Orson Pratt's Searching

I’m impressed by the story of Orson Pratt before he was introduced to the gospel.  He was “an inquisitive, seeking child” and felt “a great anxiety to be prepared for a future state.”  In 1829 he apparently started “to earnestly pray for spiritual direction in his life.”  He later said that “in the silent shades of night, while others were slumbering upon their pillows, I often retired to some secret place in the lonely fields or solitary wilderness, and bowed before the Lord, and prayed for hours.”  That immediately brings to mind the story of Enos and gives us a sense of the great desire he had to know the Lord and learn His will.  The Lord promised that “he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened,” and surely that was true for Orson (Matt. 7:8).  His older brother Parley introduced him to the gospel and he embraced it and was baptized on his 19^th birthday.  But he still desired to know the will of God for him, and he traveled over 200 miles to get to Joseph Smith in New York.  Orson requested to know what God would have him do, and Joseph received what we now know as D&C 34 as a revelation to Orson.  Orson’s searching and many long prayers were answered: “Ye are called of me,” the Lord told him, “To preach my gospel” (D&C 34:5).

                This is just one account out of many in the scriptures that shows how the Lord blesses those “who diligently seek him”—they receive both knowledge and responsibility (1 Nephi 10:17).  Another example of this is found in the revelations to the Whitmers in D&C 14-16.  According to the section heading for D&C 14, “Three of the Whitmer sons, each having received a testimony as to the genuineness of the work, became deeply concerned over the matter of their individual duty.”  Joseph described what prompted these revelations this way: The Whitmers “became our zealous friends and assistants in the work; and being anxious to know their respective duties, and having desired with much earnestness that I should inquire of the Lord concerning them, I did so” (Largey, Dennis L.. Doctrine and Covenants Reference Companion (Kindle Locations 23849-23850). Deseret Book. Kindle Edition.).  They earnestly sought revelation from the Lord and all received essentially the same message that Orson had—to proclaim the word.  “The thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me” (D&C 15:6, 16:6).  Others, though, received different messages.  At Hyrum’s “earnest request” (according to Joseph), he sought the Lord and received D&C 11 which, among other things, told Hyrum to “seek to obtain [God’s] word” (Largey (Kindle Location 23774)).  When Brigham Young sought Joseph for direction at the return of his many missions, he was told, “Take especial care of your family from this time” (D&C 126:3).  In the Pearl of Great Price when Abraham was “desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God,” he was told to flee with his family to a new land where the Lord would take him (Abraham 1:2).

                These stories and countless others in the scriptures show how the Lord does bless those who seek Him earnestly with revelation, but usually that revelation comes with a responsibility to act and do something.  We all need more of the sincere seeking of Orson who would pray for hours to know God’s will for him, but we also need more of the resolve of Orson—who in just one of his early missions traveled on foot almost 4,000 miles—to follow that will.  He served faithfully in the kingdom until his death over 50 years after the Lord told him, “Lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and loud” (D&C 34:6).