Every Man in His Hour, and in His Time, and in His Season

I wish I had exciting things to report about my life each week, but these days, things are pretty much just made up of lecture preparation and teaching between BYU and UVU.  But I am having a wonderful time.  My class on the Doctrine and Covenants has been one of the most wonderful experiences I've ever had, as it has reacquainted me with sections of scripture that I had probably not visited in many years.  It is a wonderful blessing to be able to rediscover verses and chapters that I had forgotten.

One of these sections is D&C 88.  Granted, I have visited it more recently than several of the other sections because D&C is chalk full of inspiration--from a teacher's perspective, there is way to much there to be able to deal with in class.  But nestled in the middle of this revelation are some teachings about timing that are of infinite value.

In verses 51-61, the Lord gives the Saints a short parable about a man who sent twelve servants out into the fields to labor, promising each that he would come unto them and labor with them, each in their own appointed time and place.  True to his promise, he visited each of his servants, going "unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour" until he "withdrew from the first that he might visit the second also, and the third, and the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth" (D&C 88:56-57).  And then comes this revelatory insight:  "And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season . . . Every man in his own order, until his hour was finished, even according as his lord had commanded him, that his lord might be glorified in him, and he in his lord, that they all might be glorified" (D&C 88:58, 60).  Every single one of the Lord's servants was privileged with the incomparable blessing of His presence; each in his own time and season, until each one was glorified with the Lord.

There are few messages more difficult to accept than the message of God's timing.  When we look around us and see others receiving great blessings and sometimes being blessed more than once with blessings that we so deeply desire but presently lack, it is difficult to accept the fact that God does indeed love and care for us.  It is difficult to remember that perhaps during our own times and seasons of His rich blessings, those whom we so often envy may be called to pass through their own moments of waiting and heartache.  It is difficult to remember that God loves and desires to bless all of His children, and that a much-desired blessing bestowed upon another does not mean that God has forgotten or forsaken us.  If, for this blessing or that desire, we seem to find ourselves last in the pecking order, we can be comforted by the fact that if we are faithful, "the days will come that [we] shall see [God]; for he will unveil his face unto [us], and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will" (D&C 88:68).  Contemplating the magnitude of that blessing, perhaps we can be patient and accept that God's time, way, and will are higher and grander than our own timing, ways, and wills.  Yes, there are times when we are called to wait.  And during those times we will invariably see others whose blessings are coming at the very moment when we are waiting.  But God's grace and blessings are sufficient to glorify us all and are worth the wait.

Brett

Beginning at the Temple Lot

Plat of Zion, 1833, Joseph Smith Papers Website

Just a quick entry today to keep up with things.  Teaching two classes (one of them for the first time) and then performing other duties like writing my dissertation is keeping me busy these days.  While breaks are always nice, I've found that when I keep busy, life just seems to run more smoothly and I am more happy.  Hopefully it won't bother people, but because of my D&C class, almost all of my posts will relate to that for awhile.  It's such a fascinating book of scripture, that it is well worth our study--which it receives too infrequently in my case.

Pictured above is Joseph Smith's "Plat of Zion," or the city plan for the Latter-day Saint settlements that were being planned for Independence, Missouri.  The design for the city grew out of a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in September 1832.  The Prophet was informed that the Lord desired to gather "his saints to stand upon Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem" (D&C 84:2).  But he was then given more specific directions about the city.

"Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased.  Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city of New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which shall be reared in this generation" (D&C 84:3-4).

As I pondered these verses during this reading, I stopped worrying as much about ancillary things like the timing of when the Lord would again command His saints to build a temple in Jackson County, and instead began to think about the subtle doctrine the Lord was teaching with the phrases "beginning at the temple lot" and "beginning at this place."  The physical city of Zion, will one day be built around and focused upon the House of the Lord, just as is shown in the Plat of Zion.  Since 1833, other cities built by the Saints have had the same focus, most notably Salt Lake City, whose 1848 plat is pictured below.

Plat of Salt Lake City, 1848, LDS Church History Library

As it was with the cities of Zion and Salt Lake City, so it is with us.  The Temple and its holy ordinances is a good place to begin building our lives outward.  At the center of the Holy Temple, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, as we begin to build our lives around the Temple, we necessarily begin to build our lives around the Lord Jesus Christ.

Brett

I Will Crown Him Again With Sheaves

This past week in preparing for a lecture, I took some time to read through D&C 79.  It's not necessarily a section that we read all that often, and it occurred to me that it might not even be among the sections covered in the Doctrine and Covenants Sunday School lessons.  But sometimes the smallest and seemingly least important chapters of scripture contain some of the most valuable lessons for us to consider.

D&C 79 is a small revelation directed toward an early convert named Jared Carter.  Similar with a number of the other small revelations, it is a mission call, instructing Brother Carter to "go again into the easter countries, from place to place, and from city to city, in the power of the ordination wherewith he has been ordained, proclaiming glad tidings of great joy, even the everlasting gospel" (D&C 79:1)  The Lord then makes a couple of promises to Brother Carter, which I'll write about a little further down.  In terms of illuminating revelations, it is a rather common and ordinary missionary call; that is, until you spend a little bit of time learning about Brother Carter and his conversion to the Church.

Among the promises given to him was this: "And inasmuch as he is faithful, I will crown him again with sheaves" (D&C 79:3).  Now this isn't all that uncommon.  Missionary work is often associated with the image of a harvest, and the fruits of that labor with sheaves of wheat.  Further, like most early brethren, Brother Carter had already served a short mission between September 1831 and February 1832, wherein he had enjoyed a significant amount of success.  Accordingly, we might just simply read this section, chalk it up to one of the numerous sections where the Lord promises to bless His missionaries, and move along.  In fact, I have done that with this section before.  But this time the phrase "crown him again with sheaves" stood out to me, and particularly the word again.  I don't know why, but as I read that phrase, something said to me that this was a man who had felt like he had lost something and the Lord was reassuring him of future blessings.

In my study of history I have become convinced that there is great value in learning about the stories of individuals.  People matter.  What they have experienced, and what they have felt during the course of their life matters.  And people's lives and thoughts and experiences and feelings matter not only to the historian wanting to understand the wording of a specific revelation, but they matter to the Lord and influence how He speaks to them.  So without much digging, I found a copy of Jared Carter's Journal on the Church History Library's catalog, and discovered that my initial impression had indeed been correct.  In joining the Church, Brother Carter had sustained substantial losses in terms of his personal relationships.

Jared Carter had first heard about the Book of Mormon and the Church in January 1831 while he was on a business trip.  He wrote of this experience, "It caused me much astonishment to fill my mind after reading awhile in the Book of Mormon and praying earnestly to the Lord that he would show me the truth of the book, I became immediately convince[d] that it was a revelation of God and it had such an influence on my mind that I had no mind to pursue my business" (Quotations taken from Jared Carter Journal, Church History Library).  He immediately returned home and informed his wife Lydia about the Book of Mormon, only to find that she "did not think as I did concerning the [gospel and the Book of Mormon], but she told me that she thought it was delusion and was unwilling that I should go to visit the people [the Saints]."  Undeterred by Lydia's skepticism, Jared continued to pray to know God's will and was again "convinced that it was my duty to go and see the Church of Christ."  This time when he spoke to Lydia, her heart was softened and she was "entirely willing that I should go."  On this trip to Kirtland, Brother Carter became fully convinced of the truth of the gospel and was baptized by Hyrum Smith and then subsequently enwrapped in "the influence of the spirit of God."

His experience at Kirtland was so profound that Brother Carter returned home full of confidence that he would be able to convince his friends, family, and neighbors of the validity of the gospel and the Book of Mormon.  But to his dismay, he discovered that "Most of all of them began to abuse me and [my] wife."  Some of Brother Carter's "best friends" turned so quickly upon him as to become his "worst enemies," leaving him with only a few friends who treated him with friendship and decency.  Furthermore, his former friends began to use all of their efforts to dissuade Lydia, telling her that Jared was caught in delusion.  Despite their abuse of both her and her husband, Lydia struggled to believe in her husband's new faith, once again leading Jared to go to his knees in prayer, asking for divine aid.  Through the instrumentality of Jared's missionary, Hyrum Smith, Lydia was brought to the beginnings of faith and followed her husband as he gathered with the Saints.  And ultimately she was likewise baptized into the Church.  But in the process of his conversion, Jared Carter had lost many significant friendships, doubtless causing him to wonder at times if the eternal reward had indeed been worth the price he had paid.

It is in this context that the Lord spoke to Him and made significant promises, promises that perhaps only Jared Carter knew to be as personal and intimate as they truly were at the time.  The Lord said, "And I will send upon him the Comforter, which shall teach him the truth and the way whither he shall go; And inasmuch as he is faithful, I will crown him again with sheaves.  Wherefore, let your heart be glad, my servant Jared Carter, and fear not, saith your Lord, even Jesus Christ" (D&C 79:2-4).  Only the Lord knew how difficult it had been for Jared Carter to lose his relationships with his friends and even some family members.  Only the Lord knew how much Jared Carter had needed divine comfort in the wake of these losses.  But the Lord knew these things; He knew Jared Carter's heart and his desires, and He spoke forth promises that had the power to assuage those pains.  What had been lost could be restored and added upon because of the Savior's atoning sacrifice.

So it is in our lives.  Through the Prophet of the Restoration, the Savior issued this promise: "All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful.  By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it" (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 296).  As we are faithful, there truly is comfort, and comfort which comes by way of truth and understanding, as well as divine direction.  As we are faithful, our losses will be made up to us, and we will be crowned again with sheaves for our labors and efforts in the Kingdom.  Because of this, we need not fear and we can be exceedingly glad.

Brett

God Is My Friend, In Him I Shall Find Comfort

Well, 2014 is over.

This past year, combined with my opportunity to teach a D&C course at BYU this semester, have caused me to spend some time thinking about years of our lives, including years that we would not always wish to repeat.  In my study of the Doctrine and Covenants for this upcoming course, I came across just one such year in the Prophet's life:  1832.  That probably isn't the year most of you would think about.  Most of us would say something like 1834 and Zion's Camp, 1837 and the Kirkland Apostasy, 1838-1839 and the imprisonment in Liberty Jail, or 1844 and the Martyrdom.  It's true, he went through more years that none of us would wish upon our worst enemies, let alone wish to live through ourselves.  But as I've been studying, I have found 1832 to be especially difficult and especially applicable for a number of reasons.

1832 got off to a remarkable beginning.  At a January conference, Joseph Smith was sustained as the President of the High Priesthood, the first step in creating the Church's original First Presidency.  The Church's presiding quorum was further strengthened on March 8, 1832 when Jesse Gause and Sidney Rigdon were called to serve as counselors in the First Presidency, providing the Prophet with duly called and ordained counselors to assist him with the growing administrative burdens of the Church.  These must have been significant moments for the Prophet, who had long felt as though he had had to bear too much of the burden of the Church on his own shoulders.  Further, in February, the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon had received the vaulting visions of the degrees of glory, including moving visions of the Father and the Son and those who would inherit the Celestial glory.  Around March 1, the Prophet received another grand revelation instructing the leaders of the Church on how they could begin to prepare for Celestial glory.  At the end of this revelation came the comforting words, "Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.  The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.  And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more" (D&C 78:18-19).  This was a period of intense revelation, with Joseph even receiving a revelation teaching him a few words from the pure language of Adam ("Sample of the Pure Language of Adam, circa March 4-20, 1832, Joseph Smith Papers Documents, 2:213-215).

Placing myself in the Prophet's shoes, I know how I would have felt after the beginning of this year.  I would have thought to myself, "Everything is coming together.  The dark and difficult times of earlier days are finally in the past."  With this kind of a beginning to a year, how could things possibly go poorly?  But beginning at the end of March, the Prophet began to experience some difficult days.  On the evening of March 24-25, Joseph and Sidney were dragged from their homes and tarred and feathered and nearly killed by a violent mob.  This incident made it a perfect time for the new First Presidency to fulfill a commandment from the Lord to visit the Saints in Independence, Missouri, a trip of nearly a thousand miles.  But when Joseph arrived in Missouri, all was not right.  Being members of a new church, and being separated by a thousand miles from the Prophet, some of the leaders in Missouri had begun making decisions that ran contrary to revelation, creating contention.  The First Presidency had arrived just in time.  Meeting with the Saints, "All differences [were] settled and the hearts of all [ran] together in love" (Minutes, April 26-27, 1832, Joseph Smith Papers Documents, 2:232).  The conference was capped by a revelation that encouraged the Saints to forgive one another and to henceforth "refrain from sin" that they might receive the promises of the Lord (D&C 82:2).

After resolving the difficulties in Missouri and receiving one more short revelation (now D&C 83), Joseph and the First Presidency started back home toward Ohio.  In Indiana, a stage coach accident resulted in Newel K. Whitney breaking his leg.  While other leaders continued on home to Ohio, Joseph stayed behind with Brother Whitney for several weeks.  During this time he learned that the difficulties he thought had been resolved in Missouri had continued, and he went through a period of intense loneliness, anxiety, and reflection.  Unlike the period from January through April, wherein he had received many revelations (including one of his most significant to date), beginning in May, the summer of 1832 appears to have been a time when the Prophet was not receiving many revelations (or at least does not appear to have recorded them).  He wrote a letter to Emma that gives us some insights into what he felt.

"My situation here is a very unpleasant one although I will endeavor to be contented, the Lord assisting me.  I have visited a grove which is Just back of the town almost every day where I can be secluded from the eyes of any mortal and there give vent to all the feelings of my heart in meditation and prayer.  I have called to mind all the past moments of my life and am left to mourn and shed tears of sorrow for my folly in suffering the adversary of my soul to have so much power over me as he has had in times past.  But God is merciful and has forgiven my sins and I rejoice that he sendeth forth the Comforter unto as many as believe and humble themselves before him.  I was grieved to hear that Hyrum had lost his little child.  I think we can in some degree sympathize with him, but we must all be reconciled to our lots and say the will of the Lord be done. . . . Sister Whitney wrote a letter to her husband which was very cheering [to him].  Being unwell at that time and filled with much anxiety, it would have been very consoling to me to have received a few lines from you, but as you did not take the trouble, I will try to be contented with my lot, knowing that God is my friend, and in Him I shall find comfort.  I have given my life into His hands.  I am prepared to go at His call. I desire to be with Christ.  I count not my life dear to me, only to do His will" (Joseph Smith to Emma Smith, June 6, 1832, Joseph Smith Papers Documents, 2:249-251).

After a period where things had seemed so promising and so grand, with friends finally there to help him bear his burdens, Joseph had suddenly found himself in a place of loneliness, sorrow, and discouragement.  Further, silence seemed to have replaced the grand revelations of early 1832, the last revelation having warned that where much was given "much is required" and those who sinned "against the greater light" would "receive the greater condemnation" (D&C 82:3).  And so Joseph was left to wonder and to ponder, to mourn and to shed tears of sorrow for his past follies.  In his place, I know I would have wondered if perhaps God's silence was an indication that He had forsaken me because of my sins.  Even after he returned home, Joseph continued to ponder over his past sins and the Lord's forgiveness, a fact borne out in his 1832 Account of the First Vision.

But after a summer of repentance and contemplation upon the calling to which he had been called, the revelations again began to flow.  On August 29, he received a revelation for John Murdock (now D&C 99), whose twins Joseph and Emma had adopted following the death of Murdock's wife.  And then in late September, eight years to the day that Joseph had first been visited by Moroni, came the revelation containing the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood and a witness that contained within that higher priesthood, of which Joseph was the President, was "the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God" (D&C 84:19).  October brought another trip, this time to New York City, while November brought somewhat less stressful administrative meetings and communications with the Saints in Missouri.  And finally, December brought a flurry of revelations, including one that the Prophet referred to as "an olive leaf which we have plucked from the tree of Paradise" and "the Lord's message of peace to us" (Joseph Smith to W. W. Phelps, January 11, 1833, Joseph Smith Papers Documents, 2:365).  This revelation seemed to sum up the Prophet's summer, in the words, "Ye shall call upon me while I am near--Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you" (D&C 88:62-64).

Looking at this history, we begin to see that 1832 was a year where the Prophet was tutored about how to draw near to the Lord, especially in the moments when (for no apparent reason), He seems to be distant from us.  Although Joseph had gone through periods of repentance and silence from heaven before (such as the period between the First Vision and Moroni's first visit, or the Summer and Fall of 1828 when the plates had been taken from him due to the lost manuscript), it does not seem that he had gone through moments like this when he had experienced God's temporary distance having not withdrawn himself from God's presence.  In 1832, Joseph had to learn that sometimes as we seek to draw near to the Lord, He will withdraw Himself just a distance so that we can learn to seek His presence with greater fervency and enjoy the comfort of His voice and presence with greater pleasure.  Sometimes He will withdraw a measure, just to see if we will do as the Prophet did and redouble our efforts and diligence to find Him.  As the Prophet found, there are always more opportunities for us to repent than we readily see, and God is indeed a merciful Friend and Father.

In these moments when it seems that God has withdrawn Himself a measure from us, we can be encouraged by the Prophet's example of repentance.  But we can also be cheered by the knowledge that as we seek Him diligently, these summers of silence will turn into autumns of revelation, divine direction, and ultimately divine companionship.  "Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will" (D&C 88:68).  So it was for the Prophet of the Restoration in 1832, and so it will be for you and me.

Brett