ‘constant wearying of the Lord’) the Lord let Joseph do as he had wanted to do from the beginning—and by following his own desires, Joseph allowed the translation of the Book of Lehi to be lost. During this same time Emma had needed much care after the trauma of childbirth and loss. The Urim and Thummin had been taken back from Joseph. It was if everything was against them. All these situations contributed to the very heavy weight Joseph was carrying. He decided to go for a walk. It was at that time that a heavenly messenger met him and gave Joseph the opportunity to inquire of the Lord again through the Urim and Thummim. 

We learn a sweet lesson from what happened here—it’s what Section 3 is telling us. Emily Belle Freeman wrote: “When you make a mistake, the Lord doesn’t just tell you what you did wrong. He reminds you who you are. “Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord” (v 9). And then just in case Joseph didn’t listen the first time, the Lord repeated it again “…thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work.” (v 10)”

The Lord is trying to help us all He can. He knew before we came to earth (and we’ve certainly proven it here) that we would make mistakes. So the Lord gave us a process to make up for our mistakes: recognize your mistake, repent, move forward. The Lord is telling us that he’s always here to help us. He’s given us a work to do, and he’s ready to aid us in our efforts. He reminded us in His preface of this book (section 1:32): “Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiving.” That’s His promise to us! Our part is simply to ask for his help and guidance & then try to follow it the best we can—trying to ‘feel’ His corrections, and just as important—trying to ‘feel’ His encouragement. 

I love the fact that the Lord allows us to see the weaknesses of Joseph. We can somewhat follow his journey of spiritual growth—from almost clueless to spiritual maturity and great spiritual strength. We can learn from Joseph’s journey. This is not a solitary fact—Peter made mistakes, Paul made mistakes, Moses made mistakes…. We are all on our journey back to God and we will all make mistakes. Joseph’s honest records can teach us so many important lessons for our lives and the struggles we face.  And we need to remember this as we live with others, who will probably also be making mistakes from time to time. Love them too!

“He defines where you went wrong, and then reminds you who you are.” EBF