“What are each of us called to do in these last days?” This question applies to all of us, and is the subject specifically covered in Doctrine and Covenants sections 10-11.
The nature of wickedness
I was surprised to see the Lord refer to Martin Harris as a wicked man (D&C 10:1).
1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the , into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.
This got me thinking. What was going on at the moment that God would call Martin a wicked man? Wasn’t Martin giving money to Joseph Smith to further the Lord’s work? Didn’t Martin help Joseph with the translation of the Book of Mormon? Where is the wickedness in this that God is referring to? This issue is further compounded in verses 6-7 where the Lord tells Joseph that Martin was seeking to destroy him and to take away Joseph’s gift. That is a pretty serious accusation.
6 Behold, they have sought to you; yea, even the in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
7 And for this cause I said that he is a wicked man, for he has sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your gift.
These accusations made me think about what was going on in Martin Harris’s mind. I can’t imagine he thought of himself as being wicked. Nor, I think, did Joseph consider Martin to be a wicked man. That makes this part of the scriptures educational as to how the Lord views our behavior, for He obviously looked at everyone’s behavior differently than they viewed themselves. Since I cannot know what Martin Harris was thinking or feeling I must rely on conjecture, comparing his behavior with some of my own behaviors. That makes what I am about to say supposition on my part.
I believe Martin was, at his core, a good man with good intentions. But he lived with a spouse who had become antagonistic and bitter toward the prophet and his work. She badgered him constantly about spending both his time and his money in the company of this cause Martin had adopted. Wouldn’t that cause Martin to want some resolution, some peace at home? I can see how difficult it would be for him to have to face persecution from the love of his life every day over this topic. Wanting peace and tranquility in his homelife doesn’t make Martin wicked, right?
In an effort to bring peace back into his life Martin asked Joseph to allow him to take the translated pages home to show his wife and some close kin. Surely that would resolve his problem at home. Joseph asked the Lord but was told no. This is where we often begin to cross the line in our behavior. The no from God wasn’t good enough. Martin wanted Joseph to ask again to see if he could influence God to change His mind. Think about that. How often have we received an answer to our query to the Lord, but weren’t satisfied, because it didn’t fulfill our expectation or hope of what His answer would be, so we gave it another try to see if we couldn’t get the answer we really wanted? Perhaps He just didn’t understand what we asked, or we worded it wrong.
When the Lord said no again, Martin must have felt truly trapped. I’m guessing that he couldn’t see any other way to get out of his misery at home except to have those pages to show his wife. He was convinced that showing her was the only way to quiet her objections and win her support. At this point Martin wasn’t really thinking rationally, but emotionally. God had already told him no twice, but he pestered Joseph to plead on his behalf one more time.
I have often stated that I believe that God gives us what we want. He honors the true desires of our hearts. I think Martin truly believed that gaining possession of those pages would solve his problems. He didn’t even consider why God would turn him down, twice. His focus was solely on the only solution he could see. At this point he was not exercising any faith in God, for if he had Martin would not have persisted in asking for what God had already told him no twice before. This time God gave permission, but added strict rules about how the pages were to be handled. Even with his desired yes answer in hand Martin didn’t honor the conditions placed on his getting the pages, and as a result the pages were “lost.” I put that in quotes, because as much as his wife insisted that they were nowhere to be found, God told Joseph that wicked men had them in their possession and were planning on destroying the work of the translation by changing the wording if Joseph dared to translate them again. So the pages weren’t lost after all, but had either been stolen or given to those who opposed the Lord’s work.
God saw that this would happen. We know that He sees the end from the beginning. This is why Nephi was told to write two separate accounts of the same events in two different records, and why Mormon was inspired to include the second account in his own compilation. Neither of them had any idea why they were doing what they felt the need to do. They only knew that it was wise on God’s part, so they were happy to help.
Our wickedness
I believe Martin had what he thought were good motives in his heart. God, knowing where those motives would lead advised against going in that direction. Martin, not seeing as God sees, put his own wisdom above his opinion of God’s wisdom and sought for permission over and over again, even when being told absolutely not each time. What Martin wasn’t seeing was that his behavior was putting Joseph Smith at risk as well. By pleading for Joseph to continue to go back to the Lord to ask Him to change His mind, Joseph was also aiding and abetting a man who would be responsible for losing the work of translation. This put Joseph and his gift at risk. Joseph was also naive about what happens when we push God to fulfill our agenda over His. This is what made Martin Harris a wicked man. His personal disobedience endangered the spiritual safety of others beside himself.
6 Behold, they have sought to you; yea, even the in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
7 And for this cause I said that he is a wicked man, for he has sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your gift.
Mind you, Martin didn’t do it deliberately. He wasn’t overtly seeking to destroy Joseph. Martin Harris was just being self centered and focused only on finding peace at home. He really wanted the support of his family, and especially of his wife. He thought he knew better than God how to make that happen. I doubt he thought about it in those terms, but his behavior certainly speaks more loudly than his private thoughts at this point.
What about us? How often have we thought to bend the rules, rationalize our need to break a commandment, try to find a workaround when the scriptures or the prophets have clearly stated that it is not right for us to do so? Are we guilty of behaving in our own way like Martin and Joseph behaved? Martin, in my mind, was a good man, but in this instance his behavior crossed the line and supported Satan’s work. Instead of accepting the Lord’s word and either living with the results or putting faith in God that He would give Martin a way out of his troubles at home, Martin pursued his own course, wanting the Lord to change His mind and do it Martin’s way. I think most of us have at some point or another done something similar to this. And we see how the Lord views this behavior. I cringe at the thought of God referring to me as a wicked man, yet I fear there have been times when I deserved that description.
The lesson here for me is that I’ll never “come off conqueror” if I put my own interests above the commandments of God. Only He knows the way to get me back home. I must learn to put my faith and trust always in Him and be strict in my observance of His commandments.
The nature of Satan
The word Satan means adversary. He is one who opposes God and His work. Let’s look at how the Lord describes the followers of Satan. Just as God has patterns of behavior, which when we copy them we become more like Him, so too does Satan and his ilk have patterns of behavior, which when copied make us like him. Here is the Lord’s description of those who sought to alter the translated pages (D&C 10:12-13, 15-19).
12 And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work;
13 For he hath put into their hearts to do this, that by lying they may say they have you in the words which you have pretended to translate.
15 For behold, he has put it into their to get thee to the Lord thy God, in asking to translate it over again.
16 And then, behold, they say and think in their hearts—We will see if God has given him power to translate; if so, he will also give him power again;
17 And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us, and we have altered them;
18 Therefore they will not agree, and we will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no , and that he has no power;
19 Therefore we will destroy him, and also the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the end, and that we may get of the world.
Did you see the patterns of behavior of those who follow Satan? Look at verse 13. By lying the men hoped to accuse Joseph of falsely pretending that he could translate ancient records. Why would they care if he could? What is it to them? Satan put it into their hearts to destroy Joseph, because their hearts were filled with darkness. Here are verses 20-22.
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that has great hold upon their hearts; he stirreth them up to against that which is good;
21 And their hearts are , and of wickedness and abominations; and they rather than light, because their are evil; therefore they will not ask of me.
22 stirreth them up, that he may their souls to destruction.
Reread verses 16-18. God tells us that even if they can see full well that Joseph has the power given him from God to translate records, they will alter the words of his translation and accuse him before the people of being a false prophet. Hence they seek to destroy that which is good. Why? Because they are full of wickedness and abomination. They are the servants of sin, the servants of he who is the adversary of God, who seeks to destroy all that God finds most precious, His children.
To those who embrace wickedness lying is only bad if someone else is doing it. Hypocrisy is the order of the day. If they are doing evil that is for their own benefit, but if you do it they will accuse you and try to destroy you. Any people who embrace the philosophies and practices of Satan end up destroying themselves. That is the pattern we see all throughout the scriptures. If you want consistency, rational and filled with hope, you will find that only in the practices and teachings of the God of Israel. Satan’s followers betray each other and destroy each other all in the name of retribution, power, or influence. There is no holiness in their habits or practices.
God’s wisdom
Something that occurred to me in this week’s lessons is that while we know that God is omniscient, all knowing, Satan is not. Not only does Satan not have the wisdom God possesses, but he also doesn’t know the end from the beginning, except the part where his own fate is sealed. Satan is brilliant as far as individuals go, but he isn’t as smart as God is. God can always outthink and outmaneuver Satan. This is why we can put our faith in God to get us safely home. But it requires that we learn to recognize the workings of God’s adversary and stick closely to the commandments the Lord has given us. This is our only path to safety.
Satan can’t read our thoughts, but God can. Satan can however see the change of spirit that happens within us when we dwell on evil thoughts or feelings, and can definitely see any change in our actions. This change is obvious to him. He acts on this change to encourage more of it. So even if he can’t tell our specific thoughts, he knows us from the premortal world and can guess what we are stewing over. Satan only knows our hearts when we give ourselves over to his influences in our life. He knows this because his suggestions are little by little more easily accepted and acted upon by us.
God loves us and will support us in our efforts to be good, but we must make the effort to put off the temptations of God’s adversary and embrace the Spirit’s promptings to think and do good things. It is only in this way that God’s wisdom and greater knowledge can protect us.
Consider this quote from the manual, “… look for evidence of His wisdom and foresight in your life.” This thought has never entered my mind before. Have you ever taken time to consider ways in which God’s wisdom has saved you from your own choices, or how His foresight (through the Spirit) has led your life in a positive direction?
When we take the time and make the effort to recognize God’s involvement in our life, our perspective changes. We come to see that He is there a lot more than He is not there. We recognize that the Spirit is very supportive of all our efforts to do good, that even when we are wayward or lazy in our righteous efforts the Lord is working behind the scenes and through the efforts of others to help us and direct us for good. We begin to see more clearly how much God wants us to find happiness and peace in our life, despite our frequent efforts to the contrary.
Doctrine and Covenants 11
I have often wondered why the people surrounding Joseph Smith asked him for revelations from God on their behalf. It was only lately that I realized that it was because as Protestants they were taught that God didn’t speak to His children any more and that they weren’t supposed to seek for revelation. Along comes Joseph smith and it is obvious that he is having revelations, so people go to him and ask him to get one for them. This is the first spark of hope of direct communion with God that any of them had ever had to this extent.
Consider these words the Lord gave Joseph for his brother Hyrum in D&C 11:5-7. They apply to each of us as well.
5 Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will it shall be opened unto you.
6 Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of .
7 Seek not for but for ; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made . Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.
This is how I interpret these verses for my own life. If I want to receive something from God or be able to ask and have my prayer answered, there are a few conditions that first must be met. I must be able to tell the Lord that I am keeping the commandments I have been given, and that I am currently seeking to “bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” Yes, I believe that second part applies to all of us. It is a requirement of this dispensation, and we can’t expect to escape the need for our participation in furthering God’s work in establishing Zion and furthering the gathering of Israel. This is why we are constantly told by the prophets that we need to be working in the temples to bring covenants to those who are already in the post mortal world. This work saves them and secures our own safety as well.
The last bit required of God for my prayers to be answered as I wish them to be is that I need to be seeking to learn how to live with God’s wisdom. This means I seek to find His patterns of living and then emulate them in my own life. By studying the scriptures and the words of the Apostles I can gain insights as to how the Lord lives and then it is up to me to find ways to apply those ways in my own life. When I do these things I have the promise that my knocking on heaven’s door will not go unanswered. My efforts will be rewarded with the knowledge of the eternities, and that knowledge is what makes me rich in the most important sense of the word, for knowledge is the currency of heaven. Those who remain ignorant of the ways and knowledge of God are the poorest souls there are.
Where does power come from?
Have you considered where God’s power comes from? It comes from the kind of life He lives. He has embraced all that is good, just, kind, and consistent. He seeks the welfare and uplifting of others at all times. He doesn’t concern Himself with His own wants or needs, but is always focused on what He can do to uplift others and bring them happiness. The result of this lifestyle is the ability to be trusted unconditionally. The universe – all the life forms contained in the universe – trust God completely. If He says He will do something there is nothing more sure than His word. His power comes from others cooperation and willingness to fulfill His requests or commandments. There is no reason to ever deny Him His request, because everyone knows that He is only looking out for the welfare of all, never for Himself.
We begin to experience this kind of power as we keep the covenants God has given us. Through His priesthood authority His covenants with us provide us with access to His own ability to accomplish things and to bring things to pass. Obedience to God’s covenants change us for the better. We become more capable, more trustworthy, more loving, happier, more filled with peace, more full of His grace when we deal with others, and are better able to understand the instructions and promptings we receive from His Spirit.
We call the source of power the power of the priesthood. God’s priesthood is the source of His authority to rule and govern the universe. He shares this with us as we seek to become more like Him. In mortality it never becomes our personal power, for it all belongs to Him. Someday, when we are perfected in every sense of the word we will be worthy of having our own power, but for now the power in the priesthood we receive is access to His power. This power is available to every man and woman who keeps the priesthood covenants we make at baptism and in the temple of the Lord. His power is what gives us revelations, and guides us to do and be good every day. This power is what brings peace into our life and teaches us of the things of eternity.
Final Thoughts
Remember the three things the Lord outlined to enable us to have His power (this comes from the section just above here).
We must seek Him and ask Him our questions, for He has promised to answer us.
We must have the furtherance and establishment of Zion in the forethoughts of our minds. This means we seek for the welfare and salvation of others.
We must be seeking for His wisdom to guide our actions, thoughts, and feelings in this life. This brings us closer to the Holy Spirit who is our Celestial tutor.
How might your personal service to others be influenced by such a pattern in your life? Will you become better at how you serve others? What about your ability to judge wisely, and more compassionately?
When we learn to serve one and only one master, and that master is God, our life will change for the better. We will see more clearly the influence of Satan in our life and in the lives of those around us. Our abilities to follow the Spirit will increase, and our desire to do so will also grow in proportion to our efforts to be obedient to God. Peace will be a result of living a more Christlike life of service to others, and we will discover that real joy is intimately connected with service, and cannot live without it. When we have experienced these things we will begin to have the very real hope that God can help us “come off conqueror.”
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Incredible ~ THANK YOU! I love your insights ~ lots of ah-ha moments!!!
That was my experience as well!