101 Reasons Why I Believe Joseph Smith Was a Prophet of God
Evidence Sixty-seven:
“Hold on Thy Way:" A New Look at Enduring to the End from the Life of the Prophet”©
As so frequently happens when we are faithful in attending Church, this morning I was blessed with a great doctrinal and historical insight, one that has great meaning to me personally. We “attended” via Zoom. It is the day after Christmas and the program was comprised of Christmas musical numbers, a youth speaker, and an adult speaker–sister Sue Salmon. Her assigned topic was “the doctrine of Christ.” She read from 3 Nephi about the fundamental principles that make up the doctrine of Christ and then expounded on each one briefly.
When she came to “endure to the end” she taught me something very important. She said she long wondered what that meant and went on to give an idea from the life of Joseph Smith. He endured so very much during his life. He endured persecution, rejection, misunderstanding, betrayal, loss of close friends and family, financial problems, being driven from his home, death of children, and much more. And, in what at the time seemed to be the culmination of his problems, in 1839 he was languishing in Liberty Jail, a cold, damp, dreary dungeon in Missouri. He cried out to the Lord. As part of the answer given to him then, sister Salmon quoted something we often quote in these kinds of discussions, but it is something I think contains a message that is often overlooked. D&C 122:9 begins: “Therefore, hold on thy way....” “Hold on thy way?” Continue what you have been doing!
Joseph was instructed to persevere through the Liberty Jail experience like he did through all of his previous difficulties. Apparently, this wasn’t the end, either of his life or his trials. Apparently, there was still more for him to do and he was not to be distracted or derailed by the intensity of what he was then experiencing. He was to “hold on thy way.”
Then Sue said something, that brought it all into focus for me–this is the doctrinal and historical lesson that I learned from her that instantly became a treasure to me. She pointed out that between his 1839 Liberty Jail experience and his Martyrdom in June 1844, Joseph Smith received and gave to the Church some of his most important doctrinal revelations, particularly relating to the temple and its ordinances. When I say things came into focus for me when she said that, I mean really, really sharp focus. I have spent much of the last fifteen years of my life studying the temple, its doctrines, rituals, and ordinances. They are most precious and important to me. Sister Salmon’s almost casual insight rocked me in my chair. I now have a clearer and fuller understanding of “enduring to the end.” “Hold on thy way” because the last may be the best if you do.
In this sense Joseph Smith was like Nephi and other Book of Mormon prophets. He perhaps didn’t see clearly why the Lord wanted him to hold on and “hold on thy way” while he suffered in Liberty Jail; just like Nephi and Mormon did not understand why they were to make the plates and the records they were commanded to. With 100% hindsight, we now know that the Lord was doing it for other people at another time–the future–for you and me. In the midst of the loneliness and sense of abandonment Joseph doubtless felt in jail, I doubt he understood that the next 4-5 years would be the doctrinal culmination–the theological apogee of his prophetic career. He must endure Liberty Jail, because on the other side the true meaning of the “fulness of the Gospel” became evident.
And the personal application of all this to me? Well, I am 78 ½ years old, and because of two back operations and related matters I am physically useless as a minister, friend, or family member. Yet I am reasonably healthy and happy and as interested and motivated about my life-long interest in studying the Church and gospel as I have ever been. I have built over 22,000 files on many aspects of the gospel and yet I find myself adding new ones almost daily. On Christmas I added three, and this subject is the first for today. Because of my physical limitations, I’ve prayed for guidance about what the Lord would have me do with my time. Without really recognizing it, the consistent answer seems to be, “Hold on thy way.” Keep doing what you have done for 50 years. And... oh, by the way, I believe the last is the best. The technology and resources now available, the things I’m doing and the materials I’m collecting, organizing, and preserving are among the best of my whole life! Now, my prayer, like those of the Book of Mormon, is that they may be of great value to someone in my family and in the Church.
I am so grateful for this Church, for its organization and teachings, for Sacrament meeting, for the inspiration and insights of the good basic Latter-day Saints who speak in them, and for the life and teachings of Joseph Smith. This is one more evidence to me, he was and remains a prophet of the living God.
Lets think together again, soon.
