#4 "Remember the New Covenant, Even the Book of Mormon"

JS History 1:27-36, D&C 3;5;10;17;20:5-15;84:54-62
*hand out piece of paper and pencils to everyone
On this sheet of paper I want everyone to write down 1decision or event in their lives. It can be a decision you made about an occupation, a job layoff, military service, etc. Just write something at the top of your paper, then underneath that experience, write all the lessons you got from that one thing. For example say you were laid off of a job that was a total shock, you may have learned how to stretch your budget, that perhaps you weren’t in the type of work that the Lord thought you needed to be doing, maybe you were humbled, how to trust in the Lord. Or maybe the lessons you learned were all hard ones such as: the company was a bad one to work for; the people you worked with were not good people, that you are too inexperienced to find another job etc.

*put that aside for a moment, but keep it on your mind as we talk about the lesson.
The purpose of our lesson in the manual is to recognize the Lord’s hand in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, however, as I was reading the lesson about the coming of the B of M, I realized how the Lord’s hand in my life is manifested just as it was in bringing forth the B of M. This is what I want you to figure out as we talk about the coming of the Book of Mormon and the hard lessons Joseph Smith and Martin Harris all had to learn about the Lord being the director of everything including everyday basic experiences, such as the one you just wrote down.

As I got to the part in the lesson that talked about Joseph Smith’s preparation to receive and translate the B of M, and I read these questions, I really had to ponder a few instances in my own life that I hadn’t learned much from at the time, but as I look back now, find huge life lessons I can apply to my life today, even if the event took place several years ago.

*Write the following questions on the board
1-How did the Lord prepare Joseph to receive and translate the plates?
2-How has the Lord prepared you (or how is He preparing you now) to fulfill your responsibilities?
3-How can you prepare yourself to fulfill future responsibilities?

So let’s answer the first 2 questions simultaneously.
*Have class name all the things they can think of that prepared Joseph Smith
-First, the vision, which was discussed in last week’s lesson, and all the training that goes with that.
-The 4 visitations of Moroni through the night and next day, where he was shown where the plates were and what he was to do with them, also told him bluntly that he could not, in any way, look at them for the purpose to gain wealth.
**Ask for a couple of brave people in the class to name their experiences so that we can use them as examples of how the Lord works.
* Look at your experience, were there any warnings given, learning received and applied just in time, such as: have you ever had the feeling to get food storage together, did, and then you were laid off and had to live off it? Look at your experience think of the promptings or warnings that set you up or tried to set you up for your experience.
-Every year for 4 years he was to go to Hill Cumorah and learn from Moroni what he needed to do, as well as learn patience, obedience, the Lord’s will, and many other things.
*Look again at your experience what did you learn from your experience?
During these years it also says in the Church History Institute manual that during those 4 years of preparation he was “also visited and instructed by Nephi, Alma, the 12 Apostles chosen by the Savior in America and Mormon” as well as Moroni. Could you even imagine the learning he received through those men?
*Can you think of anyone in your life that was present during your experience? Who was it, can you think of any roles that they played for you. Maybe your advocate, maybe your adversary, either way you most likely learned something from them. (Spouse, boss, co-workers etc.)
-All the while Joseph was going about temporal matters; working on the family farm, taking different jobs from neighbors, trying to earn extra money etc. All these temporal decisions, decisions that you would think were insignificant, compared to the work he was doing for the Lord are still crucial to every aspect of the Lord’s work as well.
*Story taken from “Our Heritage p9 and Church History Inst. Manual p43
One experience Joseph had during this time is taking a job from a guy named Josiah Stowell, the job was money-digging. Such a random experience one could look at this experience on the surface and say this experience was a waste of time, they never found anything. However looking a little closer let’s see how Joseph was being prepared throughout this experience which would help him through the rest of his life.
It was here at this place in New York he met who? Emma Smith
He might not have met her had he turned down the job. We could leave it at that, she being instrumental to his life as wife, confident, comforter, 1st lady of the church; that blessing alone would make that treasure hunt worth it.
Another blessing that came from this experience, he met another fellow, Joseph Knight Sr. Joseph met him while working for Josiah, Joseph Knight liked him and his work ethic, so he hired him to work for him, providing him with means and proximity to court Emma. Him, his sons and Newel K. Whitney all heard Joseph Smith’s story and believed him and were his advocates. Well, we say that is all fine and good, but Joseph Knight’s part to play in Joseph’s life wasn’t over yet.
A few years later as Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey were translating the B of M, they ran out of supplies; supplies meaning food to eat, and paper to translate on.
**Does anyone have “Our Heritage” book and would be willing to read from it?
I’m going to quote the rest of the story from Our Heritage book p 9 2nd para.
“In the midst of their work, Joseph and Oliver found that their dedication to the translation of the record had left them without food or money; they lacked even the necessary writing materials. Learning of their plight, Joseph Knight Sr., a former employer and friend of the prophet, determined to give them assistance. He described the nature of his most timely aid:
“I bought a barrel of mackerel and some lined paper for writing…I bought some nine of ten bushels of grain and five of six bushels taters.” He then visited the two men in Harmony and recalled that “Joseph and Oliver were gone to see if they could find a place to work for provisions, but found none. They returned home and found me there with provisions, and they were glad for they were out… Then they went to work and had provisions enough to last till the translation was done.”

Just the decision to take a job looking for buried treasure, blessed his families’ lives and his friends’ life that day, as well as set him up with Emma and treasured friends. Even as insignificant as that ultimate decision was, it made huge differences in his life years later.
Unfortunately Satan also used this experience to bring Joseph down. Many of his enemies used the fact that he was a treasure hunter against him and used it to discredit his claim that he had the golden plates.

Joseph could’ve looked to the bad things that came from that job, but because it is recorded in church history means that even though some bad came from that decision, more good came from that decision and he would never trade that experience I’m sure.
**This story is huge evidence that the Lord sees the big picture, even in what we feel are the most insignificant of decisions, doesn’t it?

Let’s look at another decision Joseph made, one that was not insignificant and ended in what he thought was disaster.
The decision of letting Martin Harris take the 116 page manuscript home to prove to people that the work was real, seemed a horrible mistake that Joseph felt he made, after finding out that it was lost. However, we know that it was all part of what the Lord knew would happen to prepare Joseph for what was to come later in His life.
This brings us to section 3 in the D&C. The question I imagine that Joseph asked to get this revelation is: What do I do now that the manuscript is gone?
We can relate this to our experience. What do I do now that I am out of a job? What do I do now that I signed up for military service? What do I do now to find a new job? What do now that I am divorced? What do I do now to fix my messed up life? All these questions can be answered in this section.
V1 The works and design, and purposes of God cannot be frustrated!
V3 Remember (x2) it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men.
*So basically that says to me that the Lord is saying, “you may be frustrated (or rather the plans for you life may be frustrated) with life right now, but what you don’t understand is that I knew this was going to happen and I have it all worked out so that you will come out of this experience better for having gone through it!
*Doesn’t that give you comfort? It sure does to me!
The Lord takes this next moment to teach and sensor Joseph
V6 Yes you’ve transgressed and listened to the persuasion of men
V7 and you should not have feared man more than God.
V8 You need to learn that I will support you as you go against the most wicked of men or satan’s helpers.
V9 in this verse the Lord tells him that yes, you were chosen to do this work but you’ve made a small mistake, and if you aren’t aware of the greater sin that of not relying on Me, “thou wilt fall”
Can we put this counsel into application where our experience is concerned?
Then comes the Lord’s mercy V 10 Thou art still chosen and again are called to the work, after you repent. *What a relief this must have been for Joseph to hear!
V16 Whether you repent or not the Work of the Lord will go forth. With or without us; as long as you want to stay on this path of being unrepentant I will still leave a way for you to come back, and turn out okay, but if you repent we will continue on in the work that you have been foreordained to do.
In section 10: 67-68 He also teaches Joseph this: that we can be on the Lord’s side or not, either we declare, testify and live His word or we don’t, but only those who do will prevail in the end, because we will have Him backing us up.
**As I read this I thought, the work that Joseph had to do is so much bigger than my work. Then I remembered back to the story of Joseph Knight. That 1 act of bringing provisions to Joseph solicited this comment from Joseph Smith, “It shall be said of him, by the sons of Zion, while there is one of them remaining, that this man was a faithful man in Israel; therefore his name shall never be forgotten.” His name is never forgotten because he provided the Lord’s prophet with paper and taters! Is our work any less important?
From this experience I learned that no matter how bad we think our decisions may be, they were just another way of preparing us for what we will do in the future. The Lord knows every decision we will make and sets things up for us way before we make those decisions, that all will work out for our good, as long as we repent and come back to Him.

Does this mean that we don’t suffer consequences along the way that go with our not so perfect decisions?
This answer comes from section 10 Before receiving this section the Lord tells him that Joseph will resume translation so the question I think Joseph asked to receive this revelation is: What instruction do I have now that translation will continue?

Here we will answer the 3rd question.
3-How can you prepare yourself to fulfill future responsibilities?

In D&C10:1-3The Lord teaches Joseph about what happened to him and why during the time the plates were taken till now. The consequences he suffered for deliberate disobedience was that he lost the plates, he lost the gift of translation, and also that His mind became darkened.
*Is that not what happens to us when we deliberately sin, or stop relying on the Lord? Our mind gets cloudy, we feel like our prayers haven’t been answered, we feel like the Lord has deserted us, and we continue on our own instead of relying on the Lord will for everything we do?

Then he gives him a piece of advice. 10:4-5 Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength. Pray always. Basically don’t try to make up for lost time, take your time so that you don’t make mistakes nor ignore your family. Praying always so that satan cannot influence him again.

*Can we apply this counsel to our experience? Go about life doing the things you need to do but don’t over exhaust yourself and pray always, always seeking God’s will, always mindful that the Lord is in charge of everything, even when we make decisions that we believe have messed up our whole lives.

I have a testimony of the truthfulness of this doctrine. I know that the Lord loves us. I know that He knows everything we will do before we do it and He sets things up for us that we learn what we need to learn and come out of it better people. I know that He is merciful when we make choices that take us further from Him and His counsel. I know that every decision, every event, every thought we think influences our lives and the direction they take, but despite our mortal acts, we will come off conqueror when we pray always and rely on the Lord’s power and mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.