"I Know That The Record That I Make Is True" 1 Nephi 1

There is a great deal of information to be learned from just the first three verses of the Book of Mormon from the record of Nephi.

In verse 1, look for all the things we learn about Nephi.

1Nephi 1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

First, we learn that he had “goodly” parents, or was taught correct principles. This is an important piece of information for us to know. Having a foundation of truth to build upon is essential for anyone to come to a sure knowledge.

Next, we learn that he had seen many afflictions in his life. Trials or tests are part of the learning process we go through in this life to prove us. The test of obedience and sacrifice is made more fully when one is experiencing difficulty, as is illustrated by Job. It is interesting to note the attitude Nephi has about his afflictions as he adds, nevertheless that he was highly favored of the Lord.

Could Nephi have viewed afflictions as part of the process he was to experience to receive a sure knowledge of truth?

Do we view our afflictions and trials as ways we can increase our faith as we come to know the Lord?

Finally we learn that he had come to a “great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God.” This knowledge came to Nephi because of the experiences that he had, allowing him to receive of the Lord. This is made clear because he shares that mysteries, for man, were revealed to him by a higher source than man.

This process:

1) of learning true principles by faith, or having a belief

2) then passing through tests which allow us to experience a trial of that faith,

results in the blessing of “great knowledge”, even of the mysteries of God.

I believe that even in the very first verse of Nephi’s record he is trying to help us understand what it will take for us to receive the same “great knowledge” that he has received.

In verses 2-3, look for what we learn about the record.

1 Nephi 1:2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.

3 And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.

The first thing we discover is that Nephi makes the record himself, with his own hand. This establishes the fact that Nephi is the creator of the record we are to receive. Even though he explains that it is written in the language of his father, it is still his account of his experiences with the Lord.

The fact that he is the creator of the record allows for the easy transition he makes to testify of the records truthfulness. He states he made it, he knows it is true and adds the reason that he is able to make this bold statement is because of his “knowledge”.

What have we already discovered he “knew” by the description of himself in verse 1?

Not only can we have confidence in Nephi, because he has shared his experience of the process of “knowing”, but we can now have confidence in the record too. We discover that one who “knows” gives us a statement of its truthfulness.

What must we do to have the same knowledge as Nephi does?

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.