3:1-3
God is infallible. He is perfect. He doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t course-correct. He doesn’t need refinement. No mulligans or do-overs are necessary. “The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught. For 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 which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.” God is perfection. His plan of salvation for us is flawless. Truly, his work will bring glory.
So does that mean that his prophets are infallible? Of course not. Do his prophets make mistakes? Yes they can. Can a prophet course-correct? Yes. We can see an evolution policies and procedures in this church. Some of that may be revelation and timing and other examples might be a refinement of earlier policy and and procedure. Have we seen actual doctrine change, yes we have. Again, it may be God’s timing or it may be course correction.
Whether every change was foreordained and perfectly timed or that our prophets are fallible humans who make mistakes and then repent - it doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t hurt my testimony to see changes. I have faith in God and that he will not allow the church to go astray. “Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men.” If something is instituted and then revoked, it does not hurt my testimony and belief in an infallible God. Whether seemingly contradictory revelations are man's weakness or God's plan, that's above my pay grade. I remain committed to follow the prophet.
3:4
“For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.” Parallel to spiritual gifts and talents is an ever growing temptation to have pride in those abilities and accomplishments. The temptation to be impressed with ourselves is greater if we are a stake president rather than a Sunday School teacher.
The scriptures illustrate several examples of talented people who gave into this temptation:
Korihor. Korihor was an talented speaker and persuasive debater. He used his speaking skills to preach against the church and spread his philosophy of atheism and moral relativism. Seems like we see this today.
Amalickiah. He was charismatic, ambitious, and a master of manipulation. He used his influence and cunning to gain power and rally dissenters against the church and the Nephite government.
Nehor. He was a commanding speaker and had the ability to attract a following through his teachings. He founded a false church, preaching that all people would be saved without effort or repentance. (reminds me of another bad guy) Nehor’s pride in his influence led him to promote priestcraft, seeking wealth and power through his teachings.
Once we begin to disregard doctrine and believe we can rise above the teachings of prophets because of our superior deductive reasoning, we are on the wrong track. Again, it’s harder to resist this temptation the more talented we are. What can we do to NOT do this?
Acknowledge God’s hand in all things. Remember that every talent, blessing, and opportunity comes from the Lord. As King Benjamin taught, even when we serve God with all our might, we are still “unprofitable servants.” This mindset helps us remain grateful and humble. We cannot outthink our creator - even if we’re really smart and 70 years old.
Serve others. Serving others shifts our focus from self to others, allowing us to cultivate Christlike love. Pride thrives on self-centeredness, but humility grows as we lift and love those around us.
Seek constant guidance from God. Through prayer and scripture study, we keep our hearts aligned with God’s will.
Accept correction. Pride resists correction, but humility embraces it. Be open to feedback from leaders, friends, and the Spirit. This keeps us teachable and grounded.
Beware of seeking worldly praise. It’s easy to desire recognition for our accomplishments, but Christ teaches, “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” True greatness comes from glorifying God, not ourselves.
3:6-7; 5:21
“And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men. For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words.” When I read that, my first thought is “who would do that??” But, I think we do it in many subtle ways. Let me think of a few:
Perhaps I work on Sunday unnecessarily to get ahead in my job.
I may wear clothes that are too revealing but really stylish.
I could drink with business associates to build relationships.
I may buy a bigger house and nicer cars than I need and not be able to afford tithing.
I could participate in embellished gossip about someone to be popular.
There are possibly hundreds of ways that we could “set at naught the counsels of God” because we fear man more than God. If you think you don’t ever do it, pray about it.
Even Joseph needed encouragement and repentance in this area. “And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me, and to yield to the persuasions of men no more.” If Joseph Smith, the greatest prophet of all, needed to repent from this, how much more do we? There is some area where we are yielding to the persuasions of men - even if that man is me.
3:8
“Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.” He won’t take our troubles away, but he will help during trials. He will:
Support us in our afflictions.
Protect us from the “fiery darts” of the adversary.
Be with us during “every time of trouble.”
When will he do this? If. We. Are. Faithful.
3:9-10
“Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall.” There is no successful cruise control of life. We’ve got to be constantly aware of our progression and what is happening around us. We’ve got to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses, temptations, those who oppose us, mistakes we’ve made, how we are improving, etc. We cannot rely on subconscious muscle-memory to make it successfully through life.
But, if we do fall, there is a “fallback position.” “But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work.” We must always remember that God is merciful. As soon as we repent, we are back in the fold. God doesn’t hold grudges.
3:20
Every once in a while, there is a verse that sums up the entire plan of salvation. The Lord explains the purpose of the Book of Mormon:
“And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers,” There is something very important about remembering what the Lord has done with our fathers. We don’t have to learn life from scratch. We can learn from everyone who has come before.
“and that they might know the promises of the Lord,” If we are aware of the oath and covenant of the priesthood and the Abrahamic covenant, we see our potential and what is promised and what is required. Good stuff to know.
“and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ,” If we follow the gospel that Christ taught and rely on Him (not us), we’re on the right path.
“and be glorified through faith in his name,” It is true that we may receive glory…but only through faith in Christ. Without faith in Christ, there is no progression for us. It is only through him that we are saved.
“and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.” The heart of our progression is our willingness to repent. Repentance = progression. If there is no repentance, nothing changes - nothing improves.
4:2
“Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.” If we believe in God and the gospel, it should come naturally to serve him with everything we have.
If we truly believe in God and understand our relationship to him and know the plan of salvation, it seems logical that building the kingdom would be a priority. Yet, for many of us, our service is secondary to a lot of other things.
If we keep building the kingdom on the back-burner, we will be accountable for that. We should act as if our testimonies are real. We should act based on the knowledge we have. We shouldn’t assume that we will be any different in the spirit world. Our lukewarm approach will continue there. Unfortunately, that much time be less than valiant will shape our character to the point that it will stick permanently. We will be blamed and blame ourselves at the last day.
4:3
“Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.” We do not need a special calling to significantly contribute to the building of the kingdom. No one needs to be Bishop or Relief Society President to have a significant calling. The only requirement is if you have desires to serve God. That’s it. I would say most of our contributions to the kingdom are outside of our actual calling.
What qualifies us for this work? “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.” It doesn’t take a special set of skills or a high calling. The requirements are the basic foundation of being a Christlike person. Christ had faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God. That is also what qualifies us.
Amazing gifts aren’t required.
4:4
“For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.” If I’m reading this correctly, it is our effort and work that changes us. It is what we say and do.
If we believe the gospel but aren’t actually “thrusting in our sickle with our might,” we aren’t laying fruits in store for that day. You can’t store fruit that isn’t produced. It is our fruits that matter. It is what we do. Are we half-hearted about our discipleship?
How regularly are we praying to be inspired about who to reach out to? How often do we follow those promptings? For most of my life, I have been very lukewarm. There were times in my life that I have gone to church and have looked forward to it being over. I used to go to the temple the precise amount of times per year that didn’t make me feel guilty. I have done adequately at my callings. I haven’t been a good example of sickle-thrusting.
It is our desire to work hard for the benefit of others that will form a character that is willing to continue to do that throughout eternity. Let’s get to it! We should remember that eternity doesn’t start at judgment. We’re already living in eternity!
4:6
“Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.” The Lord is literally telling us what we should be remembering. Developing these qualities should be top of mind. These qualities are similar to what are listed in 2 Peter 1:5-7: “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”
It would be good for me to assess myself regularly in each of these areas. This can be a checklist for measuring my discipleship. Honestly, I can definitely work on each of these. I should probably print up this verse and put it on my mirror. I guess that’s what the Lord meant when he began this verse with “remember.”
4:7
“Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” God is waiting to bless us but is waiting for us to ask or to do the work to know to ask the right question. We should remember that the Doctrine and Covenants came from Joseph asking the Lord questions. Even the First Vision was a result of a question. I suppose Jesus could have came in a vision before Joseph even asked but that would have not benefited Joseph as much. It allowed Joseph to grow and learn by waiting for him to ask.
Of course, God is all knowing. He knows what we need without us telling him about it. But, again, he’s waiting for us to ask. There is value in that. We recently asked a group “what are the things that you ask for in prayer.” They struggled to think of something. I think that all of us could do better at asking real questions that aren’t just requests. I think most of our questions are more a list of requests. “Please bless ________ and please bless _______.”
Perhaps our questions can be more like:
“Who can I reach out to today?”
“What’s the best way that I can reach my kids?”
“How can I be a better disciple.”
The key is to wait after asking questions like this. We have to let our Father have a chance to get a word in edgewise. If we ask the question without waiting for an answer, that’s ineffective and kinda rude!
5:7, 16
We had a young woman over last night who is an old friend. She doesn’t believe in any religion. She thinks that missionary work is elitist and we shouldn’t be preaching to other cultures. She thinks that her purpose in life is to discover her purpose in life.
If I had the golden plates to show her, she wouldn’t be a believer. The evidence in front of her wouldn’t change her opinion on this. “Behold, if they will not believe my words, they would not believe you, my servant Joseph, if it were possible that you should show them all these things which I have committed unto you.”
If someone was convinced by seeing the golden plates, I think it’s unlikely that their conversion would last. They didn’t go through the faith-building that is needed to build a spiritual foundation. There was no earnest prayer or scripture study. They didn’t earn their testimony of the plates. That spiritual strength must be paired with revelation/evidence or it won’t matter. Just ask those Nephites who witnessed a day and a night and a day where there was no night! It wasn’t long before they attributed that miracle to some sort of trick. How quickly would that woman start to rationalize how I had golden plates. Her desire to do what she wants to do would override what she witnessed with her own eyes.
So what convinces someone? First, it is faith. “And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the Spirit.”
5:22
There is a little foreshadowing here. “And that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life, even if you should be slain.” This was early on in Joseph’s ministry. From the beginning, God was helping him put things in perspective. It did not matter if Joseph was slain at 38 or died peacefully at 78. The only thing that mattered is if he has eternal life. It is the same for us. What happens to us matters little if we think about life in perspective.
5:24, 32
The Lord had a concern about Martin’s humility. “Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see.” Again, to see a vision without humility and faith, that vision can become a curse. It would work against your character development to rebel against sure knowledge.
The Lord knew what was going to happen with Martin Harris. He was eventually excommunicated in 1837. He joined various splinter groups from the church throughout his life. He eventually was re-baptized at 87 in Utah. Throughout his life - even when separated from the church - he never denied seeing the plates. However, we could argue that, because of pride - he did fall into transgression.
The thing that we should take from this story is that miraculous visions will not keep us on the covenant path. There are a couple of examples that I can think of where a vision was the catalyst of repentance - Saul and Alma the Younger come to mind. However, if they would have put their visions on a pedestal and didn’t do anything to maintain their humility and faith, they would have fallen away from the path almost as quickly as Laman and Lemuel did after seeing an angel.
We shouldn’t pray for heavenly visions. We should pray for humility and faith. We should then get off of our knees and bear fruits as a disciple of Christ. If we are continually humble and faithful, we will have eternal life. It will be our many, little, daily efforts that keep us on the path - not a miraculous event.
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