A Work For Me to Do

To my son,

                This week in our scripture reading we learned about the visit of the angel Moroni to the seventeen-year-old Joseph Smith. The First Vision happened when Joseph was fourteen years old, and this was over three years later. Joseph felt condemned because of his sins, and as he was seeking forgiveness he was visited by the last prophet of the Book of Mormon. Here is how Joseph described Moroni’s first message to him: “He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people” (JSH 1:33). There are two important things from this verse that I hope you will consider. The first is that like Joseph, God has a work for you to do as well to bless the world. You have specific talents that the Lord has given you to accomplish a great work while you are on the earth if you will follow Him. And this is not just when you are an adult. Though you may feel that you are too young to make a difference in the world, that is not true. Through your service in your family, in your priesthood quorum, and amongst your peers, you can be a force for good. Here what Elder Bednar said to “the young women, young men, and children of the rising generation” about your potential to participate in God’s work: “You are sons and daughters of God, children of the covenant, and builders of the kingdom. You need not wait until you reach an arbitrary age to fulfill your responsibility to assist in the work of salvation for the human family.” I hope you will seek to hear the voice of the Lord through scripture study and prayer to know how you can accomplish the work God has for you. And never settle for just gliding through life on the path of least resistance—to accomplish your great work, like Joseph Smith did, it will indeed take a lot of work!

                The second lesson from these words to Joseph Smith from Moroni that I hope you will remember is that there will always be opposition to the work of the Lord. This prophecy from Moroni surely has been fulfilled—both good and evil have been and are spoken of about Joseph Smith throughout the world. I learned very clearly that there was opposition on my mission, and we see it proliferating on the internet and in media across the world. I remember once we were teaching a lady while her small child, perhaps two years old, was there playing and paying little attention to us. We were telling the Joseph Smith story, and right when we got to the most important part the child started saying, “Ce n’est pas vrai! Ce n’est pas vrai!” (“It’s not true! It’s not true!”) I saw over and over again that as I tried to tell the story of Joseph Smith, something would detract from it—usually in the form of a distraction like a phone ringing or a loud car driving by that made it difficult for us to teach. Other times it was more direct opposition to what we were teaching about Joseph Smith. But we need not be discouraged when there is opposition, for we know that it was prophesied by Moroni long ago. And we can be a voice for good as we speak of and testify of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the divine work he accomplished. I know that he was indeed a prophet of God, and that as “stand by [His] servant Joseph, faithfully, in whatsoever difficult circumstances” we are in, the Lord will help us accomplish the work He has for us (Doctrine and Covenants 6:18). I know that you can accomplish marvelous things in your life with your faith in Jesus Christ no matter what opposition you face.  

Love,

Dad