Why I Believe: Evidence Nine: Joseph Smith's Testimony Of Jesus Christ: Part 1

101 Reasons Why I Believe Joseph Smith Was A Prophet

Evidence Nine: 

Joseph Smith’s Testimony Of Jesus Christ: Part 1© 

Joseph Smith’s Callings

The calling of Joseph Smith to restore the fulness of the gospel was comprised of several very important facets. In writing about the First Vision in 1842, he said, “I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.” (Joseph Smith to John Wentworth, 1 March 1842, HC 4:537.)  The scriptures tell us quite a bit about what the Lord wanted him to do as such an instrument. Many passages found in the three volumes of scripture produced by Joseph Smith refer to directly or allude to various branches of his calling. Two are reproduced below which give us the major titles by which he would be called. The first one, given on the day the Church was organized, said:

Behold, there shall be a record kept among you; and in it thou [Joseph Smith] shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ...  (D&C 21:1, emphasis added.)

In Nauvoo in 1841, the Lord again spoke of Joseph’s work:

I give unto you my servant Joseph to be a presiding elder over all my church, to be a translator, a revelator, a seer, and prophet. (D&C 124:125, emphasis added.)

Six important titles suggest the breadth of the work he was to do–all would involve in one way or another revelation from God.  He was to be a: 

* Prophet
* Apostle
* Seer
* Revelator
* Translator
* Presiding Elder

Analysis of Joseph’s work at each of these tasks suggests that one important theme or topic lay as the foundation of Mormonism and serve as an umbrella under which every aspect of it fit.  In our analysis we shall see that these doctrinal duties intertwine with, overlap, mutually reinforce, compliment, and become an integral part of each other in fulfilling one great purpose.

The most important element of the restored doctrine was a correct knowledge about and ultimately of Jesus Christ. (See John 17:3; D&C 132:24.)  This was necessary for many reasons, chief of which is so mankind may have faith in Jesus Christ sufficient to lay hold of life and salvation. (Lectures on Faith, Lectures 1-4,7, see also D&C 1:17, 21.)  Joseph was to simultaneously testify to the world of the reality of the living resurrected Christ and to teach that same world about him and his message in their fulness.  He was to bring this generation to Christ, and through him to the Father. When one thinks about Joseph’s roles in these terms an important insight emerges. In one way or another each of these duties center on this primary assignment–to be the preeminent witness of Jesus Christ to this generation.  

The young Prophet did not go unnoticed by Satan. Old Scratch opposed him from his boyhood  when a gun shot zinged past his head and again at age fourteen in the Sacred Grove when Satan’s power seemed to almost overwhelm him, to his unwittingly falling for Satan’s deception which Moroni earlier warned him about when he was told not to seek to get the plates of the Book of Mormon for the purpose of getting rich. Oliver Cowdery tells us on that occasion at the Hill Cumorah Moroni showed him a vision of Satan in vivid contrast with one of God so he would know the difference and never follow the Evil One again. Would that it would have been so for him and could be for us!  But true to the purposes of mortality he battled Satan throughout his life. One of his more serious acts of willfulness and disobedience led to the loss of 116 pages of the manuscript of the translation of the Book of Mormon. Most know the wrenching story. What is important for us here is something the Lord told him when the plates were returned to him and he was to resume his work on the book. The loss of those pages, he was told, was the work of conspirators who hoped to publish them after he had re-translated the same part again and claim that he only “pretended to translate", but in fact contradicted himself.  (D&C 10:32.) There was a Satanic motive behind all of this:

Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation.  (D&C 10:33)

But it was not to be.  His testimony was not to be overpowered.  There was something so important about his testimony to this generation that the Lord went to extraordinary lengths, such as preparing the Small Plates of Nephi to replace the portion which was in the hands of the conspirators, to protect him so his testimony would not be trumped. Miraculous protection and guidance can be seen throughout his history almost as frequently, when watched for, as the more obvious opposition of Satan which regularly dogged him clear up to Carthage.

In coming blogs we will explore how Joseph’s witness and testimony of Jesus Christ is at the heart of each of the facets of his calling; as they exhibit his various testimonies as a the “witness” of Jesus Christ in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.  I believe this study of his assignments when viewed individually and/or collectively contains the germ of the most important evidence of his divinely given calling as a prophet of God.

Thank God for Joseph Smith!

Lets think together again, soon.

The Differences Between The Americans and Russians

With the world all in a dither about what is going on between Russia and Urkaine, perhaps a touch of humor from President Ronald Reagan will give a little relief.

I spoke [to students in Russia] of the difference between our two countries [USA and USSR]. I try to follow the humor of the Russian people. We don't hear much about the Russian people. We hear about the Russian leaders. But you can learn a lot, because they do have a sense of humor, and you can learn from the jokes they're telling. And one of the most recent jokes I found kind of, well, personally interesting. Maybe you might -- tell you something about your country.

The joke they tell is that an American and a Russian were arguing about the differences between our two countries. And the American said, "Look, in my country I can walk into the Oval Office; I can hit the desk with my fist and say, 'President Reagan, I don't like the way you're governing the United States.'" And the Russian said, "I can do that.'' The American said, "What?'' He says, "I can walk into the Kremlin, into Brezhnev's office. I can pound Brezhnev's desk, and I can say, 'Mr. President, I don't like the way Ronald Reagan is governing the United States.'''

Ronald Reagan, commencement address at his alma mater, Eureka College, California, 9 May 1982.

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/50982a.htm

Lets think together again, soon.

Learn To Like ...

Some years ago I read a list of “Learn to Like” by Lowell L. Bennion.  It stimulated me to make my own list. What would you add to it?

LEARN TO LIKE...

• Good rather than evil, right rather than wrong, light rather than dark.
• Faith, confidence, and trust in God.
• Repentance, change which brings self-improvement and positive growth.
• Service, lifting, building, and blessing others.
• The principles of obedience, sacrifice and consecration.
• Covenants and keeping them.
• The commandments of God.
• Work, productivity, building, contributing.
• Studying rather than just reading the holy scriptures.
• Having a generous spirit.
• Worshiping and loving God.
• Prayer and fasting.
• Temple worship and being a Savior on Mt Zion.
• Minding your own business.
• Following the prophets and apostles of God in righteousness.
• Duty, self-discipline, and thought control.
• Building the kingdom of God, fulfilling stewardships, and the responsibility of righteous leadership.
• Keeping clean hands and a pure heart.

Danel W. Bachman

Lets think together again, soon.

The Evils Of Ignorance, Part 2

Unnecessary Suffering

One of the evils resulting from ignorance is unnecessary suffering.  Sometimes we suffer because we have no control over events, but the fact is that much suffering is caused by ignorance and is unnecessary.  This happens often in matters of health and safety, social relations, international relations, spiritually.   The old saying, “What you don’t know, can’t hurt you!” is false and dangerous.  Here are four other ways of looking at this issue. Herbert Prochnow said, “All things come to him who crosses the street without looking.”(1) Adlai Stevenson, former Senator and candidate for the Presidency said, “The way of the egghead is hard ”(2) Prochnow again:  “Ignorance is a voluntary misfortune.”(3)  And finally Elder Sill: “Without the opiate of ignorance no one could possibly be unafraid of the terrors of hell.”(4)  This one is interesting.  An opiate is something that induces rest or inaction. Ignorance, for Elder Sill is an opiate.  It desensitizes us and makes us fearless of the terrors of hell.

There is an interesting relationship between ignorance and sin.  For something to be a sin, one must know it is wrong and do it anyway.  Ignorance of the law makes violation of the law a transgression, but not a sin.  The temporal penalties may be the same, but the spiritual penalties are significantly different.  Yet Elder Sill tells us “... almost all of the sins of the world are the sins of ignorance.”  How can that be?  He goes on: 

“Most of those who violate the commandments of God don’t really know the importance of what they are doing.  When we fill our minds with evil thoughts, we seldom understand until it is too late that these ideas will determine our eternal destiny.”(5)   

He is talking about sins committed in ignorance of why the commandment is there, and of the consequences, not the fact of the commandment itself.  In this respect something that President Stephen L. Richards once taught Elder Marion G. Romney is both important and profound.  Elder Romney, speaking of the importance of  constantly sharpening and deepening our understanding of the gospel through self-disciplined study said,   

“President Stephen L. Richards indelibly impressed upon my mind the importance of understanding the gospel years ago as I rode in an automobile with him to a stake conference.  We were, at the time, discussing the means for encouraging the Saints to more faithfully live up to church standards.  He said to me, in effect: “I feel sure that the membership of the Church would be more faithful in observing the commandments if they more fully understood the principles of the gospel.”  I agreed with him then and I am still of the same opinion.(6)

Since this is the case, then the consequences of sin are often unnecessary suffering and unnecessary complaining.  Laman and Lemuel “did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them .” (1 Ne. 2:12, emphasis added)  Elder Maxwell said, “Our defiance of God is an expression of our ignorance not of our individuality.”(7)  

Let me refer to two examples of unnecessary suffering caused by ignorance.  One is spiritual, the other is temporal.  It has always interested me that it took Lehi and his family 8 years to cross Arabia.  (1 Ne. 17:4) Though Arabia is a big place, it does not take that long to cross it if you know where you are going.  Presumably they could have crossed it in eight months, or maybe even eight weeks.  So why did it take so long?  Well, the book of Alma informs us that because of disobedience the Liahona stopped working and “they did not progress in their journey” or “did not travel in a direct course” and “were afflicted with hunger and thirst.” (Al. 37:41-42) Alma is telling us that the length of the journey and its attendant trials was the consequence of the family’s disobedience.  Without a compass they did not know where they were going and their journey consequently lengthened–to 8 years. One might be forgiven for wondering if they were a bit slow in figuring this out.  In reality it probably took that long to penetrate the obsidian hearts of Laman, Lemuel and their wives. Nephi’s account repeatedly refers to the difficulties the family encountered in Arabia.  For me, however, his most potent and evocative metaphor is when he explained, “And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness....”  (1 Ne. 17:1)  “Wade!?”  It wasn’t just ankle-deep trouble he is talking about. It was full-fledged up to your belt buckle tough, wearying, wading.  If you want to understand how bad those afflictions would have been, take a look at the latter part of the wonderful DVD entitled, Journey of Faith.  Unnecessary suffering indeed!

Our second example most of you know about from grade school.  In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan started on the first rip around the world.  En route some of his men died of scurvy caused by a deficiency of vitamin C.  Tragically, in their ignorance, they didn’t know that the cargo of limes they had aboard their vessel were high in this life-saving vitamin.  Unfortunately, the ignorance of Magellan and his men was not their own fault, so in this case it probably really wasn’t unnecessary suffering, but it is nevertheless useful to make the point: “It is equally possible for us to die mentally, financially and spiritually while all of the time the means for curing our diseases are in the good books that are right under our noses.”(8)  The problem is that in their pride or sloth, many won’t even open the lid of the barrel.

The Uneven Playing Field

My final point for this part comes from a wonderful quotation by a pretty sharp man named Criswell Freeman.  He said,  

“By and large, the uneducated must play the entire game of life on an uneven field.  But the value of education is often invisible to young people who rebel against the very tool that might level the field on which they play–or even tilt it in their direction.”(9)  

Derek Bok, made the stinging point, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”(10)  And James Thom observed, “Probably the most honest, “self-made man” ever was the one we heard say: “I got to the top the hard way–fighting my own laziness and ignorance every step of the way.”(11)  An ignorant man’s world is restricted by the limits of his knowledge. These expressions suggest that ignorance forces us to play the game of life on an uneven field.  The ignorant always battle uphill. 

One way this happens is through the neglect of available resources.  Elder Sill was rather direct with this potent observation: “Our bookshelves are loaded with the most helpful volumes and yet ignorance and the violation of tested and proven principles remains one of the greatest curses of mankind.”(12)  Another wasted resource is our own talent.  Wasted talent leaves undeveloped your potential in many areas of life. It is an unnecessary self-imposed limitation. Wasted talent is unknown talent, undiscovered talent, and undeveloped talent.  A certain lack of understanding, ignorance and sloth is responsible for much of this waste.

Another way the ignorant play on an uneven field is to be constantly chained to that very ignorance.  Elder Sill eloquently said: ““The sentence of one who fails to study is that he is chained to his ignorance, and wherever he goes forevermore he must drag his ignorance along.”(13) One of those chains is to live an uninspired and unprogressive existence. President David O. McKay said, “To be ignorant of one’s own ignorance is to be in an unprogressive, uninspired state of existence.”(14) Alfred North Whitehead, famous educator said, “In the conditions of modern life, the rule is absolute: Those who do not value trained intelligence are doomed. There is no appeal from the judgment which is pronounced on the uneducated.”(15) I don’t think Whitehead was referring to judgmentalism on the part of others or even of society, though that may be a factor.  I think he spoke of the judgment of natural consequences growing out of ignorance. Things like fear and insecurity, the spawn of ignorance, which inhibit our progress and success. 

At its most practical level, the uneducated have difficulty getting and holding a job.  A government survey which took five years to conduct was published in 1993.  It found that 90 million Americans, nearly half of the adult population, read and write so poorly that it is difficult for them to hold a decent job.  It is hard for them to perform such tasks as calculating the difference in price of two items or to fill out a Social Security form.(16)

The tragedies of unnecessary suffering and fighting the battle uphill are tragedies indeed, because today with modern technology and the “age of information” getting an education, even if we must educate ourselves, is more available and easier to obtain than it has ever been in the history of mankind.

Conclusion

Formal education does not completely eliminate ignorance, and to the extent which it does not, the dangers, problems, and difficulties mentioned above are still threats.  Therefore, one’s life should be a constant effort to eradicate ignorance.  It is in our interest to follow the teachings of President Gordon B. Hinckley, who repeatedly counseled us to “get all the education” we can, because it is the will of the Lord.

Lets think together again, soon.

Notes:

1. Herbert V. Prochnow, The Complete Toastmaster, p. 73.

2. Adlai E. Stevenson, in Criswell Freeman, ed., The Teachers’ Book of Wisdom, (Nashville, TN.: Walnut Grove Press, 1998), p. 39.

3. Herbert V. Prochnow, The Complete Toastmaster, p. 293.

4. Sterling W. Sill, The Power of Believing, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968), p. 76.

5. W. Sill, The Glory of the Sun, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft Inc., 1961), pp. 345-346.

6. Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1976, p. 106.

7. Neal A. Maxwell, “Not My Will, But Thine”, p. 67.

8. Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), pp. 60-61.

9. Criswell Freeman, ed., The Teachers’ Book of Wisdom, (Nashville, TN.: Walnut Grove Press, 1998), p. 45.

10. Derek Bok, educator, Geoffrey Steck, ed., Leadership, (11 December 2001), p. 13.

11. James Thom, in Bits & Pieces, (August 2006), p. 19.

12. Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), p. 58.

13. Sterling W. Sill, Leadership, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1958), p. 323.

14. David O. McKay, Pathways To Happiness, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft Inc., 1957), pp. 351-352. 

15. Alfred North Whitehead, in Criswell Freeman, ed., The Teachers’ Book of Wisdom, (Nashville, TN.: Walnut Grove Press, 1998), p. 100.

16. Cal Thomas, The Things that Matter Most, (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1994), p. 159.

The Evils Of Ignorance, Part 1

The story is told about a missionary reunion sometime back.  One returned missionary who wasn’t remembered as the sharpest tack in the box arrived at the reunion in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce. It seems he had become a fabulously successful president of a gasket company. Naturally, all of his former companions and fellow missionaries were curious how someone like him had made so much money. So after all the handshaking, back patting and “oos” and “ahs” someone put the question to him. "Just how were you able to put together this gasket operation you run?'  "It was easy," he replied. "I found a manufacturer who could make them at one cent apiece and then I sold them at five cents apiece. And you just can't beat that four percent profit!"  ...  If you didn’t get that you may be in for the Rolls-Royce ride of your life.  My theme today is “the evils of ignorance.”

During our mission in California I created a list of potential topics for our mission newsletter.  One of them was “ignorance.”  This file was first created about May 2003 and I have been adding to it for over a decade. On my first mission, our fifth discussion was on the plan of salvation.  We taught the people that three lethal enemies faced mankind, from which we need to be saved: sin, death, and ignorance.  I had not thought much about that since then, until our mission in California.  Studying Elder Sill alerted me to it.  Some of the evils accompanying ignorance are: superstition, darkness, suspense, doubt, prejudice and bigotry, fear, intolerance, hatred, poor judgment, lack of understanding and wisdom, and impatience. These are not all, of course.  You can think of others. The point is that ignorance is one of the great enemies of mankind!  Bob Edward said, “A little learning is a dangerous thing, but a lot of ignorance is just as bad.”(1)  President Howard W. Hunter agreed, and was more specific when he said:  

“Only by knowledge can we banish ignorance, superstition, prejudice, fear, and hatred, the evils from which spring most of our world’s problems. Therefore it is imperative that you continue to seek knowledge.”(2)

A second insight came during my frequent preparations to give patriarchal blessings since we have returned from California.  I have thought a lot about what might and should be said in patriarchal blessings about education.  Somewhere in that process it occurred to me that: We are born into total ignorance, and we must spend the rest of our lives overcoming ignorance. Although he was probably referring to problems in society, the following from Elder Sterling W. Sill can also apply to many individuals, “The thick blackness of the Dark Ages has not yet been dispersed.”(3)

LDS Philosophy Of Education

What is the LDS philosophy of the importance of education?  A statement or two from the scriptures gives us some background.  Proverbs 1:5 says “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning....”  There are a few additional statements such as that in the Bible, but I could cite more than a score of passages on the subject from the Doctrine and Covenants alone, not to mention the almost innumerable statements by Church leaders since the days of Joseph Smith.  I will refer to just these: “pure knowledge shall greatly enlarge the soul. (D&C 121:42).”  “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” (D&C 131:6)  And “Let him that is ignorant learn wisdom by humbling himself and calling upon the Lord his God, that his eyes may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened that he may hear; For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and contrite, and to the condemnation of the ungodly.”  (D&C 136:32-33).

Willful Ignorance Is A Sin

It is true we are all born totally ignorant, but we are not to stay that way, especially regarding knowledge of the existence of God, learning his will and commandments. Failure to do so is a sin, and brings with it judgment and punishment. God wants us to know, but Satan wants to keep us in ignorance and darkness.  Satan is “that wicked one” who “cometh and taketh away light and truth.” (D&C 93:39) Satan wants us to remain in total ignorance that way he can more easily rule over us. In Mormonism willful ignorance of the gospel is a sin. Elder Talmage wrote, 

“Willful ignorance of Gospel requirements is sin.  Man is untrue to his Divine lineage and birthright of reason when he turns away from the truth, or deliberately chooses to walk in darkness while the illumined path is open to his tread. Positive rejection of the truth is even graver than passive inattention or neglect. Yet to every one is given the right of choice and the power of agency, with the certainty of his meeting the natural and inevitable consequence.”(4)

Robert Browning agreed with this, but in more general terms. “Ignorance is not innocence, but sin.”(5) For Elder Talmage to be correct, there must be some requirement made of us, some expectation, some duty imposed to learn, and there must be the capacity to learn. These are philosophical matters worth considering.  Above I have pointed out that there are such requirements, expectations, and duties imposed in the Restored Gospel.  We also know that all minds are capable of enlargement, and to the degree which they are, we should be about it. The worst and most sinful kind of ignorance is willful, intentional, slothful ignorance.  There is no blindness so dark as that which will not see. There is no deafness so profound as that which will not hear. There is no ignorance so deep as that which will not know.

Closed minds are a manifestation of willful ignorance. Anna Quindlin said, “Ignorance is death.  A closed mind is a catafalque.”(6)  A “catafalque” is “an ornamental structure sometimes used in funerals for the lying in state of the body; a pall-covered coffin-shaped structure used at requiem masses celebrated after burial.” In other words, it is basically a coffin without a body. She is saying the closed mind is an empty mind. Joseph Smith spoke forcefully about his experience with closed minds:  “There are a great many wise men and women too in our midst who are too wise to be taught; therefore they must die in their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake.  Many seal up the door of heaven by saying, So far God may reveal and I will believe.”(7) Minds get closed in several ways; pride and sloth being the chief causes.  Have you ever corrected someone and they say: “Whatever!”? That response is symptomatic of either pride or laziness, maybe both, but it is a pervasive attitude among many today.

Like so many other things, overcoming ignorance is largely a matter of attitude.  Elbert Hubbard said,   “The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.”(8)  The real shame is not ignorance, but being unwilling to learn!  Elder Sill tells the story of a girl in her twenties who came to him to talk about her problems.  She didn’t believe the Bible.  She said it was a collection of fairy tales.  She had never read it, let alone study it. She waved aside the notion that Jesus and his apostles underwent great hardships and violent deaths in support of their testimony “as if these men were merely playing a childish game.”  Elder Sill concludes the account with this very interesting statement:  

“She seemed not the least concerned with what seemed to me like suicidal irresponsibility.  There seemed to her to be not the slightest chance that the wisdom of the prophets including the Savior himself, might outweigh her inexperience and lack of information.”(9)    

He could have said “ignorance” there instead of “lack of information.”

Pilate is yet another example.  Again Elder Sill: 

“Too frequently we follow a procedure similar to the one used by Pilate when he said to Jesus, ‘What is truth?’  And then without waiting for the answer he turned and walked out of the room.  Mostly we don’t have the answers because we have not been willing to invest the time and study necessary to find the truth....”(10)

I will continue this important theme in the next blog.

Notes:

1. Bob Edward, in Glenn Van Ekeren, Speaker's Sourcebook II, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1994), p. 232.

2. Howard W. Hunter, The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997), p. 177.

3. Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), p. 59.

4. James E. Talmage, Vitality of Mormonism, (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1919), p. 271.

5. Robert Browning, in Richard L. Evans, Richard Evans’ Quote Book, (Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1971), p. 78.

6. Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life, (New York: Ballantine Books, 1998), p. 69.

7. Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 309.

8. Elbert Hubbard, in B. C. Forbes, The Forbes Scrapbook of Thoughts on the Business of Life, (New York: Forbes, Inc., 1976), p. 132.

9. Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), pp. 51-52.

10. Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), p. 61.

Why I Believe: Evidence Eight: Joseph's Simple Faith To Believe The Scriptures

101 Reasons Why I Believe Joseph Smith Was A Prophet

Evidence Eight:   

Joseph’s Simple Faith To Believe The Scriptures© 

The First Vision did not come out of a vacuum.  Nearly everyone knows that one of the catalysts which led to it was a passage of scripture–James 1:5.  What is not as well known is the degree of faith which Joseph Smith placed in what he read in the Bible and that other passages reinforced the message of James.  Joseph possessed the simple faith to believe the scriptures and he had it from a very young age.  His belief in what the scriptures say also played a role in his second great spiritual experience, the coming of Moroni.  Many other examples of his trust in scripture punctuate his life.(1) Today lets explore what we know about the influence of the scriptures in bringing about the First Vision.

Unlike many of Joseph’s other visions, there were no witnesses or fellow observes of the First Vison.  So it seems almost divinely ironical, that as historian Richard Anderson has pointed out:

His account of that sacred experience is not only his best-documented vision of Deity, but there are few spiritual experiences in world history that rival the First Vision in rich detail and full reporting.(2)

Most readers are aware that there are a number of renditions of the First Vision.  Since the late 1960s when knowledge of these accounts came to the attention of the Church and outsiders, they have been the center of a great deal of study and controversy.  However, when we take one simple question to our reading of these chronicles we come away from the endeavor with an important insight into the heart and mind of Joseph Smith and with a new appreciation for why he was called to be the Prophet of the Restoration of the Gospel.  That question?  “What can we learn from the recitals of the First Vision about the role which the Holy Scriptures played in influencing him to pray?”

Evidence of his involvement and belief in the scriptures

The oldest of the reports left by Joseph Smith of his early spiritual experiences was produced in 1832.  In many ways it is the simplest and most unsophisticated portrayal which lends a certain innocence and purity to this memoir that appeals to me.  More importantly, it contains several important statements relative to our subject.  In them Joseph refers to the Bible as a “sacred depository,” a clue to his esteem for the Bible. As he tells the story we see that he learned some important concepts from the scriptures which bolstered his faith in God.  The italicized portions of the following quotations highlight these points.

Excerpt 1: “...about the age of twelve years my mind became serously imprest with regard to the all important concerns for the welfare of my immortal soul which led me to searching the scriptures believing as I was taught, that they contained the word of God.  Thus applying them and my intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations led me to marvel excedingly for I discovered that they did not adorn their profession by a holy walk and Godly conversation agreeable to what I found contained in that sacred depository....”

Excerpt 2: “Thus from the age of twelve to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart concerning the situation of the world of mankind....  My mind became exceedingly distressed for I become convicted of my sins and by searching the Scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord...”

Excerpt 3:  “...I felt to mourn for my own sins and for the sins of the world for I learned in the scriptures that God was the same yesterday to day and forever that he was no respecter to persons for he was God....”(3)

In these excerpts we see several important ways which the scriptures were interwoven into his quest.  First, is the rather remarkable fact that Joseph Smith had been reading and thinking about the scriptures for a long period in his early youth–from age 12-15!  Second, they demonstrate that he had a soberness of mind similar to young Mormon in the Book of Mormon.  (Mor. 1:15)  Even at that age he was cognizant of his own inner state and observant of the religious conditions of the time.  This maturity is unusual for a boy of this age, but it is an important ingredient in possessing firm faith. Thirdly, during this period the scriptures were a major element of Joseph’s thinking about the universe, the present religious situation, and his personal status with God.

As he continued the narrative he tells us of other important principles he learned, the most important of which we can now see from hindsight were about God himself.  These expressions were all paraphrases of or allusions to scripture.  The list of what he said he understood includes:

• God is unchanging.  He answers prayers.  (Heb. 13:8)

• Anyone may approach God, since he is no respecter of persons.  (Acts. 10:34)

• Those who worship him should do so in spirit and in truth.  (Jn. 4:23-24 )(4)

James 1:5

The 1832 history does not mention the now famous James 1:5 passage, however, the 1838 report is the most important of the seven of the nine contemporary accounts which name this passage as decisive for Joseph Smith. This emphasis highlights the great importance of this passage which profoundly influenced his actions and thereby changed the world.

Here Joseph once again refers to his youthful emotional reaction to religious excitements in his area of New York.  (See JS-H 1:8-9.)  He goes on to say that one day while reading the epistle of James he encountered verse 5 of the first chapter.  It deeply affected him and his description suggests the power and influence of the Holy Ghost came upon the lad.

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man that this did at this time to mine.  It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart.  I reflected on it again and again.... At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs....  I at length came to the determination to "ask of God," concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.  So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt.(5)

What did Joseph Smith learn from James 1:5-6 that would have increased his faith because he believed what he was reading?  This passage further enlightened young Joseph with three things about God in addition to what he had learned from the scriptures listed above.  First, if a man lacks wisdom, and he felt he did, he should ask God.  Second, God gives liberally to all men who ask.  Third, God does not upbraid those who ask.(6)

He now possessed six important truths about God, several of which overlapped each other conceptually, but because he believed them they greatly shaped the course of events to follow. This is exactly as it should have been for him, and should be for us.  After all this is one of the major purposes of Holy Writ.  It is to cause us to act not just emote.  God reveals himself and his will so we know what to do not just what to believe. Reflection upon these ideas spotlighted in his study and thinking prior to going into the grove to pray all lead to one conclusion– Joseph should trust God; he hears and answers prayers.

Twice in the above quotation Joseph refers to the conclusion to which his reflections upon James 1:5 led him.  If he had been reticent or fearful, or both, now believing that God liberally gives wisdom to those who lack it and he will not chastize the supplicant, Joseph concluded that he “might venture” to pray.  In an 1842 letter to Chicago editor John Wentworth, Joseph confirmed that he not only believed the passage but it hiked his confidence:  “Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of James–....”(7)   The record indicates in clear language that encouraged by these ideas he decided to act.

The provision of James 1:6-7 should also be considered

Verses six and seven of James chapter one must also be considered in any serious discussion of the role the scriptures played in Joseph’s life leading to the First Vision.  They contain a proviso that we do not often discuss in relationship to Joseph Smith, but which speak directly to his case.

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord.”  (Emphasis added.)

In light of this demanding standard it is readily apparent that Joseph received the correct message from the scriptures; a message that bolstered his natural faith in the word of the Lord. The scriptures moved him from enlightenment and understanding to action. Moreover, if we accept his account of the result of his prayer–the First Vision–then it follows that he must have met the qualifications of these latter verses. But, we are not left without further evidence to substantiate this conclusion.

The depth of his commitment to get an answer

It is significant that twice in the 1838 statement Joseph mentions his “determination to ask.”  However, he did not come to the decision in haste.  He reflected upon the passage over and over again.  Doubtless the other passage he referred to in his 1832 statement were included in those reflections.  Two statements, both from 1835, speak to the depth of Joseph’s commitment to get an answer to his prayer. In 1835 Oliver Cowdery, the Church’s first historian, wrote several letters about early church history to W. W. Phelps, then editor of the Church’s newspaper The Messenger and Advocate. Recalling events leading to the First Vision he wrote:

“...our brother was urged forward and strengthened in the determination to know for himself in the certainty and reality of pure and holy religion.  And it is only necessary for me to say, that while this excitement continued, he continued to call upon the Lord in secret for a full manifestation of divine approbation, and for, to him, the all important information, if a Supreme being did exist, to have an assurance that he was accepted of him."(8)

The second is found in Joseph's 9 November 1835 Journal.  He said, “...information was what I most desired at this time, and with a fixed determination to obtain it, I called upon the Lord...”(9)  Not only had the scriptures brought him to the “conclusion” that he must take his questions to God in prayer, they also strengthened his “determination” to do so.

"Believing," "confidence," and "determination" are strong active words which tell us something important about the mental attitude and quality of faith which Joseph took with him into the "Sacred Grove" in the Spring of 1820.  What wonderful things the Scriptures can produce in the heart and mind of a fourteen-year-old!

The insights gained from the various retellings of the First Vision story which play up Joseph’s belief in the scriptures and the workings of the Lord in guiding him to passages which would bolster that faith and focus it to a greater degree in believing that God hears and answers prayer, strengthen’s my own faith that he was a Prophet of God.  Vance Havner, one of my favorite Baptist ministers unwittingly left a statement which wonderfully summarizes the point of this essay.  He wrote:

“After all, the Word of God yields its deepest secrets not to scholarly analysis but to simple faith that dares to “let God be true, but every man a liar.”  After the wise and prudent, even among the orthodox, have argued at length over this verse and that, God raises up some nonentity who dares to believe God’s bold, brave words, and puts all the rest of us to shame.  Few of us ever stand with all our weight on the Word of God.  We pretend to, but in a crisis we usually make some concession to human weakness, and the Word does not profit us as it might, being mixed with unbelief in us who hear it.”(10)

Thank God for Joseph Smith.  Lets think together again, soon.

Notes:

1 One example: Young William Taylor once asked Joseph if he got frightened “when all those hounding wolves are after you?”  Joseph said, “No, I am not afraid; the Lord said he would protect me, and I have full confidence in his word.” William Taylor, Young Woman's Journal, 17 (December 1906), pp. 547-548.

2  Richard L. Anderson, "Joseph Smith's Testimony of The First Vision," Ensign, April 1996, 10.

3 Dean C. Jessee, ed., The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984), 4-6.  I have not corrected the spelling.

4 Jessee, Personal Writings, 5-6.

5 JS-H 1:12-14.

6 Very similar precepts are taught in Luke 11:9-13.

7 HC, 4:536.

8  Oliver Cowdery, "Letter IV, to W. W. Phelps, Esq.," Messenger and Advocate, 1 (February 1835), 78, emphasis added.

9 Dean C. Jessee, The Papers of Joseph Smith: Volume 2, Journal, 1832-1842, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book,1992), 69, entry for 9 November 1835, emphasis added.

10  Vance Havner, The Secret of Christian Joy, (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1938), p. 23, bold emphasis added. Havner said this in an essay or sermon on how modern “believers” privately interpret, misinterpret, and take the life out of scripture. Five decades after Havner’s statement, Mormon scholar Stephen Robinson wrote a best-selling book in Mormonism titled Believing Christ: The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992).  It’s focus was not just believing in Christ, but believing what he says.

John Stuart Mill's Astonishing Reading From Age Eight To Twelve

[I said Thursday I would add this information about Mill. It appears that few are interested in it, but since I promised it, here it is.]

"In the same year in which I began Latin [age 8], I made my first commencement in the Greek poets with the Iliad.  After I had made some progress in this, my father put Pope’s translation into my hands.  It was the first English verse I had cared to read, and it became one of the books in which for many years I most delighted: I think I must have read it from twenty to thirty times through.  I should not have thought it worth while to mention a taste apparently so natural to boyhood, if I had not, as I think, observed that the keen enjoyment of this brilliant specimen of narrative and versification is not so universal with boys, as I should have expected both a priori and from my individual experience.  Soon after this time I commenced Euclid....

From my eighth to my twelfth year the Latin books which I remember reading were, the Bucolics of Virgil, and the first six books of the Aeneid; all Horace except the Epodes; the fables of Phaedrus; the first five books of Livy (to which from my love of the subject I voluntarily added, in my hours of leisure, the remainder of the first decad); all Sallust; a considerable part of Ovid’s Metamorphoses; some plays of Terence; two or three books of Lucretius; several of the Orations of  Cicero, and of his writings on oratory; also his letters to Atticus, my father taking the trouble to translate to me from the french the historical explanations in Mongault’s notes.  In Greek I read the Iliad and Odyssey through; one or two plays of Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, though by these I profited little; all Thucydides; the Hellenics of Xenophon; a great part of Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Lysias; Theocritus; Anacreon; part of the Anthology; a little of Dionysisus; several books of Polybius; and lastly, Aristotle’s Rhetoric, which, as the first expressly scientific treatise on any moral or psychological subject which I had read, and containing many of the best observations of the ancients on human nature and life, my father made me study with peculiar care, and throw the matter of it into synoptic tables. ...

As to my private reading, I can only speak of what I remember.  History continued to be my strongest predilection, and most of all ancient history.  Mitford’s Greece I read continually.   My father had put me on my guard against the Tory prejudices of this writer, and his perversions of facts for the whitewashing of despots, and blackening of popular institutions. These points he discoursed on, exemplifying them from the Greek orators and historians, with such effect that in reading Mitford, my sympathies were always on the contrary side to those of the author, and I could, to some extent, have argued the point against him: yet this did not diminish the ever new pleasure with which I read the book. Roman history, both in my old favorite, Hooke, and in Ferguson, continued to delight me.  A book which, in spite of what is called the dryness of its stile, I took great pleasure in, was the Ancient Universal History: through the incessant reading of which, I had my head full of historical details concerning the obscurest ancient people, while about modern history, except detached passages such as the Dutch war of independence, I knew and cared comparatively little.

... I had read, up to this time, very little English poetry.  Shakespeare my father had put into my hands, chiefly for the sake of the historical plays, from which however I went on to the others.   My father never was a great admirer of Shakespeare, the English idolatry of whom he used to attack with some severity.  He cared little for any English poetry except Milton (for whom he had the highest admiration), Goldsmith, Burns, and Gray’s Bard, which he preferred to his Elegy: perhaps I may add Cowper and Beattie.  He had some value for Spenser, and I remember his reading to me (unlike his usual practice of making me read to him) the first book of the Fairie Queene; but I took little pleasure in it.  The poetry of the present century he saw scarcely any merit in, and I hardly became acquainted with any of it till I was grown up to manhood, except the metrical romances of Walter Scott, which I read at his recommendation and was intensely delighted with; as I always was with animated narrative.  Dryden’s Poems were among my father’s books, and many of these he made me read, but I never cared for any of them except Alexander’s Feast, which, as well as many of the sons in Walter Scott, I used to sing internally, to a music of my own: to some of the latter indeed I went so far as to compose airs, which I still remember.  Cowper’s short poems I read with some pleasure, but never got far into the longer ones; and nothing in the two volumes interested me like the prose account of his three hares.  In my thirteenth year I met with Campbell’s Poems, among which Lochiel, Hohenlinden, the Exile of Erin, and some others, gave me sensations I had never before experienced from poetry.  Here, too, I made nothing of the longer poems, except the striking opening of Gertrude of Wyoming, which long kept its place in my feelings as the perfection of pathos."

Let's think together again, soon.

John Stuart Mill, Autobiography, edited by Jack Stillinger, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1969), pp.  8-12.