By Continuous Labor

In the fourth section of the Joseph Smith History, verses 55-65, one of the themes we see is the need for hard work.  Joseph wrote that his “father’s worldly circumstances were very limited” so they “were under the necessity of laboring with [their] hands” and “by continuous labor” they could earn their living (v55).  That would be a theme for the Restoration from then on—the work of the Lord would require from Joseph and so many others “continuous labor.”  The revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants that Joseph later received speak often of the need for industry: “And the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:30).  Other passages denounce idleness: “Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer…. Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:42, 75:29).  Joseph was one who labored continuously in temporal affairs in his early years, and as he grew into his role as the prophet, he did not cease to so labor.  He was not idle but did “labor with [his] might,” and his example invites us to do the same (Doctrine and Covenants 75:3).    

The need for hard work in the things of the Lord became evident to Joseph when he received the plates from Moroni.  He described, “The same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.”  It was hard work to keep the plates safe, and he had to do all in his power to keep them from falling into the hands of his enemies.  He further recounted, “I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me” (JSH 1:59-60).  The Lord of course could have simply preserved them without any effort from Joseph, but He chose to require the work of Joseph as well.  Perhaps the well-known teaching from Nephi is applicable here: “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). For Joseph that grace sustained him every day, protecting the plates, as he did all that he could to keep them safe and follow the instructions of Moroni.  Similarly, the Lord expects each of us to labor with all our might to accomplish whatever tasks He has for us.  And, like Joseph, we can expect His grace to be with us and strengthen us every day as we too labor continuously in the work of the Lord.