This Farm's Most Plentiful Harvest

Today I visited the farm in Palmyra, New York that Martin Harris owned in the early 1800s. In the fall of 1829, he mortgaged most of his farm to pay for the publication of the Book of Mormon. This was what the Lord required of him: “And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:26). One article describes what happened, “On August 25, 1829, he mortgaged his property to Grandin as payment for the publication. His neighbors were amazed that their sensible friend would ‘abandon the cultivation of one of the best farms in the neighborhood’ to underwrite the publication. Initially, Martin hoped to redeem his mortgaged farm by selling copies of the Book of Mormon. In January, Joseph Smith signed an agreement with Martin, giving him ‘equal privilege’ to sell copies of the Book of Mormon until he had fully recouped the cost of printing. He began selling the book as soon as it was available in March 1830. Unfortunately, sales did not go as well as he had hoped.” Eventually Martin “sold enough of his property to pay the debt. By doing so, he secured his place as the most significant financial supporter of the Book of Mormon and thus the early Church.” He ultimately lost his wife and much of his farm because of his commitment to the words of a book. Though he made mistakes, and the loss of the 116 pages is sometimes what he is remembered for most, without him the Book of Mormon could not have been published when it was.

               Much of what we remember Martin Harris for as it relates to the early Church has to do with words. He took the characters and translated words to Charles Anthon to verify the validity of Joseph Smith’s work; he scribed and wrote the words of the 116 pages that subsequently were lost; he received the words of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith by revelation, now canonized in Doctrine and Covenants sections 5 and 19; and he gave up much of his farm in order to pay for the printing of the words of the Book of Mormon. When the Book of Mormon wasn’t selling well, and he was at risk of losing his farm, he lamented, “The Books will not sell for no Body wants them.” He then said to Joseph, “I Want a Commandment.” In other words, he wanted a revelation from God through the Prophet Joseph; he wanted words not from men but from God. Joseph did not seek another revelation for Martin, though, and invited him, “Fulfill what you have got.” Martin begged again, “But I must have a commandment.” He did not get one, and it seems that the Lord had anticipated this in the last revelation he did receive: “This is a great and the last commandment which I shall give unto you concerning this matter; for this shall suffice for thy daily walk, even unto the end of thy life” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:32). But the words we do have for him in the Doctrine and Covenants, along with the words that we have in the Book of Mormon thanks to his enormous sacrifice, are invaluable to us all today. On the plaque at his farm, it says this: “The Book of Mormon, with its testimony of Jesus Christ, was this farm’s most plentiful harvest.” Martin Harris made great sacrifices so that we could have the words of the Lord “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.” I love this invitation that the Lord gave him and all of us: “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:23). The life and sacrifices of Martin Harris invite us to seek out and cherish the word of the Lord that we have been so richly blessed with.