FOR THIS PURPOSE

When President Joseph F. Smith received the revelation regarding the spirit world in 1918 it was concluded by his vision of spirits who were reserved to come forth in the 'fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work'. These he stated 'received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men' (D&C 138:55-57). The Prophet Joseph Smith affirmed this truth with the following statement: "Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabits of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was (TPJS, p 365).  Whenever I look at people throughout history who have accomplished something great I am convinced they were chosen for that particular task in pre-mortal life. We of the last dispensation are fortunate enough to have history yield worthy examples for us to follow. We learnt of one such example in Sunday School this past Sunday. Her name was Mary and she was a young girl living in Nazareth.

I cannot imagine with what trepidation a young girl like Mary received angel Gabriel's announcement of her life's purpose, to be the mother of the Son of God. Scripture tells us that when Gabriel finished his announcement, she quickly reminded him that she was a virtuous young lady and that she was without the perimeter of intimacy with any man. Gabriel then proceeded to explain how the baby would be conceived and perceiving the alarm that must have arisen within Mary he quickly told her about her cousin Elizabeth who also was recipient of a miraculous conception. What comfort that would have been to such a young girl who had to explain to others of her condition with fear that she would not be believed. But there was another, her cousin Elizabeth, who had conceived by a miracle so this too was possible. Elizabeth, who languished for years in 'the waiting room' with her husband Zacharias, longing for a child, must have at times wondered what her purpose on earth was for she was being denied the role all women were appointed to before this world began. As years passed and motherhood eluded her she must have felt worthless and forsaken somehow not knowing the important role she was to play, that of being a mother to the forerunner of the long awaited Messiah. Elizabeth's role of giving birth to and raising John the Baptist was not her only purpose. Her other purpose was to be a witness of God's miraculous power. Gabriel attested to this when he referred to Elizabeth by saying: "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).  Another woman who served the same purpose was Sarah.

Sarah too languished in 'the waiting room' until it seemed that the promise of an heir could not be fulfilled. Imagine waiting for a promised child for 37 years and arriving to the day when you could plainly see that the time was past. What thoughts would run through your mind? Would you wonder if you had done something wrong and displeased the Lord? Sarah was infertile to begin with and well past the child bearing age when she conceived Isaac. Why such a long wait?  Why not give Sarah a son when she could have conceived normally, without divine intervention? Among other explanations that might come to mind,  Church Father Ambrose offered the most plausible one:  "An aged woman who was sterile brought (Isaac) to birth according to God's promise, so that we may believe that God has power to bring it about that even a virgin may give birth". (Didymus the Blind, On Genesis 2:41, in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary, 2:45). I wonder where it would have left Mary if Elizabeth and Sarah had not served their purpose in being witnesses of God's miraculous power for they surely prepared the way and ministered to the inhabitants of the earth by the roles that they fulfilled as mothers of notable men. And what of Joseph, Zacharias and Abraham? What amazing men they must have been to be chosen to be protectors and providers of these amazing women who had been given such important missions. Joseph must have been a good man because he wanted to break off his engagement to Mary privately not wishing her to be exposed to public scorn (Matthew 1:19). Then when he was given instruction regarding her, he obeyed and fulfilled his task of being Mary's husband and her child's protector and guardian.

How would you feel knowing you are one of the great spirits chosen to come to earth to do a specific job and one of great importance and magnitude?  Would you feel important?  Would you understand the gravity of your responsibility and live up to it every day?  How would you feel if you knew you were responsible for salvation of the souls of men? Would it influence you to live a better life? All three women mentioned above fulfilled their life's purpose because of their steadfastness and obedience. Elizabeth and Zacharias were a temple going people, 'righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless' (Luke 1:6). Gabriel told Mary she was highly favoured of the Lord and blessed among women (Luke 1:28). She would not have received such a salutation had she not been as virtuous as she was. In fact she would not have had any salutation or visitation from an angel at all! Sarah, in her desperation to fulfill the law and her duty as an honourable wife, complied with the law of her day and gave her husband another wife so he would have offspring. What heaviness of heart must have been hers as she did so.

One cannot help but wonder if the course of history would flow as smooth if the noble and valiant failed to carry out the missions they brought with them. One thing I am sure of is that the Lord had chosen those valiant enough who He knew would not let Him down. His choice to reserve the strongest of us for the last dispensation of time must have been made with amazing foresight. The Saviour would have foreseen our day for all things are continually before him (D&C 130:7). Moroni stood as witness of our day when in his solitude he said: "Behold, I speak unto you as if you were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." (Mormon 8:35). The Saviour knew our day also and He knew who would oppose and withstand the forces of evil that threaten to destroy His works. We, the possessors of truth, have been called out of the world to build, pave and prepare the path for mighty events of history that are yet to happen. We cannot fail in this. The Church needs us, the Saviour needs us, the world needs us. We are the valiant ones who have kept our first estate. Now we are on the second leg of our eternal journey. It is our destiny to perform mighty works in preparation for the Second Coming and it is our destiny to go on to eternal life. The adversary will do everything he can to stop us in our tracks but we must press on. We are yet to see marvelous events unfold in the history of this earth. We will see the dawning of a glorious day if we continue to be as valiant as we were in our first estate. And what were we valiant in? In our testimony of Jesus. Our lives need to reflect this testimony so that when He appears we shall know Him for we shall be like Him (Moroni 7:48). Then when we are caught up to meet Him we will welcome Him back with tears of joy knowing we have fulfilled the purpose for which we were born and we will rejoice to have been chosen to be His faithful servants.

JOSEPH, THE PROTOTYPE

In early Christian Syriac literature there are 56 comparisons of Joseph's life with Christ's.  They are incredibly explicit and clearly developed and formulated by historians determined to show Joseph as a Type of Christ.  Throughout centuries, Christians have mainly hailed Joseph for his sexual purity turning him into an icon of strength and example to us all.  There are many more lessons, however, that we can learn from his life but even more so from his character which makes him a perfect prototype of the Saviour. Besides his impeccable self control, what I admire most about Joseph is his regard for his fellowman , no doubt born out of Christ like compassion that was central to his character. Out of this compassion was born his willingness to serve his fellowman and his willingness to forgive.   Both of these traits are essential for us to develop in order to be saved in the kingdom of God.

Careful reading of Joseph's servitude in Egypt makes us come to the conclusion that Joseph did not rise to authority by deviousness or self serving tactics but by being mindful of his fellowman which endeared people to him.  I imagine it was not only the fact that the Lord was with him but also his disposition to care about people that made people trust him.  For this reason Potiphar was willing to put all his affairs into his hands (Gen 39:4); the keeper of the prison was willing to put all prisoners into his charge (Gen 39:22); and Pharoah was able to commit all of Egypt into his administration (Gen 41:41).  Even though Pharoah gave credit to God for making Joseph wise enough to interpret his dreams, he surely would have known of Joseph's character and reputation which would have come before him, otherwise he would not have trusted that Joseph's interpretation of his dreams came from God.

I am certain that Joseph's attitude was to be the best of whatever he had to be in whatever circumstances. When he was a slave in Potiphar's house he must have made up his mind to be the best slave he could possibly be.  For this reason he came to the attention of the master of the house and for this reason God made him prosper.  The same was probably true when he was flung into prison.  I imagine when he found himself there, he determined that he was going to be the best prisoner he could possibly be and do whatever he could to alleviate the suffering of his fellow prisoners, to help others bear their burdens, 'to succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees' (D&C 81:5).

When Joseph was in charge of the prisoners, one day he noticed that the butler and the baker were sad (Gen 40:5,6).  Think about this.  They are in prison.  Should they be leaping about being merry instead? Obviously Joseph being in charge, had tried his best to make the conditions as pleasant as they could possibly be for the inmates, to maximise their peace and joy as much as he could, under difficult conditions, so of course it matters to him that two of those inmates are sad.  He obviously cares about their well being. And this attitude of caring works for his highest good as the butler and the baker confide in him and reveal their dreams to him.  And dreams of course, are Joseph's specialty.  Do you think if Joseph was a tyrant prison keeper, looking out only for himself, he would have secured for himself a release from prison through the butler of the king of Egypt?  Instead of being a tyrant, Joseph was a loving man of God who inquired of his inmates: "Wherefore look ye so sadly today?" (Gen 40:7,8)  This one question speaks volumes about Joseph.  This one question was also his path to freedom.

Just as Joseph sought to rescue the physically captive from their emotional burdens, Jesus came to rescue the spiritually captive who languished in prisons of sin and pain, "...to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound..." (D&C 138:42).  The scriptures are replete with accounts of Christ's compassion towards those he served, healed and even raised from the dead.  The man who proclaimed himself to be 'the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25) wept when brought to Lazarus' tomb, not because he sorrowed that Lazarus had died as witnesses supposed but because he had compassion for those whose hearts were breaking.  He knew where Lazarus was,  and was he not in a far better place than here?  It was out of his compassion for his broken-hearted sisters that he brought Lazarus back to life.  For was he not 'a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief'? (Isa 53:3)

"Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
"And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still.  And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise."  (Luke 7:11-14)

Jesus' compassion was not only for this widows's tears but for the hardships she would live with on daily basis had she been left without a son to take care of her. In the day and age where women were totally dependent on men and where a woman without a husband looked towards her son to care for her, this widow whose son had been taken away from her too was facing a very bleak future.  The Saviour knew and he acted and he saved.

"While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.
"But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
"And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
"And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth". (Luke 8:49-56)

Twice, before he raised Jairus' daughter, the Saviour addressed the parents first for he had concern for them and their sorrow.  The daughter was raised from the dead and Jesus was able to bind the broken-hearted.

Joseph's love for his family activated his ability to forgive his brothers for selling him into a strange land to endure years of hardship and servitude.  The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha which comprises the ancient Jewish and Jewish-Christian documents, tells that Joseph had such high regard for his brothers despite what they had done, that he repeatedly affirmed to the Ishmaelites that he indeed was a slave because he didn't want to bring disgrace upon them:

"For my brothers know how much my father loved me, yet I was not puffed up in my thoughts.  Even while I was a child I had the fear of God in my heart, for I understood that all things pass away.  I did not arouse myself with evil design, but honoured my brothers, and out of regard for them even when they sold me I was silent rather than tell the Ishmaelites that I was the son of Jacob, a great and righteous man.
As I was going with the Ishmaelites, they kept asking me, "Are you a slave?" and I replied, "I am a slave out of a household", so as not to disgrace my brothers.  The greatest of them said to me, "You are not a slave, even your appearance discloses that." (James H. Charlesworth, Ed., The Old Testament Pseudephigrapha, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, p. 822)

We should be able to relate to Joseph who was taken away from his family that he loved. Would he not want to be reunited with them? Would he let his lack of forgiveness stand in the way of that reunion?   Joseph wept and embraced his brothers and he forgave to the point that he tried to convince them that it was not their fault, but that the Lord brought him to Egypt to save them all  (Gen. 45:5).

Jesus, like Joseph is the 'birthright' son, the first born of the Father, the rightful heir of all that the Father has but Celestial Kingdom can be a lonely place without the ones you love, and He has loved us and wanted us there with him.  Just as Joseph's love for his family activated his ability to forgive his brothers,  Jesus' love for us activates his ability to forgive us of our sins.  We too have been 'taken'.  This telestial life is our Egypt and our slavery.

"In a sense we are all captive 'in Egypt".  Because of the idolatry of Egypt and because it was the place of Israel's captivity, the prophets of old used the land of Egypt as a symbol for the telestial world in which we now live.  The entire world today is a spiritual Egypt, 'the land of our affliction', in captivity to the 'god of this world' (2 Cor 4:4) who is Satan.  The Apostle John spoke of this world as 'spiritual Egypt' because here the Lord was crucified (Rev 11:8)."

The spiritual Egypt we are in has only one Saviour.  Jesus, like Joseph of old, offers forgiveness and the bread of life from which we never need to experience a famine.  When Joseph sent for his father and the rest of the family to join him in Egypt, the Lord told Israel that he need not fear to go to Egypt 'for I will there make of thee a great nation; I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again" (Gen 46:2-4).  The Saviour descended 'into Egypt' to bring us up again if we are faithful.  We miss the mark if we don't recognise the prototypes when we study the scriptures, who can turn our hearts to Him who can quench our thirst with living water and appease our hunger with the bread of life.  Joseph is one such prototype of the Saviour and his power to save.  We too can be prototypes to our children and their children as we walk in the footsteps of Him who knows the way out of 'Egypt' and into eternal life.