JSH 27-65 & Section 2
Generally we are studying the events after the 1st vision, the visitation of Moroni, finding the plates, obtaining the plates (which came later), persecution, beginning of the translation, Martin Harris.
Let's just clarify one thing, in case there is any confusion. Who was Moroni? Last author of the Book of Mormon, the one who hid the plates. Not captain Moroni. This is the Moroni who we see where? On the tops of the temples.
What did you learn from these verses this week?
Technically this is a bit of last weeks lesson but I did have this thought this week. I have conducted a few temple recommend interviews over the last couple of weeks. The temple recommend questions generally revolve our integrity before God. The final question is if we consider ourselves worthy to enter the Temple. Sometimes it is tempting to consider ourselves unworthy because we know there are things we could do better. For example none of the recommend questions ask us if we pray day & night or if we read our scriptures daily. I thought about this when I considered Joseph's experience. It is clear his heart was drawn to God, but he does say it was his 1st attempt to pray vocally. It was upon his 1st vocal prayer that he had the experience of the 1st vision. Then we open this week with something similar, where Joseph asks for forgiveness, and is blessed with another divine manifestation. What this tells me is 1) God forgives & 2) We do not need to be perfect to be lead & guided by God.
There are a few other things I thought were particularly interesting.
v23 It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling.
Joseph identified, that despite his merger worldly situation & low prospects of amounting to anything, people of all parts of society considered him a great threat and treated him coarsely. I suppose we are lead to conclude a spirit of opposition was working extra hard which if noticed can in turn lead one to also ponder how important for good these claims of Joseph's were.
v28 Even though we can have amazing experiences in our lives, where we feel particularly close to heaven, it does not make us immune from temptations and straying. We can even feel lost and unsure of where we stand before God.
v26 Joseph declares that God gives wisdom to those who ask for it, so in v29 we again learn about Joseph asking a question and getting an answer.
I suppose he may have been thinking, God did say he had a work for me to do, but He's not told me what it is yet. Given my behaviour, does he still want me?
v33 Interesting that the 1st things Moroni says is the same as his previous vision. They call him by name.
So what do we know Moroni told Joseph?
-Moroni was sent from God.
-God has a job Joseph.
-People from all over will love & hate him for what he is going to do.
-He was told about the book made of gold plates.
-It was a history of an ancient people.
This would have been the hook for Joseph, after searching for the truth and being told you cannot find it among all the churches of the earth.
-The book contains the 'the fullness of the gospel'.
I wonder what might have been more impressive to you if you were told these things? What a treasure find?! Not just gold plates, but a preserved history of a people with a worldly value to free your family from financial difficulty or aside from all that, the fullness of the gospel, not to mention as delivered by the Saviour.
But wait, there's more.
-Stones in silver Bows on a breastplate prepared by the God for translating.
-Quoted passages of scripture.
-Many more things not recorded in JSH.
As I was reading the Historical Background I was quite captivated by what I was reading. We have JSH (Joseph Smith History) in the scriptures. But this is just a fraction of the history of the church at the time. What I was reading, did not contradict the JSH account, but was new information to me. Bits I had heard over the years as I have grown up in the church, but never really knew where that info had come from.
Take Joseph's leg for example. Many of us know the story, we don't tend to question it, but it is not found in JSH but other church history sources.
The promise of Elijah about hearts of children turning to fathers and fathers to children, is apparently in all 4 book of scripture. Pride points for anyone who can identify each reference.
Martin Harris
I read a lot about Martin Harris. A man of wealth who was keen to help 'if it was the lords work'. His motivations are often portrayed as grey with one account of him giving Joseph $50 publicly, rather than privately. To me this could have been an effort to seek glory, but likewise, it could have been an effort to raise awareness that others too could help with the effort.
Many of us will be familiar with the account of Martin Harris travelling to New York to seek verification of some characters authenticity. The trip to New York in and of itself would have been of an appreciable cost to Martin. There are technicalities around this that are not highlighted in JSH, such as potentially going to Ancient American Scholars, rather than Egyptian scholars due to the fact that it was not until later into the translation process that Joseph learned that the main language he was translating was a for of Egyptian rather than ancient American. For the world, the evidence Martin returned home with would seem pretty inconclusive. However, for Martin it was sufficient for him to get stuck in and invest in the Lords work.
But here's the thing. What about the story of the ark of the covenant being carried through the Jordan river? To my recollection the priests carrying the Ark had to step into the water before the river stopped. Joshua 3:13-17.
I'm sure Martin Prayed to the Lord for confirmation. But would it have been better for him just to believe and help in whatever way he could? Was he seeking for some kind of evidence that was not there?
If you had wealth and had heard about a young lad with a gift to translate and a job to publish new scripture, would you simply rely on impressions from the lord, or would you do some research before donating your hard earned assets to the cause? Martin was prepared to donate his farm to see the writing be published. Noble.
To me, while Joseph smith expresses weaknesses that many of us can relate to in v28, the one I may be able to relate to more is Martin Harris.
In the Doctrine & Covenants we will learn of many individuals, some were excellent examples, while others had plenty of potential but also the odd weakness. This did not make them bad people & I don't think they should be seen as such. We would do well to make them heros by learning from them.
We will learn more about mistakes Martin Harris made. But, the did forgive him, and you find his name in the beginnings of the Book of Mormon as one of the 3 witnesses who were shown the plates by Moroni.
