Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail

During the almost five months that Joseph Smith was in Liberty jail, he spent much time reflecting on the experiences in his life that brought him to that point.  He also had time to write to members of the church about these thoughts.  He seemed to develop a more intense spiritual insight on suffering and affliction.  You may be wondering, what got him into prison in the first place?  I'll lay the facts out on the table.   The members of the church were gaining political and economic power in Missouri.  Local mobs resented their growing power and began "punishing" Joseph Smith and other church leaders.  Among these punishments were tarring and feathering, burning of mormon shops, and making threats to kill members of the church.  Governor Boggs sent out an extermination order allowing the citizens of Missouri to force Mormons out of the state.  Mormons were stripped of all weaponry and possessions to pay back the state.  Joseph agreed to meet with the militia to try and avoid bloodshed but, General Lucas ordered his execution.  General Doniphan refused, calling it murder,  and the leaders of the church were taken into custody instead.  There they were tried and convicted of treason.

You may decide for yourself but for me, my faith in Joseph Smith as a prophet set aside, I feel that there was nothing just about what happened in Missouri.  The saints suffered.  We can read journal after journal where members of the church described the scenes they witnessed and affliction they experienced by the hand of the angry mobs. I'd like to read a journal of any member of the community that suffered by the hands of one of the saints and I'm thinking it would be difficult to find one.  

While in Liberty Jail, Joseph Smith was comforted by the Lord, as recorded in D&C 121: 7-9.  "My son, peace be unto they soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and the, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.  Thy friends do stand by thee and shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands."  While in prison he wrote, "it will be a trial of our faith equal to that of Abraham, and that the ancients will not have whereof to boast over us in the day of judgment, as being called to pass through heavier afflictions; that we may hold an even weight in the balance with them....for my part, I think I never could have felt as I now do, if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered.  All things shall work together for good to them that love God". It is clear that Joseph felt the comforting words of the Lord and internalized that which the Lord revealed unto him by the spirit.  He came away strengthened.  Many of the sermons he gave after his experience in Liberty Jail were recorded and it is evident that his desire to serve God was even greater after he was persecuted for doing so.  The Lord promised him blessings if he endured and he had confidence that it would be so.  If his path were easy, he would not have come away with enough conviction and testimony to go forward with the Lord's work.  Suffering affliction tests as true disciple and we know that these trials are the refiners fire.  Joseph Smith could see this and he lived to inspire the saints to work through all the trials he knew were ahead.   

Doctrine and Covenants section 137

I believe that the Doctrine and Covenants is a valuable resource to anyone seeking to better understand the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The D&C is, like the Bible, a collection of revelations and spiritual/historical experiences given from God to man.  This collection expounds on teachings from both the Book of Mormon and the Bible and is a valuable resource for any religious scholar.

Section 137 explains the LDS perspective of heaven.  You may have heard that Mormon's believe there are "levels" in heaven or that Mormons believe you only get to heaven if you are Mormon but these are common misconceptions.  And, in case you missed that last part, the idea that Mormon's believe we are the only one's who make it to heaven is FALSE!  Let me tell you what is true:

In first Corinthians 15:39-41 we read of three glories; one celestial, one telestial, and one terrestrial which are the "levels" of heaven, if you will.  We believe that all good people will "make it" into heaven.  In section 137 of D&C we learn that the Lord "will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts".   In other words, if we have the desire to do good, to love unconditionally, to help those in need, to give of our excess, to volunteer our time, or anything else wholesome and worth while, and then turn those desires into actions, the Lord will bless us with eternal life in heaven.  

To receive the highest degree of glory, that being the Celestial kingdom, we must be true disciples of Jesus Christ.  We must try to emulate his attributes and follow his teachings.  The fullness of his truth is taught in his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and in order to be his true disciple, we must be baptized, as he was.  Once we have entered the covenant of baptism, we must enter into other covenants including those made in the temple.  Now, Joseph Smith had a vision of life in the Celestial kingdom where he saw his little brother, Alvin, who died before being able to enter into these covenants.  Joseph was a little confused because as he understood it, Alvin should not have been worthy to enter into the Celestial kingdom.  The Lord taught Joseph an important doctrine in verse 7,

 "All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God.  Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom".  

This is a beautiful piece of doctrine.  God wants to give us the choice.  We always have the choice between His way or the way of the adversary.  But sometimes, there are people who live their entire lives without fully understanding His way or without caring yet are still good people.  He won't punish good people for not joining the LDS faith.  He loves His children and gives us abundant opportunities to inherit all that he has.  We will always have the choice.

I am Mormon.  Or, to be proper, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  My parents both joined the church in their teen years which means many members of my family are not LDS.  I do not despair wondering if I will get to be in heaven with them.  I know that they are deserving of eternal life in heaven and if they desire to receive all the blessings of the Celestial kingdom, they will have the opportunity to do so.  I also think of my friend Lacy who died just after she was baptized.  She was eight years old; so young and innocent.  She has been promised, in section 137 that she will be an heir to the celestial kingdom.  

There is something called cognitive dissonance where a person's faith doesn't resonate with their reasoning.  I imagine that Joseph felt a bit of cognitive dissonance when seeing this vision of his brother.  In the end, the Lord's way makes sense.  He answers all the questions we are inclined to ask when we talk about heaven.  All the questions, the "what if's", are clarified in D&C 137.  The only question to ask now is why? The answer: because He loves us.

Special Collections

Today, our class took a little break from the normal routine and we met in the special collections section of the library.  I've spent time in this department before and it is a unique treat.  I was writing a paper on the pool of Bethesda for a religion class and looked on the BYU library website for some information.  I was led to a book that so happened to be a part of the special collections.  This meant that in order to read this book and pull information from it, I had to surrender my book bag and pens.  I could only take a pencil and my laptop into the special collections reading room. So as to make sure nothing happens to the books they are kind of high security about just anybody reading them.  However, it was worth the insight because I was able to look at a resource not everyone gets to see and from a unique perspective.  It was a bible dictionary from 1851! It was incredible.  I could almost see the hands of many readers searching this dictionary along side their Bible study.  Today, my experience in special collections broadened my horizon even more.  I saw bronze plates, books made of animal skins, clay stamps, and my favorite...journals.  I realized that records are kept for many many small and seemingly meaningless purposes but, one day, my records may prove valuable beyond measure to a reader I may not even know.  And, the beauty of it is, there are hundreds of easy ways to keep records these days.  I've written many thoughts down in letters, on note cards in my scriptures, in blog posts, online notes, e-mails, talks, lessons for church, and in other little journals.  I should find a way to collect all of these writings into one volume for my posterity to enjoy.  Perhaps one day my work will wind up in the special collections.     

Discussing Suffering-aka Adversity

 I searched adversity online.  I broke it down into roots and here is what I’ve come up with.  Ad means to place near or towards something.  Vers meas convertible or reverse.  ity means the state of.  The meaning I gather from this is that one who experiences adversity is in a state that is convertible or reverse In Elder Dallan H. Oaks, a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles of the LDS church, a body of elders that guide and teach members of the church and serve as representatives of Jesus Christ himself on the earth, gave a forum address at Brigham Young University and he discussed adversity. One of my favorite things he said was actually a quote from President Ezra Taft Benson “it is not on the pinnacle of success and ease where men and women grow most.  It is often down in the valley of heartache and disappointment and reverses where men and women grow into strong characters.  every reversal can be turned to our benefit and blessing and make us more strong, more courageous and more godlike”.  By definition a reversal is an unfortunate happening.  This word also means the opposite state. I think we have the power to reverse our reverses.

In D&C 121: 7-8 we read “and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes”   I sometimes want to say “prove it” but he has proven it, over and over agin in the scriptures.

  We often think of those in poverty as suffering.  My mother always says, money just makes you more of what you already are.  Can it be said that adversity makes you more of what you already are? I think it does.  One who relies on the lord will choose to do that more so in their affliction and be strengthened accordingly to become an even more faithful individual.

  Lets talk about the language of responsibility.  Using this language is about taking responsibility for all that happens to us and recognizing that things don’t usually just happen.  We don’t say, I didn’t have time to read my scriptures tonight.  If we use the language of responsibility we instead say, I didn’t make time to read the scriptures tonight because I chose other things above my scripture study.  Bottom line, we have the choice in almost everything that happens to us and granted, hard circumstances will come our way but we must choose to grow from them rather than wallow in our misery. 

In school, Im studying exercise science.  I learn in my major about the principles of weight training and spotting.  The thought came to me, Christ is our spotter.  He lifts our burdens so that we can use the rest of our force and strength to carry what we can.  Then the next time we are stronger and can carry more of our own burden.

 People often ask me what I fear most in this world.  Be it death, loss of loved ones, physical impairments, falling into sin, or scores of other trials.  I say I have no need to fear for the Lord has promised that if you are prepared and faithful, “ye shall not fear”.

Patriarchal Blessings and The Doctrine and Covenants

To compare the Doctrine and Covenants (hereafter referred to as D&C in this post) I think I must first address the purposes of each.  In the introduction to the D&C we read that "Although most of the sections are directed to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, the messages, warnings  and exhortations are for the benefit of all mankind, and contain an invitation to all people everywhere to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to them for their temporal well-being and their everlasting salvation."  The revelations given in this book are proof that God loves his children so much that he is willing to communicate with them to guide and direct them back to his presence.  These revelations only help to explain the truths found in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, which, is another testament of Jesus Christ.

Similarly, patriarchal blessings are revealed by the father to someone with the proper authority and given as guidance to those who receive their blessings.  However, these blessings are promised to individuals and the revelation that a patriarch receives is for that person alone.  These blessings are of a more sacred nature and are not typically broadcasted or published like the blessings and revelations found in the D&C.  Both blessings found in the D&C and those of patriarchal blessings are predicated on each individuals righteousness and the extend to which he or she obeys God's laws.  Individuals who have a desire to receive the fullness of Gods blessings both personal and for his entire kingdom have the opportunity to do so in studying the words of the D&C and their own blessings and adhering to the guidance given therein.

More specifically, the D&C outlines how the Church of Jesus Christ is to be organized and explains the doctrines to teach.  An interesting point about the D&C is that it often references the Bible, both the New and Old Testaments, and offers further insight and in some cases, points out important revelations that were removed or lost through the centuries by scholars, political figures, and scribes.  These modern day revelations are valuable to all religious scholars and further, to all of God's children who have ever lived.

A patriarchal blessing is given by a patriarch whose priesthood authority can be traced back to the Savior himself.  It is incredible to think that these men are in communication with the Lord and are so in tune with God, our Heavenly Father or patriarch, that they can speak for him in regards to his precious children.  God is truly our father and like any loving father on Earth, watches us and longs for us to succeed.  Success in God's eyes is to live like his son, Jesus Christ, and as we follow his guidance we will receive eternal life and become as he is.  In our patriarchal blessings he tells us of the gifts he has given us and challenges us to magnify that which he has already blessed us with.  We may gain a greater understanding of our roll in the gathering of Israel, which is to bring all his children unto him through missionary work and being good Christians.  We are sometimes warned, like in the D&C, about challenges or trials we may encounter and like any good father, He admonishes us to go forward in faith.