IN DERISION

 

I wonder if Joseph Smith really understood angel Moroni when he told him that his name will be had for good and evil among all nations and that his name will be spoken of as such among all people (JSH 1:33).

I have seen many strong, valiant people fall away from the Church because of Joseph Smith. When their  expectations of his perfection failed them, they concluded the Church could not be true. They disregarded the testimonies they had of the Book of Mormon and spiritual witnesses  they had that led them to the pulpit to bear their testimonies month after month.

This is how the world can mislead you…..some inactives believe that Joseph was not a true martyr because he attempted to protect and save himself from the mob that killed him. A true martyr, they reason is someone who voluntarily goes to his death. This is today’s meaning of the word ‘martyr’ (see the Dictionary).

The word’s origin is Greek, however, and it literally meant a ‘witness’: “He assumes the obligation to be a witness, knowing full well what that dangerous duty entails” (“Against the Christian Door” by Andrew Knaupp). Therefore, a martyr is really someone who will not deny his religious beliefs even as Joseph didn’t when he went to Carthage as ‘a lamb to slaughter’ knowing full well he would not return (D&C 135:4).

I investigated the Church when I was 17. I never had a problem with the first vision or with Joseph Smith. I believed it all. It took some 30 years for me to question that testimony when I saw my friends leaving. I went looking for evidence that Joseph Smith was indeed the prophet that I believed him to be rather than looking for proofs that he wasn’t one, like my friends did. You find what you look for.

I started recording impressive proofs of Joseph Smith’s prophetic validity as I studied the scriptures. My list is still going because I find it so fascinating. It is extensive and impressive. If only people would listen to the whisperings of the spirit rather than the whisperings of the world.

My list however, was not what solidified my testimony of Joseph. It came when I had started my list and I had to do a history assignment for my degree. I chose to write about Church history. I read many things on line about Joseph and polygamy, in particular, to the point of alarm. It drove me to my knees in tears begging God to understand.

What happened is something I did not expect. During my prayer I was “shown” Joseph’s heart. I could literally see and understand what was in it. I knew that all that Joseph did was from the goodness of his heart. I also saw the early Church members around him all dressed in white. I could feel how much they loved him and held him in high regard, blaming him for nothing.

Now when I am confronted with someone’s derision of Joseph, I tell them that God himself would have to come down and tell me that he is a bad man. The spiritual witness I received is iron clad.

When in the Missouri jail, Joseph cried out in misery to God, and the Lord answered: “The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee; while the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel and authority and blessings constantly from under thy hand.” (D&C 122:1-2)

I am happy to be one of the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, who believe……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Joseph Smith's Last Dream by Jon McNaughton)