Weak Things

Paul wrote to the Saints at Corinth, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are" (1 Corinthians 1:26-28). The Lord will choose those who are weak in the eyes of the world to preach His gospel and do His work, and He emphasized this point again in our dispensation. He declared, “The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh…. That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:19, 23). That was in the “preface” to the book; in the “appendix” He emphasized the same point in case we missed it: “To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the earth, and for the Lord’s errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put their tens of thousands to flight. And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thresh the nations by the power of his Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:58-59). He also said in another revelation, “Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:13). At the beginning of a different revelation later in Nauvoo He also said this, “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:1). All of these passages emphasize that the Lord will choose those who are weak in the eyes of the world to accomplish His work and build His kingdom.

                That said, I don’t think this means that those who do His work are forever weak and incapable. Rather, they might start out weak, particularly in the eyes of the world, but in His service they can become strong. Joseph Smith certainly was not weak by the end of His ministry, and I have to think that the promise of the Lord through Moroni has application here: “If they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27). In the immediate context this is speaking about making our individual weaknesses strong, but perhaps we can understand it as well of making those “weak things” spoken of in other verses (His servants called to do His work) strong. Though the Lord may call those who are in the beginning weak to do His work, when we thrust in our sickle with our might, He turns us into something that is strong. One of the previous passages mentioning the “weak things of the world” followed up with this promise: “And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them” (Doctrine and Covenants 35:14). Moroni was one who felt that he was weak, repeatedly referring to his weakness, such as when he wrote, “Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections” (Mormon 9:31). But the Lord indeed made him strong, just as he promised, for it was Moroni’s words which proved to be among the most powerful in all of holy writ, at least in terms of how influential they have been: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4-5). Those words have proven life-changing for countless people who have taken up his promise and sought the Lord for a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and His latter-day work. Like Moroni, all of us can go from weak to strong in His service as we make ourselves to be an instrument in His hands.