D&C 3:9-20

3:9-20 - The Lord is so merciful, after rebuking JS He reminds him “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.” I imagine myself as JS knowing that I screwed up, taking the rebuke from the Lord, the despair and hopelessness that I would feel, it’s kind of how I imagine that Adam and Eve felt when they had to face God after eating the forbidden fruit, the rebuke, the shame, the despair and hopelessness, the feeling of being lost forever. But again, God is merciful, and he gives them a Savior to save them and us, the lesson, then the forgiveness, the salvation, and the repentance. It’s a miracle, honestly, but if we think about it God already knows what we are going to do, so he’s already made provision for us to move past that and learn from it. And through the Atonement, Christ has already experienced our sins, he’s suffered for them, and he’s overcome them, meaning, that he knows how to help us use these sins and experiences for our good. The Lord called Martin Harris “a wicked man, who has set at naught the counsels of God, and has broken the most sacred promises which were made before God, and has depended upon his own judgment and boasted in his own wisdom.” That must have been a kick in the face to Martin Harris. The IM comments on this scathing statement saying, “Martin Harris was ‘wicked’ in persisting to ask for what God at first refused to grant. He was ‘wicked’ in not keeping the sacred pledge to guard the manuscript. But otherwise he was not a wicked man, as the term is generally understood. A father will sometimes call his boy ‘wicked’ meaning disobedient for the time being.’ The Lord clarified the term in verse 13. He gave four reasons why Martin Harris was ‘wicked.’” Now that’s an interesting idea, I had always considered being “wicked” a systemic condition within one’s self, but necessarily just a person’s acts alone. If this is the case then I’m pretty sure I’ve been a wicked person many times. I like that there was an explanation, that being “wicked” doesn’t mean who you are as a person as in your overall being, but can be specific to certain acts, thoughts, and behaviors. There’s more hope there, more mercy, and more feelings of opportunity for repentance. But the Lord continues, ‘Nevertheless, my work shall go forth… And this testimony shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites… And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain these records- that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people.” The IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “Joseph Smith, in his own strength, would scarcely have dared to predict to a bitterly hostile world that no power could stay this work and that it would go forth as a witness to all the world. The Lord has decreed that his work would be established. He called it a ‘Marvelous work and a wonder,’ even before the organization of the Church. If Joseph Smith had been guilty of practicing a fraud; if he had endeavored to palm off the Book of Mormon to his hostile, unbelieving world, he never would have dared to say that it would go forth to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. Even if he had been foolish enough to make such a declaration, and the work being spurious, it would have come to a speedy and ridiculous end. It never would have survived the first year of its existence. It would have been so filled with flaws that the scrutinizing gave of the world would have exposed it in all its folly. The truth remains that, after the thousands of attacks and scores of books that have been published, not one criticism or attack has survived, and thousands have borne witness that the Lord has revealed to them the truth of this marvelous work.” My favorite line from HN is when he finishes up a lecture of how a complex ancient cultural aspect fits in perfectly with a part of the Book of Mormon, and then he says, “Isn’t this a wonderful book that Joseph gave us.” It’s meant to be a joke, and honestly, it’s funny and totally true, JS at 23 years old could write a book like the Book of Mormon, it’s just not possible, I think it’s JS who said, “I wicked man couldn’t write the Book of Mormon, and a good man wouldn’t.” Learning more about Church history, even though I’ve only been studying the D&C for a couple of weeks, I’m convinced more and more that this work is led and guided by the hand of God, that this is and always has been the gospel of Jesus Christ and that it’s meant for all of his children for our salvation. While explaining the purposes of the records the Lord said that “this testimony shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief because of the iniquity of their fathers.” Commenting on the various different tribes that came from Lehi, the IM says, “It is commonly believed that there are no more Nephites because that nation was completely destroyed by the Lamanites about 400 A.D. However, Nephites dissented to the Lamanites repeatedly before the appearance of Christ, In Captain Moroni’s time, the descendants of these dissenters were almost as numerous as the Nephites. When the Savior visited the people of the Book of Mormon, all were united as children of Christ, and there were no Nephites or Lamanites. When they grew wicked again, they divided into groups called Lamanites and Nephites, only this time the division was not according to descent but according to righteousness- the Nephites were those who wanted to live the commandments of God, and the Lamanites were those who did not. Other Nephites joined the Lamanites during the last great battle. Doctrine and Covenants 3:16-18 shows that descendants of Nephite, Jacob, Joseph, and Zoram can be found among Native Americans today.” So there are still parts of all tribes and people still on the earth today. The final note that I want to talk about is the last sentence of verse 20 which says, “that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.” It’s interesting because today during our family scripture study, we were reading in Alma 5 when he preaches to the people of Zarahemla and asks the people if they think that they can be saved at the judgment bar of God if they stand there “with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt.” He answers saying, “I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.” I asked my kids “does that mean that in order to be saved that you have to live a perfect life?” They said “no” which was a pretty validating moment for me, and I told them “that’s right, we don’t have to be perfect, but as long as we do our best, try our hardest to be good and make good choices and repent when we make mistakes so that Jesus can teach us how to not make those mistakes again, that’s what we have to do in order to be saved.” I just thought that it was interesting that the same concept is in tonight’s reading, that we can be saved through repentance, and I’m grateful for that. I also just want to share another very validating thing that happened today. My son has been struggling in school for this whole year and I was talking to his teacher today and she said that he’s doing remarkably better. I was so happy with that, then almost as a side note she said that he’s not as easily influenced by others as he has been. She said that she has seen twice this week when he’s stood up to his “friend” and said, “no I’m not going to do that,” and then didn’t do it. I was so proud, over the moon happy and grateful. I thought back to all the times in Family Home Evening, or Family Home Daytime as we call it, when we had lessons about choosing the right. I remember his grandma teaching his primary class all about choosing the right this year. All the times we’ve talked about standing up for our beliefs and not giving in to what other people say or think, I thought about the prayer we say every morning, asking for the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us make good choices and be a good example to others, and to tell us what’s true and what’s not. All our prayers, all my prayers, and I fasted for my kids, the scripture study, the discussions, the church attendance, the Family Home Daytime, it was all so very worth it when I heard that today. My heart soared and felt like bursting with joy and gratitude to the Lord for watching over my children. I love them so much, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother, it’s my favorite thing.