You Never Knew Me

You Never Knew Me 

 

 

A chain of Josephs

In the Book of Mormon Lehi presents an elegant chain of prophets. Joseph of Egypt, Lehi’s son Joseph, Joseph Smith Senior and finally, Joseph Smith Junior line the hallways of Father’s “work and glory”, separated by centuries, yet united in their zeal for the Lord.  

 Staring from his pit at the desert sky heavily embroidered with stars, Joseph of Egypt is nearly a mirror image, a diptych of Joseph Smith. Indeed, Joseph himself felt this affinity, as he expressed: “I feel like Joseph of Egypt that was thrown in the well by his brothers and then sold into Egypt”.        

                       

 

  The Lord tells the prophet that his friends and brothers were still loyal to him and not “charging him with transgression,” as if to suggest what the next inevitable challenge of his life would be (D&C 121:10). The denouement of his life’s story was clearly foreshadowed and  must have been poignantly apparent to him.  

 

The pattern of one facing many, of one expiating for the very many that betray him, filled to the brim with both bitter loneliness and the deepest of love, is followed by Joseph of Egypt, Moses, Joseph Smith and the Lord HImself. It is a pattern that will certainly be followed by those to come.

While on the surface the two Josephs bookend Lehi’s prophetic chain, it is fascinating that the reference to Joseph Smith is conflated with ANOTHER end-time seer, the One Mighty and Strong who will come forth in the latter day:

 

 And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word  and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing    to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren (2 Nephi 3:24, emphasis added).

 Thus the aforementioned chain should  more accurately look like this:

Joseph of Egypt -  Joseph, son of Lehi -  Christ - Joseph Smith - end time Servant

Many have pointed to the Servant’s silent yet powerful presence inundating ALL scripture, hidden in plain sight and visible only to those that seek the Lord.  My intent is not to prove the existence of a forerunner pattern . The Spirit proves. And time will tell, before too long…

What seems significant is a conflation itself, that the Lord speaks of the two as if they were one, suggesting perhaps a tag-team effort, a resuming of a prematurely interrupted work of establishing Zion, much like the scriptures speak of the Father and the Son, as one, unified in their purpose (3 Nephi 20:35 ). Linked by a similar mission and goal, the two go about their “Father’s business”,  the only work they have come to complete (Luke 2:49).

  

Son and Servant

Not only is the servant’s presence conflated with Joseph Smith, it is also fused with the  presence of the Lord Himself.  Who doesn’t love Hendel’s Messiah around Christmas time? Our hearts rejoice as we celebrate the coming forth of a Savior. “For unto us a child is born” is universally recognized as a reference to Christ. But consider this direct translation from Hebrew by Avraham Gileadi:

 For to us is a child born, a son appointed,who will shoulder the burden of government. He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, One Mighty in Valor, a Father for Ever, a Prince of Peace- that sovereignty may be extended and peace have no end (Isaiah 9:6-7, emphasis added)

As a gentile nation, we are culturally and historically removed from the Hebrew traditions and worldview. Yet in the ancient world of the Jews, a son was commonly perceived as an heir and vassal, or servant. Thus the four terms could be used interchangeably:                    Child  - Son  -  Vassal   -   Servant

Standing at the right hand of the Master, the One Mighty and Strong, is overshadowed by the One he serves. He doesn’t seek recognition or accolades and is perfectly satisfied to stay behind the scenes of the Lord’s “marvelous work and wonder,” until the Lord decides to commence His “strange act” (Isaiah 28:21). 

  At the heart of the Book of Mormon, in the middle of His visit to the Nephites the Lord speaks of a fulfilled prophecy:

 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people  (3Nephi 20:23, emphasis added).

It is also here that He admonishes the people to study the words of Isaiah and look for a future fulfillment of  prophecy (verse 11). It is here that we find the prophecies of a future gathering and the emergence of  a latter-day “servant” (verse 43),  also frequently compared to Moses. “All these things shall surely come”, He says ( verse 46). In His subtle ways the Lord merges what is fulfilled with what is to come, another commonly used Hebrew device. . In light of this the warning He extends to “hearken unto that prophet” applies equally to Himself, as well as the servant.  

The trial of our faith is recognizing the voice of the Lord when it is not obvious. Before He returns in person Christ “bares his holy arm”(3 Nephi 20:35) and His “sword”(Ibid, verse 20), both of which are servant references. The task of recognizing true messengers has always been with those that wait upon the Lord. And we are no different.

 His teachings

Perfectly linked together, the Lord, Joseph Smith and the Servant  stand arm to arm as they strive to complete the Father's plan. Some have suggested that the Servant will bear the name of  David or Joseph. And perhaps he will… What is more crucial for us to understand is that teachings of Christ, Joseph Smith and the Servant will be perfectly in sync. And that will be the only  sure way to identify His latter-day forerunner. 

 What Joseph taught, unabridged, in its  purity, we are no longer familiar with. We have assumed that we know what he stood for. But even to those closest to him Joseph spoke these poignant words:

You don't know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don't blame anyone for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself.

And if his contemporaries did not know him for who he truly was, how can we arrogantly presume that we do?!?!?

 Joseph’s enemies and accusers were not disaffected members of the church, as we have been led to believe.  They stood up from the Last Supper table, having been at the prophet’s side during the work of restoration. Closely acquainted with what he taught, they turned against Joseph, deeming him and his few remaining supporters to be “succeders” from the restored church and the Truth. 

These were men with firm testimonies of the book Mormon and the standard works. And in the very act of attempting to expose Joseph they testified of the teachings he restored at first to be “verily true” (Ibid). And while embracing the prophet's initial revelations, they proclaimed his later ones to be “heretical,  damnable” and “not accordant with the principles of Jesus Christ and the Apostles”( Ibid). 

Joseph’s teachings, taught “secretly and denied openly” as the members of  The Nauvoo Expositor suggest,  posed a threat to everything these men knew to be true. Yet these things were  in perfect sync with the Master's doctrines. Revealing sacred things in private and not in public has always been the divine pattern of teaching those that are ready to receive, and withholding from those that aren't ( Alma 12:9-11). 

Of course, Joseph’s statement poignantly echoes the words of the Lord Himself:

 “ And then will I say, Ye never knew me” ( JST Matt. 7:23) He, too, felt unknown by most. Have we assumed that we intimately know the Lord as well? 

Clearly,  being firmly grounded in the scriptures, both  old and new, and using that as a measuring stick of Truth was not sufficient. Being bound by traditions and paradigms that we “know” to be foundational for Chrisitainity, we too risk to embrace the familiar milk and throw away the restored doctrinal meat of Christ teachings as heresy.

It takes utmost humility and an open mind of a child that knows that the Father has more to give, than what we have been able to receive so far. Nuclear physics is rarely taught in kindergarten. It takes a knowing that ALL scriptural sources we currently have, have been blatantly  tampered with by the Adversary and are incomplete in their witness of Truth. 

Cutting through millennia of adversarial interference to get to the Lord and His unadulterated teachings may seem like a daunting task. Lucky for us, Joseph Smith shrunk that gap. And if we desire to know  Him, we would do well to study the truths Joseph was attempting to restore, since the two are in perfect sync. And, of course, this is also sound advice for those who would like to board  the departing boat of Zion, steered by the One Mighty and Strong. 

The pattern of the mainstream majority being the bulk that rejects the few that find Him, is as old as the world itself  (Matthew 7:14). Such was the fate of the persecuted Gnostics, who claimed to know something ( Gnosis in Greek means to know). In the gnostic gospel of Thomas he writes :

Whoever searches

Must continue to search

Until they find.

When they find, they will be disturbed;

And being disturbed, they will marvel

And will reign over ALL( emphasis added). 

The restored more can be astounding, disturbing even. What we do with it is up to us... May we seek for knowledge, both ancient, restored and to be restored,  with eagerness and earnestness unprecedented!!! For it is rejection of knowledge, wilful or immature,  that leads to destruction (Hosea 4:6). Now is the time to do so, while our freshly baked daily bread is still on the table and our minds are not preoccupied with temporal survival. And though astounded and full of marvel,  may we not hear them say, “You Never Knew Me”...