A Record of Worth and Power

Mormon 8:14-15
14 And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless.
15 For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills that it shall be done with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord.

The record spoken of is the record abridged by Mormon, his son Moroni, and translated by the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith Jr.  In translating and printing this record which God himself declared to be "...of great worth...", Joseph Smith Jr. received great blessings. Something I noticed in the rereading of these verses was that the blessings promised are not to Joseph only.  The blessings of the Gospel are for all the world.  Joseph obtained those blessings not only for himself but created the pathway for the whole world to receive such blessings through the Restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A relatively few received the news of the record from the mouth of Joseph himself.  If it were up to Joseph alone to bring the record to light among all people He would have had an impossible task ahead of him.

Thankfully, our loving Heavenly Father did not say, "Only one man can bring the record to light and him will the Lord bless." No, the verse opens these blessings to all who share the message of the restored Gospel: "...and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless."  Each person who has received the message of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the coming forth of the Book of Mormon has the ability to bring that light to others.  It is as if each person who receives the Gospel has their own torch lit and it is up to each of us to pass that light to others.  But verse 15 gives a caveat: "For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God..."  God requires that the work of sharing the gospel be done His way, not seeking for power, glory, or riches for ourselves, but with "an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the...covenant people..."

So how does one received the privilege of being one of God's particular messengers?

As a youth I received a very clear impression one day in my seminary class that I would serve a mission.  I had never really doubted this fact. Both my brothers and my sisters had served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I had been blessed by their service and admired the lessons they had learned, the testimonies they had strengthened, and the stories they shared.  Young women in the church at that time were allowed to apply for missionary service as they reached their 21st birthday and so about 6 months before my 21st birthday I began to seriously consider if serving a mission would be the right thing for me to do at that time in my life.  I had many concerns regarding school, social pressures, and the desire to eventually get married and have a family that caused me on occasion to question my early impressions that I would serve a mission.  I did not take such a decision lightly and often gave myself to serious thought and study on the matter.  I remember coming across two specific scriptures during that time that solidified not only my desire to serve, but helped me to recognize God's call to me to be one of those messengers to whom He would give power to share the restored gospel.  A particular verse strikes me now as I consider this same question of who can receive this power to bring the gospel to light: 

"Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;"

--Doctrine & Covenants 4:3

God has opened the blessings of bringing the record of the Book of Mormon to light to all who desire to share it.  Missionaries are particularly blessed as they are set apart to preach the gospel for a dedicated period of time and I feel so blessed to have received that call in my life.

It has been almost five years since I entered the Missionary Training Center as a new missionary called to serve in the California Carlsbad Mission, but the 18 months I spent there was a blessed time in my life.  Each of the people I met and those I taught had a great impact on my life and my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the restoration of God's true church on the earth, complete with living prophets and the authority of God.  Having been home for 3 years now I find I am still blessed anytime I find the opportunity to share the light of the gospel with those around me, member or non-member.  Mormon was not only prophesying of Joseph Smith in these verses, but of any who would continue to share Joseph's story and the work he brought forth unto us.

I know Joseph Smith was called of God to bring the record of the Book of Mormon to light and I know that the record that is the Book of Mormon is a true record that contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that by living the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the Bible and the Book of Mormon that we can receive all the blessings our Father in Heaven wishes to bestow upon us including eternal life with Him and our families in His kingdom.  Jesus Christ is my Savior and I am so grateful for his everlasting love for us and the constant opportunity to share His message with the world.

Arise Ye Men and Women of God

Mormon 6:16-21

16 And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:
17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.
19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!
20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.
21 And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you.
22 O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.


I have not seen many years on this earth. I am barely over a quarter of a century in age. Many twice and three times my age often sigh in my general direction over lost years of youth. However, this does not mean I am without serious and concerning thought. As I have studied in the Book of Mormon recently I have been greatly impressed with the strength of the youth. From Helaman's Sons to Captain Moroni who was my age when he led the Nephites to victory. 

Now I am studying Mormon who was a child when he was given the responsibility of preserving thousands of years of history from those who would destroy it. Mormon is impressive in many ways. From the time he was a boy his world was filled with wickedness, selfishness, greed, corruption, and destruction. He watched the slow degeneration of his entire people and the scripture quoted above is his plea to those he loved and served so well in spite of their pride and wickedness.

It was not very many days after reading these verses that I listened to Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk from the Priesthood Session of the October 2012 General Conference. As I listened to the talk on a long drive alone in my car, I verbally sounded a hearty "Yes!" with each argument he made in favor of boys and men needing to grow up and take a higher place and responsibility for their lives. My greatest hopes were that many of my single male friends and colleagues had listened and would step up and be more worthy than they had been and my biggest fear was that those who needed those words the most had not heard them.

I must say that I agree with Elder Christofferson and worry very much about the lack of worthy young men...especially as a young single adult, and let me explain why.

I grew up in Utah, a state know for its peculiar culture of young marriage and lots of children. This is a culture that stems from our faith and belief in the great importance of the family. I currently live in an apartment with three other young adult women. Each of us are at different points in our lives ranging from college educated and working full time to working part-time and attending school full time. All of us are return missionaries, all home for more than 18 months. Each of us has different goals and desires for our lives, but I will tell you, I have not had so many conversations about boys, marriage, and family since I moved out of my last college residence more than a year and a half ago. We are all united in our desires for marriage and family. We look at ourselves and see that we are active, church attending, temple attending, scripture reading, prayer saying, worthy young women and cannot help but ask ourselves (as all of our parents and relatives do), "Why aren't we married yet?"

All too often the verse from Isaiah 4:1 comes to mind, "And in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach." As Mormon considered on the wickedness of his own people, I worry that we will soon find ourselves in that same situation asking where have all the good, worthy men gone?

Now before anyone thinks of me as a man hating, bitter feminist who can't see the good in the world, let me be the first to say that I have been greatly blessed with wonderful men in my life. I was raised by a righteous father (and mother) and I have seen my brothers become great men and seen my sisters marry great men. I have also seen those same siblings raise wonderful sons who will someday become great and worthy men. I work in a predominantly male environment and yet I have been greatly impressed by the level of respect the men I work with have for myself, my female coworkers, as well as their wives and children. There are good men in the world, but there are just as many more who perhaps needed Elder Christofferson to knock some sense into them.
While discussing my concerns with a friend, who happens to be a good worthy man in my acquaintance, it came to my attention that perhaps there are just as many men wondering where all the good women have gone as there are women wondering where all the good men have gone. Selfishly, I had not considered that there are women who need to step it up just as much as the young men do. But it is true. Elder Christofferson's talk was not just for young boys who need to step up and be men, it was to all of us. 

1 Corinthians 13:11 states: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." What childish things are hiding in our closets? Is there pride, ignorance, or unjust judgement? Do we spend too much time considering on what he said or she said that we disliked instead of searching for the good in others? Do we spend more time on mindless television or Facebook rather than fulfilling our duties as siblings, children, parents, teachers, employees, or friends? Brethren and sisters, we have many good things to do. The prophets are pleading with us to do our family history, attend the temple, get an education, and yes, find eternal companions and raise righteous families.

Considering on the myriad of talks given in this past conference, I heard a clarion call to action. I don't want it spoken of me the way Mormon spoke of his lost and fallen people. We must be better, seek the Lord early, keep the commandments, be obedient, be kind, smart, true, and grateful, etc. I can't explain one way or another why I have not yet found my "Prince Charming" and I will patiently await the day I do, but one thing I know for sure is that I am committed to being a better person when I meet him than I am now, and I hope he is planning to do the same.