Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen- Section 121

I believe that there are still many more insights that can be gained from the correspondence received and given to the Prophet Joseph Smith while in Liberty Jail. Another one of my favorite teachings is found in Section 121, starting at verse 34, wherein the Lord describes those who are “called and chosen.”

At the time the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote the letter from Liberty Jail to the Saints who had fled to Quincy, Illinois, there were many people, in and out of the church, which were of questionable character. Some of the most seemingly loyal followers of the Prophet were exposed as bitter enemies to the Church. It was a time when the Saints had to exercise much caution when deciding who to follow in the absence of their beloved leaders. I believe that those in jail were trying to discover who might still be on their side or who might have fled with the opposition.

Joseph writes: We feel to inquire after Elder Rigdon; if he has not forgotten us, it has not been signified to us by his writing. Brother George W. Robinson also; and Elder Cahoon, we remember him, but would like to jog his memory a little on the fable of the bear and the two friends who mutually agreed to stand by each other. And perhaps it would not be amiss to mention uncle John Smith, and various others. A word of consolation and a blessing would not come amiss from anybody, while we are being so closely whispered by the bear.

It is apparent that loyalties were being questioned from all angles. It is also a time when decisions were required in Quincy to facilitate the gathering of the Saints into one body. This lack of trust among the leaders and the Saints, and the necessity to press forward nonetheless, was the basis for the instruction given on distinguishing who was “called and chosen.”

Again Joseph writes: We have a fervent desire that in your general conferences everything should be discussed with a great deal of care and propriety, lest you grieve the Holy Spirit, which shall be poured out at all times upon your heads, when you are exercised with those principles of righteousness that are agreeable to the mind of God, and are properly affected one toward another, and are careful by all means to remember, those who are in bondage, and in heaviness, and in deep affliction for your sakes. And if there are any among you who aspire after their own aggrandizement, and seek their own opulence, while their brethren are groaning in poverty, and are under sore trials and temptations, they cannot be benefitted by the intercession of the Holy Spirit, which maketh intercession for us day and night with groanings that cannot be uttered. We ought at all times to be very careful that such high-mindedness shall never have a place in our hearts; but condescend to men of low estate, and with all long-suffering bear the infirmities of the weak.

This information was a precursor for the instruction starting in Section 121, verse 34, explaining how to recognize one who is actually chosen to lead.

Section 121:34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sin, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.

39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.

First, it might be important to understand exactly who was “called” to be holders of priesthood authority, and when and where they were called. We sometimes refer to this calling to priesthood with the term “foreordained.”

The prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon explains this doctrine beautifully in Alma Chapter 13. Look for who, when, and why they are called.

Look for how they choose, or choose not to accept.

1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.

5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared—

6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest—

7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things—

8 Now they were ordained after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end—

9 Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.

It appears to me that each individual who was given the opportunity to come to earth and gain a body chose “good” in their first estate. Having chosen “good” they were called and “ordained” into the holy order of the priesthood, this presupposes their earthly experiences and is referred to as “foreordination” to earth life. This ordination occurred because of their faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and because they did not harden their hearts, or in other words, were humble and teachable. These same individuals now have a chance to “choose” again in this life whether they will accept the “call” that they have previously been given. The same requirements of faith and humility are required. Unfortunately because of the “hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds” many reject this great privilege that they have been called to, thus, “many are called but few are chosen.” Ultimately the choice belongs to each individual.

We can recognize those who have made the choice to “receive” the priesthood ordination with which they have been foreordained to receive, by their actions and intentions.

The Lord gives us a standard by which to judge in Section 121:

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

I believe that our choice to be righteous priesthood holders in this life, allows us to be “Kings” and “Queens” in training, receiving our call or “foreordination” for that great event to come, which will be given to us by our own “free will and choice.”

Many are called, but few will be chosen. What will we choose?

Enduring Well- Section 121

The heartache and grief that was caused by the persecution of the Saints, and the incarceration of Joseph Smith at liberty jail, prompted the petition of the prophet to the Lord found in Section 121. The Lord answered his plea with these consoling words:

Doctrine and Covenants 121:7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

This reply can be restated in the form of a principle; if we endure our times of trials well, then we will triumph over all our foes and gain exaltation.

To comprehend the full meaning of this principle we must understand what it means to endure “well”.

What is enduring “well”?

Elder Holland gives several suggestions in his talk, Lessons From Liberty Jail.

May I remind us all that in the midst of these difficult feelings when one could justifiably be angry or reactionary or vengeful, wanting to return an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, the Lord reminds us from the Liberty Jail prison-temple that “the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only [or ‘except’] upon the principles of righteousness” (D&C 121:36). Therefore, even when we face such distressing circumstances in our life and there is something in us that wants to strike out at God or man or friend or foe, we must remember that “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained [except] by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; . . . without hypocrisy, and without guile” (D&C 121:41–42; italics added).

It has always been a wonderful testimony to me of the Prophet Joseph’s greatness and the greatness of all of our prophets, including and especially the Savior of the world in His magnificence, that in the midst of such distress and difficulty they could remain calm and patient, charitable and forgiving—that they could even talk that way, let alone live that way. But they could, and they did. They remembered their covenants, they disciplined themselves, and they knew that we must live the gospel at all times, not just when it is convenient and not just when things are going well. Indeed, they knew that the real test of our faith and our Christian discipleship is when things are not going smoothly. That is when we get to see what we’re made of and how strong our commitment to the gospel really is.

Surely the classic example of this is that in the most painful hours of the Crucifixion the Savior could say, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). That is a hard thing to ask when we’re hurting. That is a hard thing to do when we’ve been offended or are tired or stressed out or suffering innocently. But that is when Christian behavior may matter the most.

Remaining true to our Christian principles is the only way divine influence can help us. The Spirit has a near-impossible task to get through to a heart that is filled with hate or anger or vengeance or self-pity. How I love the majesty of these elegant, celestial teachings taught, ironically, in such a despicable setting and time.

I believe the words given at the end of this marvelous discourse received from Liberty Jail also give us a way to endure “well”.

Doctrine and Covenants 123:17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

Enduring means more than just waiting for a trial to pass, it involves an active process of doing all that we can to help ourselves. Doing our part allows us to call upon the powers of Heaven to make up the difference in our weakness. This is seen in the Book of Mormon teaching “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” Doing all we can cheerfully means that our attitude also plays a great role in that process of enduring “well”.

Elder Holland gives some added perspective to this teaching from Joseph Smith:

What a tremendously optimistic and faithful concluding declaration to be issued from a prison-temple! When he wrote those lines, Joseph did not know when he would be released or if he would ever be released. There was every indication that his enemies were still planning to take his life. Furthermore, his wife and children were alone, frightened, often hungry, wondering how they would fend for themselves without their husband and father. The Saints, too, were without homes and without their prophet. They were leaving Missouri, heading for Illinois, but who knew what tragedies were awaiting them there? Surely, to say it again, it was the bleakest and darkest of times.

Yet in these cold, lonely hours, Joseph says let us do all we can and do it cheerfully. And then we can justifiably turn to the Lord, wait upon His mercy, and see His arm revealed in our behalf.

What a magnificent attitude to maintain in good times or bad, in sorrow or in joy!

The great promise of enduring well is the reward of triumph over all our foes. These may be seen or unseen; these foes are anything that deters us from being back in the presence of the Father. They can be vices, habits, weaknesses, or even individuals or dominions. Understanding this promise, of the possibility of conquering all of these obstacles and allowing us to receive exaltation, is enough to bring a cheerful heart and attitude to any trial we may face. We can turn our own every day trials into a Prison-Temple experience just like Joseph Smith did, it is all up to us.

The Many Lessons Learned From Liberty Jail

This week in Institute we covered the revelations Joseph Smith received while he was incarcerated in Liberty Jail. A portion of these revelations are found in the Doctrine and Covenants in Sections 121,122, and 123. The full transcript of the letter written by Joseph Smith to Edward Partridge and company, which contained these revelations, is found in The History of The Church, Vol. 3. It is very helpful to read the letter in it’s entirety to gain a better perspective on the recorded information in the Doctrine and Covenants. If you are looking for additional insights another great resource is a CES Fireside talk given by Elder Holland called, “Lessons from Liberty Jail”. My next few posts will cover some of this information.

After months of being unfairly imprisoned with unheeded appeals made to the judiciary officials of the state, Joseph Smith and his cell mates, through written communication, wrote an emotional letter to the Saints who had been driven from Far West and had begun to settle in Quincy, Illinois. The conditions of Liberty Jail were harsh and barely inhabitable. They had endured unbelievable hardships ranging from scarcity of food to unsanitary living conditions, but nevertheless, I believe that concern for the conditions of the Saints who were exiled from Far West was still foremost in their thoughts.

Joseph writes:

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, we are the more ready and willing to lay claim to your fellowship and love. For our circumstances are calculated to awaken our spirits to a sacred remembrance of everything, and we think that yours are also, and that nothing therefore can separate us from the love of God and fellowship one with another; and that every species of wickedness and cruelty practiced upon us will only tend to bind our hearts together and seal them together in love. We have no need to say to you that we are held in bonds without cause, neither is it needful that you say unto us, We are driven from our homes and smitten without cause. We mutually understand that if the inhabitants of the state of Missouri had let the Saints alone, and had been as desirable of peace as they were, there would have been nothing but peace and quietude in the state unto this day; we should not have been in this hell, surrounded with demons (if not those who are damned, they are those who shall be damned) and where we are compelled to hear nothing but blasphemous oaths, and witness a scene of blasphemy, and drunkenness and hypocrisy, and debaucheries of every description.

And again, the cries of orphans and widows would not have ascended up to God against them. Nor would innocent blood have stained the soil of Missouri. But oh! the unrelenting hand! The inhumanity and murderous disposition of this people! It shocks all nature; it beggars and defies all description; it is a tale of woe; a lamentable tale; yea a sorrowful tale; too much to tell; too much for contemplation; too much for human beings; it cannot be found among the heathens; it cannot be found among the nations where kings and tyrants are enthroned; it cannot be found among the savages of the wilderness; yea, and I think it cannot be found among the wild and ferocious beasts of the forest--that a man should be mangled for sport! women be robbed of all that they have--their last morsel for subsistence, and then be violated to gratify the hellish desires of the mob, and finally left to perish with their helpless offspring clinging around their necks.

They practice these things upon the Saints, who have done then no wrong, who are innocent and virtuous; who loved the Lord their God, and were willing to forsake all things for Christ’s sake. These things are awful to relate, but they are verily true. It must needs be that offenses come, but woe unto them by whom they come. [HC 3:290­91]

As Joseph petitioned the Lord in the first six verses of Section 121, deplorable as his conditions were, he showed that thoughts of the Saints were in his mind and heart. Notice how he prays for “thy people” and then “thy servants” in verse 2.

Doctrine and Covenants 122:1 O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?

2 How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?

3 Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?

Perhaps the worst torment for the captives was the unknown condition of their friends as told by their proclamation, “O that we could be with you, brethren, and unbosom our feelings to you?”

This actual correspondence (which became Sections 121-123) to the Saints was spurred on because of the consoling letters they received while they were in prison. The letters specifically mentioned were from Don Carlos Smith, Bishop Partridge, and Emma Smith.

(Sidebar: Something that I believe deserves comment is the fact that these letters came at a time when these men were at their lowest. Perhaps there are times when we offer consoling words to those who suffer and never fully understand that they were of such great worth. It is important to remember to simply offer those words of encouragement to others when prompted.)

Joseph comments on receiving this news as follows:

We were much gratified with their contents. We had been a long time without information; and when we read those letters they were to our souls as the gentle air is refreshing, but our joy was mingled with grief, because of the sufferings of the poor and much injured Saints.[HC 3:293]

Elder Holland, in his remarks as noted above, compares the Liberty Jail experience to a Temple experience for Joseph. Although he did not specifically mention this as part of that experience, I believe that the concern Joseph had for others was a prerequisite for him to experience this grand sanctifying process.

Just a few days previous to the reception of this revelation Joseph wrote a letter from jail to a Mrs. Norman Bull of Clay County, Missouri. I believe that we can gain wonderful insights into Joseph’s character from some of the excerpts. He wrote:

My heart bleeds continually when I contemplate the distress of the Church. O, that I could be with them! I would not shrink at toil and hardship to render then comfort and consolation.

But trials will only give us the knowledge necessary to understand the minds of the ancients. For my part, I think I never could have felt as I now do, if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered.

I know that something will soon take place to stir up this generation to see what they have been doing, and that their fathers have inherited lies and they have been led captive by the devil, to no profit; but they know not what they do. Do not have any feelings of enmity towards any son or daughter of Adam. I believe I shall be let out of their hands some way or another, and shall see good days. We cannot do anything only stand still and see the salvation of God. He must do His own work, or it must fall to the ground. We must not take it in our hands to avenge our wrongs. [HC3:286]

I believe that Joseph felt love for the Saints in exile and compassion for those who persecuted them as well. It is apparent to me that the fact that he longed for justice to be served by the Lord illustrated the condition of his heart and his humble nature. He not only was willing to love “his neighbor”, which was part of the Mosaic Law but was willing to live the higher law as taught by Jesus Christ.

Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Still in his petition for justice from the Lord, Joseph understood that vengeance only belonged to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.43 Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

Jeremiah 20:11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. 12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:5 Let thine anger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs. 6 Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.

From these very few examples we can see the three lessons learned that Elder Holland speaks of very clearly.

1) Everyone faces trying times.

2) Even the worthy will suffer.

3) Remain calm, patient, charitable and forgiving.

Joseph Smith and those incarcerated with him showed “majesty” even while they were being held captive. I believe, as Joseph did, that he “never could have felt” the things he felt “had he not suffered the wrongs” he did. It is often during the hardest trials faced that we come to learn the lesson that “all things shall work together for good to them that love God.” Perhaps this knowledge will help us when trials come...because they will come.