Hold on thy way: my tribute to Joseph Smith.

Yes, I know it is late. But the funny thing is, and this may come as a surprise, I can't sleep. Before this week, I could count on one hand the number of times I haven't been able to sleep. For the past few days, I am lucky if I am asleep by one thirty or two in the a.m. Lame.

One of the positives of this insomnia, though, is that it gives me, in those quiet, late hours, the chance to be led to scriptures and conference talks and other words of comfort.

Tonight around midnight, I realized that I missed my chance to share something about the Prophet Joseph Smith as part of the social media initiative to honor his birthday. As I pondered upon it all and what Joseph the Prophet means personally and words of his life that were especially pertinent to me, phrases of tumult from his dark time in Liberty Jail (D&C 122) came pouring into my mind: "If the heavens gather blackness", "if fierce winds become thine enemy," or "if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee." As I thought about those things, I cannot say I know those trials per se, but I can honestly say as of late that I've felt some moments of gathering blackness and winds of opposition in my life.

Then I got thinking about Joseph's life, and I realized that he faced many hard things, much harder than what I will ever face. But the remarkable thing was that prophet knew in Whom to take comfort and he listened when the Lord himself gave that promise in the next part of verse 7 and then 8: "know thou, my son (or my daughter), that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?"

I was touched as I thought of these great words of comfort that certainly helped the prophet to bear a situation that at the time seemed completely unbearable. Then I read the following verse, one that seems to get overlooked by those trying to catch the profound message in the preceding verses. Verse nine reads:

"Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."

Can you see why I loved these? I feel deep gratitude as I read to have a Father who knows, and a Savior who felt the same I do now. We do not do this alone unless we ignore the promises of comfort offered to us by a kind and loving Savior. It reminds me of a quote by President Henry B. Eyring, which was quote by Elder Kent Richards in this past conference:

“It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. … And faith in that power will give us patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience.”

There is a waiting process, but it is also a refining one. I remember hearing once a quote that said something like the trials that the Prophet Joseph faced helped him become in his few short years what it would take a common man 1000 years to become. I often ponder upon this, and wonder if I should stop complaining when I feel pushed out of my comfort zone.  :)

I love Joseph Smith. I am grateful for his mission and his life. He gave so much to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord, and I hope to someday be half person Joseph Smith was and is. He was filled with faith and his mind was constantly on eternity. He is a servant of God and the first great prophet of these latter days. With millions of others around the world, I add my voice:

"Praise to this man!"