The Very Patient Lyman Sherman

Although the Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect, the application of it by members of the Church is, at times, less than perfect. Perhaps it is simply my “wicked” disposition shining through but I can see a wonderful lesson being taught to us by the Lord in Section 108 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Section 108 is a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith to a member of the Church named Lyman Sherman. After doing some further research on Lyman Sherman, I have decided he is a man I would love to actually meet someday.

Lyman Sherman was living in Kirtland during the period of time when the Kirtland Temple was being built. He was a faithful member of the Church who, in my estimation, was just that, faithful. In attendance at the general priesthood meeting of the Church in which the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Quorum of the Seventies were organized in this dispensation, Lyman was called to be a President of the Seventies. Unfortunately, he had previously been ordained to the office of high priest, so he was of necessity released from that position of authority as President.

That meeting was held in March of 1835. The men who received their calls proceeded to serve in the capacity of missionaries and were sent on their way to preach. These were the “big dogs” in the Church, the men with callings of “substance”. Yet, Lyman Sherman was left behind in Kirtland.

Perhaps being “left out” began weighing heavy on Lyman Sherman’s mind because he became “vexed” over the situation. For as long as nine months he may have been plagued by this feeling because finally in December he approached the Prophet Joseph Smith and stated, “I have been wrought upon to make known to you my feelings and desires, and was promised that I should have a revelation which should make known my duty.”

Was he questioning his standing with the Lord because he was “passed over” when the callings were given? Did he have a cause to question or even lament his fate? Could a tiny corner of doubt be given place in his mind concerning the inspiration of his leaders? Did he feel a tinge of jealousy which perhaps may have even give way to prideful imaginations?

In response to Lyman's query the Prophet received Section 108.

108:1 Verily thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Lyman: Your sins are forgiven you, because you have obeyed my voice in coming up hither this morning to receive counsel of him whom I have appointed.

2 Therefore, let your soul be at rest concerning your spiritual standing, and resist no more my voice.

3 And arise up and be more careful henceforth in observing your vows, which you have made and do make, and you shall be blessed with exceeding great blessings.

4 Wait patiently until the solemn assembly shall be called of my servants, then you shall be remembered with the first of mine elders, and receive right by ordination with the rest of mine elders whom I have chosen.

5 Behold, this is the promise of the Father unto you if you continue faithful.

6 And it shall be fulfilled upon you in that day that you shall have right to preach my gospel wheresoever I shall send you, from henceforth from that time.

7 Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings.

8 And behold, and lo, I am with you to bless you and deliver you forever. Amen.

The first thing that stuck out in my mind was the fact that the Lord was pleased with Lyman for obeying the prompting of the spirit and going and talking to Joseph about his concerns; so pleased in fact, that all of his sins were forgiven him and he was assured of his worthy standing before the Lord. As I thought about this situation, I wondered how hard it must have been for Lyman to humble himself enough to bring his concerns to the Prophet. Human nature, as it is, oft times takes a much lower course of action I am afraid.

Next the Lord’s directions to Lyman were simple. He was told to be more “careful” in observing his covenants. The word “exactness” comes to my mind when I think of this counsel. He was counseled to “wait patiently” and his time of leadership would come if he did do just that. The Lord also instructed him regarding his relationship with his brethren, counseling him to “strengthen” them by prayer, and by the way he spoke of them and their duties in “all his doings”. There was to be no jealousy, or comparisons made, no speculation as to why they were serving and not him, simply support. I believe that though this counsel is simple, it is still the harder path to follow.

Something else seemed to stick out in my mind as I studied this exchange between the Lord, Lyman Sherman, and Joseph Smith. Could it be possible that Joseph Smith needed to be reminded of Lyman himself? After all, the Prophet was just a man, a very busy man at the time. He was involved in projects as varied as translation of the book of Abraham, to the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants itself, all the while supervising the building of the house of the Lord. Perhaps the faithful servant, Lyman Sherman, was not the first thing on his mind. I believe there are so many modern day applications that can apply to this scenario, don’t you?

So, you may wonder, what happened to Lyman Sherman? Lyman Sherman was called to serve on the Kirtland High Council, and later when forced to move to Missouri, served on the Far West High Council too. His call to the apostleship was given to him in a letter received January 16, 1839, from Joseph Smith while he was incarcerated in Liberty jail. He was to be on the Quorum of the Twelve, replacing Orson Hyde. Unfortunately that ordination never took place because eleven days later he died at the age of thirty-four.

Perhaps he is still“waiting patiently”.

General Authority Information

I guess I am still not quite back from vacation yet...so I will make this a quick post.

I thought I would pass along a really cool link that was shared with me several years ago. It is a link called Grandpa Bill’s GA pages. Grandpa Bill has done an excellent job of charting and documenting all the General Authorities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If you ever want any information on a General Authority... this is the link to go to for sure.

Enjoy!

Having A Prophet, We Have Everything

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we often sing the hymn, “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley expounded on the background of that song in a talk he gave with the same title. He said,

“It was written more than a century ago by a man of humble circumstances who lived in Sheffield, England. He worked in the steel mills and was discharged because he joined the Mormon Church. But there burned in his heart a great and fervent testimony; and out of an overflowing spirit of gratitude, he penned these moving lines. They have become a grateful expression of appreciation for millions over the earth. I have heard them sung in many different languages as a reverent prayer of thanksgiving for divine revelation.

How thankful we ought to be, how thankful we are, for a prophet to counsel us in words of divine wisdom as we walk our paths in these complex and difficult times. The solid assurance we carry in our hearts, the conviction that God will make His will known to His children through His recognized servants, is the real basis of our faith and activity. We either have a prophet or we have nothing; and having a prophet, we have everything.”

I believe that the last line in the quote could use further emphasis. We either have a prophet or we have nothing; and having a prophet, we have everything.”

What is the "everything" we really have?

In Amos 3:7 it is written, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

The most important blessing we receive by having a prophet of God on the earth today is that of authority.

The Lord gives his prophets, seers, and revelators both the priesthood authority and the keys they need to act in his name. The keys are the right of presidency. President Joseph F. Smith wrote:

“It is necessary that every act performed under this authority shall be done at the proper time and place, in the proper way, and after the proper order. The power of directing these labors constitutes the keys of the Priesthood. In their fullness, the keys are held by only one person at a time, the prophet and president of the Church. He may delegate any portion of this power to another, in which case that person holds the keys of that particular labor.”

Our modern day prophet literally holds ALL the keys necessary for our salvation and exaltation concerning our progress here on earth. He is the key holder of the Aaronic Priesthood which gives him the right to administer in the ordinances of the gospel of repentance and baptism, and allow the ministering of angels. These ordinances then prepare us to receive the Melchizedek ordinances of which he also holds the keys. These Melchizedek Priesthood keys allow us to “know the mysteries of kingdom and the knowledge of God” receiving the higher ordinances of the temple.

His “right to presidency” turns all those keys on our behalf and allows us to choose to return back to the presence of our Father.

He also has been given, through the laying on of hands, the same keys that were given to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple. These keys allow for the gathering of Israel and the restoration of the Ten tribes to commence, given by the original key holder Moses, himself. Also given are the keys to the sealing power, binding in Heaven that which is bound on earth, under the direction of Elijah the prophet. This is literally everything!

As you can see it is evident that without a prophet we have nothing, and with him we have everything, as a people, a nation, and a church.

O, Divine Redeemer- Neal A Maxwell

"No member of this Church must ever forget the terrible price paid by our Redeemer, who gave his life that all men might live- the agony of Gethsemane, the bitter mockery of His trial, the vicious crown of thorns tearing at His flesh, the blood cry of the mob before Pilate, the lonely burden of His heavy walk along the way to Calvary, the terrifying pain as great nails pierced His hands and feet...

We cannot for that. We must never forget it, for here our Savior, our Redeemer, the Son of God, gave Himself, a vicarious sacrifice for each of us."
Gordon B. Hinckley

"The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it."
Joseph Smith

Our Body Is Made Up Of Unredeemed Earth

When my son was preparing his lesson for Priesthood last week he came across this talk that is completely awesome. It was originally given by Melvin J. Ballard in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on May 5, 1928, but has since been republished as a Classic Discourse in the New Era. It is titled, Struggle For The Soul.

I have always felt that the struggle we have is that of being a divided man. Our spirit, which is perfect by lineage, is in constant conflict with our body, which is of the earth or natural. Becoming a Zion people, that of one heart and one mind, takes on a deeper meaning to me as it is applied to this thought. The one heart and one mind we must accomplish is the reconciliation of our body and our spirit, to the mind and will of our Father.

Elder Ballard addresses this concept beautifully as he makes a reference to our bodies as “unredeemed earth”.

He explains, “All the assaults that the enemy of our souls will make to capture us will be through the flesh, because it is made up of the unredeemed earth, and he has power over the elements of the earth. The approach he makes to us will be through the lusts, the appetites, the ambitions of the flesh. All the help that comes to us from the Lord to aid us in this struggle will come to us through the spirit that dwells within this mortal body. So these two mighty forces are operating upon us through these two channels.”

Elder Ballard then suggested that we think “of spirit and body as ‘me’ and ‘it.’ ‘Me’ is the individual who dwells in this body, who lived before I had such a body, and who will live when I step out of the body. ‘It’ is the house I live in, the tabernacle of flesh and the great conflict is between ‘me’ and ‘it’. …

“Our weak [point] is in the flesh … and when [the devil] undertakes to capture a soul he will strike at the weak point. …

“It is not bodies, it is immortal spirits that the devil wants. And he tries to capture them through the body, for the body can enslave the spirit, but the spirit can keep the body a servant and be its master.”

Another point to ponder upon this same subject might be that perhaps the “unredeemed earth” that made up the bodies of Adam and Eve are the exact thing that gave Satan the ability to be in the Garden in the first place.

Anybody have any thoughts on this possibility?

Come What May And Love It- Joseph B. Wirthlin

Just wanted to share an excerpt from one of my favorite talks by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. A great talk by a great man called, Come What May and Love it.

Enjoy!