This week's Come Follow Me Study covered Doctrine and Covenants 3-5.
A brief summary of each section:
- D&C 3 - The Lord chastises but also encourages Joseph Smith after Martin Harris loses the 116 pages of manuscript that Joseph had translated.
- D&C 4 - The Lord tells Joseph Smith's father what he can do now (missionary work).
- D&C 5 - The Lord chastises and teaches Martin Harris about faith.
What themes came to mind for you as you studied these scriptures?
I had several scriptures that stood out to me:
D&C 3:4 is one that I have been thinking about a lot because I recently read a wonderful, thought-provoking talk by President Dallin H. Oaks (before he was in the first presidency), called "Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall," from 1992. He said: (click to enlarge quote)
The interesting thing about President Oaks caution and the reprimand given to Joseph Smith is that Joseph Smith was quite a humble and obedient man. The Lord was unhappy with him because he had already said, "no" to allowing Joseph to give Martin Harris the pages 116 pages of the manuscript to take home to his doubting wife and family, but Joseph kept asking. In some ways, I admire the deep relationship that Joseph Smith had with the Lord that like a child to a father (for isn't that what he was?) he heard "no" and asked again and again. However, the Lord reminds Joseph that as our Heavenly Father:
"God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that he he hath said, therefore, his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round." (Doctrine and Covenants 3:2)
Joseph was not the first, and likely not the last, prophet to be reprimanded by the Lord for letting his mortal fears get the best of him. I was really touched by the additional perspective about Joseph Smith and Martin Harris that was given in the "Come Follow Me - For Individuals and Families" manual:
Early in Joseph Smith’s ministry, good friends were hard to come by—especially friends like Martin Harris, a respected, prosperous man, who was in a position to provide valuable support. And Martin willingly supported Joseph, even though it cost him the respect of his peers and required financial sacrifice.
So it’s easy to see why Joseph wanted to honor Martin’s request to take the first portion of the Book of Mormon translation to show his wife, who doubted the truth of the Book of Mormon. Joseph continued to ask the Lord about this request, even when He forbade it, until finally, after Joseph asked a third time, the Lord said yes. Tragically, the manuscript was lost while it was in Martin’s possession, and Joseph and Martin were sharply chastised by the Lord (see Saints, 1:51–53).
As well as by: See also “The Contributions of Martin Harris,” Revelations in Context, 1–9, history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
It's easy to see someone's mistake in hindsight, but doesn't this personalize things so much more? How much more can you relate to losing these manuscripts now that you see that Joseph DID ask and wait to get a "yes" but he asked persistently because he so badly wanted to help Martin Harris. I identify with this experience so much. In a previous calling, I had a Martin Harris, which is to say, like Martin Harris, this individual was a very good person that did a lot of selfless things in the name of the Lord. I made a decision that I thought would benefit my "Martin Harris" because I loved this person and wanted to reassure this person about their self-worth. However, my desires, though they came from a good place, were maybe not as in line with the Lord's as I thought they would be, and I experienced my own loss of manuscripts, essentially. It was a pivotal moment in my scripture study this week to read this perspective about Martin Harris and Joseph Smith, and look at it from the context of my own devastating experience.
The Lord goes on to remind Joseph that he should not have feared man more than God. It's a powerful reminder that "fear" does not have to mean sheer terror. The point is that the Lord will support us and be with us if we will rely in him. I think this advice could be extended to Martin Harris, that Joseph could have felt that Martin's problems would eventually be resolved without the need to take home the 116 pages of the manuscript.
I shared this quote because President Nelson reminds us that not only do we need not fear with God in our life, but we should turn to the Lord for revelations so that we can have increased direction in our life.
It's also to remember that the Lord has said he chastises whom he loves. God is merciful:
There are so many scriptures to ponder and discuss here but I'll settle on just one more:
First, this reminds of Neil L. Anderson's talk, "We Talk of Christ." that was quoted in sacrament by an outgoing missionary today:
I promise you that as you prepare yourselves, as President Nelson did, you too will be different, thinking more about the Savior, speaking of Him more frequently and with less hesitation. As you come to know and love Him even more deeply, your words will flow more comfortably, as they do when you speak of one of your children or of a dear friend. Those listening to you will feel less like debating or dismissing you and more like learning from you.
Second, I think one valuable way to read this scripture as a family is to have each family member pick one of the qualities listed for doing the Lord's work and have each person share what they picked and why. Or, pick one a day and spend some time studying each of those qualities.
I picked three qualities above and have three quotes to share:
Here's his story about the semi-truck losing its tire:
"A few years ago, I was driving home from work when a large semitruck, traveling in the opposite direction, lost one of its dual tires. The tire flew over the median separating our lanes. It came bouncing down my side of the freeway. Cars were swerving in both directions, drivers not knowing which direction the tire would bounce next. I dodged left when I should have dodged right, and the tire took its final bounce right on the corner of my windshield.A friend called my wife to inform her of the accident. She told me later that her first thought was of lacerations from shattered glass. Indeed, I was covered with beads of broken glass but did not suffer a single scratch. It was definitely not because of my driving skills; rather, it was because the windshield of my little car was made of tempered glass."
I guess I will share one more scripture. In Doctrine and Covenants 5:33-35, the Lord says, "33. And there are many that lie in wait to destroy thee from off the face of the earth; and for this cause, that thy days may be prolonged, I have given unto thee these commandments. 34. Yea, for this cause I have said: Stop, and stand still until I command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee. 35. And if thou art faithful in keeping my commandments, thou shalt be lifted up at the last day. Amen."
I share my testimony that I know my Heavenly Father is real and true, and that thou there may be enemies that "wait to destroy" upon this earth, our Father in Heaven loves us and has a plan for us, that we can follow by remaining faithful to his commandments.
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