My Joseph Smith Day

I have been thinking about this day for a long time. I knew that it was coming soon, but I had to recently calculate the exact date. I call it “My Joseph Smith Day.” Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805, and he died on June 27, 1844, at the age of about 38½. That means that he lived for 14066 days. Well, today also is my 14066^th day alive. Over the past couple of years as I have reflected upon my own life, I have pondered how incredibly much he accomplished through the strength of the Lord in less than four decades. John Taylor wrote this well-known eulogy about what Joseph Smith had done in his few years: “In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain” (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3). We could of course add many things: he received the visit of the Father, the Son, and countless angels who revealed to him marvelous truths; he married Emma and they had nine children in addition to two adopted children (of which only five survived to adulthood); through angelic messengers he restored the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods and their associated offices; he founded the city of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri; he restored the work for the salvation of the dead, including revealing the principle of baptisms for the dead, the endowment, and sealing ordinances; he led his people to build temples in Kirtland and Nauvoo; he established the Relief Society for women; he was the mayor of Nauvoo and general of the Nauvoo Legion; he ran for president of the United States; and he received and exercised the keys of the kingdom of God, “and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 65:2). As Elder Maxwell declared in the title of one of his final talks in general conference, “How Choice a Seer!”

            And so, it can be easy as I consider the little I have done in the same amount of time to feel discouraged that I have not done much of importance in my life. When I was in fourth grade my dad sat me down with the encyclopedia, showed me the article on supreme court justices, and impressed upon me that this was what I needed to become. Well, Dad, I’m sorry to say that I have certainly not measured up to this expectation or done anything even close to it!   Gratefully, the Lord does not grade us on a curve, and I hope that I can at least strive to faithfully “labor through life’s short day” in my “lowly place” as the hymn says. I should be, as Alma taught us, “content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me” and focus (as Voltaire wrote) on my own “garden” I have been given: “Il faut cultiver son jardin” (Alma 29:3). Even as I am amazed at the incredible works that the Prophet Joseph did to establish and build up the kingdom of God, what is perhaps of even more importance and instructive for us is how he let these experiences shaped his character. He became such a man of God that Brigham Young, as quoted by President Oaks in general conference, declared this: “I do not think that a man lives on the earth that knew [Joseph Smith] any better than I did; and I am bold to say that, Jesus Christ excepted, no better man ever lived or does live upon this earth.” The development of my character will always pale in comparison to his, and I will likely never do anything of significance in my life to more than the few family and friends who surround me, but I can seek to become the kind of person that the Savior would have me be. And I can strive with my own meager attempts to say to Him, “And knowing thou lovest me, I’ll do thy will with a heart sincere: I’ll be what you want me to be.”