No Coincidences

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  • Book Review: They Knew the Prophet

    Book Review: They Knew the Prophet

    Book review:  They Knew the Prophet compiled by Hyrum L. and Helen Mae Andrus Copyright 1974

    I just finished a book I really enjoyed called They Knew the Prophet. 

    The book is a collection of first-hand accounts of people’s interactions with the Prophet, Joseph Smith.  I think this book could be of interest to anyone, whether a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not.  Even if you know nothing about the Church, you get a grasp of how respected and revered Joseph Smith was by his followers. This man with zero education started a religion.  In 1830, less than 200 years ago, six people gathered together to formally organize the church. That group of six has turned into over 16 million. For this reason, even people not of the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ could be fascinated by and should be interested in the historical character that Joseph Smith was.

    If you are a member of the Church, I highly recommend this book.  It was an easy read. Each first-hand account is brief. The longest individual account was 10 pages but that was an outlier.  The book is 193 pages long and there are a total of 98 unique accounts. Fun fact—the 10-page account was from my great-great grandfather, Benjamin F. Johnson.  The book is organized so you move through the prophet’s life. It starts from the beginning with someone who lived near his family and hired young Joseph to help on his farm.  It moves slowly until the end where first-hand accounts are given of his death. I’ve previously read a decent amount on the death of the Prophet and some of what I read at the end was still new to me.

    It’s interesting to see the progression from people describing Joseph Smith early on as ineloquent to later in the book people describing him as the most powerful man and speaker they ever encountered.  It’s truly fascinating to see that progression through the eyes of those who knew him.

    I will avoid giving away too much and thus ruining the book for anyone that may want to read it.  I will share an excerpt from my favorite account. It was written by Howard Coray. He was speaking about all the learned men that would come and try to contend with and confound Joseph.  He wrote:

    “Among other great men who called to see him was Cyrus Walker, a lawyer of much note.  He tried to sound the Prophet, and see how deep he was. Well, it was with Walker as it had been with all the others.  He soon got enough, found Joseph too deep for his lead and line, and gave up the enterprise. Thus it was in every instance that came under my observation.  How could we expect it to be otherwise-for any man who had never peered into heaven and seen heavenly things to be a match for one who had had a half score or more heavenly messengers for teachers.”

    That passage made me think of Joseph Smith in a new way.  Thinking about myself, in the last four years since coming back to Church and actively studying the gospel, I’ve felt I’ve grown so much.  The knowledge and understanding I have today is so far from where I was just four years ago. Joseph was being visited, tutored, and taught by the leaders of past dispensations.  He was being taught by Jesus Christ Himself. His progression from an un-learned farm hand to eloquent orator of gospel principles was at such an accelerated pace. I love that story and it perfectly illustrates what I enjoyed about this book.

    It did get a bit repetitive near the very end and I found myself having a hard time finishing it.  Until the conclusion came. Reading of the end of the Prophet’s life is always emotional and gives me an appreciation for Joseph Smith and what he was willing to give for his testimony:  everything. 

    You can find a copy of the book online for ~$28.  If anyone is interested in borrowing my copy, just let me know!  

    I highly recommend this book.  As the inside cover said, “more than any other book it will make the reader feel that (they) too knew the prophet.”  He was the Moses of our dispensation. There’s no better way to try to understand who he was than through the eyes of those who knew him.

  • Worldwide Fast

    Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, asked the world to fast on Good Friday, April 10, 2020.  His invitation:

    “I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized.”

    Russell M. Nelson

    I was a member of a group on Facebook for the Worldwide Fast.  Last I checked, that group had over 537,000 people! Click Here To See the Group

    This group turned into a worldwide testimony session.  There were so many amazing posts.  I spent the entire morning after Good Friday reading them.  There were two that I really loved.  I asked permission from the original posters to share their stories.  I hope my friends and family (those who didn’t already see these) enjoy them as much as I did.

    The first was about a young boy: 

    My 7 year old nephew wanted to be part of today’s fasting and prayer. He loves to eat, so this was a true sacrifice for him. He’s been very prayerful all day. His mom found him praying in the yard. When she told him she was proud of him, he responded “Sometimes we just need to find our own sacred grove.” Isn’t that true?!?! The pure faith of a young man has served as an example and blessing to the world many times throughout history. I pray that the faith of this little boy and all the world fasting and praying together today result in modern day miracles.

    Many of the posts were about children and they were some of the most touching.  This is a reminder that we must “become as little children.” (Matthew 18:3)

    The second post said:

    I could not join the first global fast on March 29th. I was battling with COVID-19, fighting to stay alive. During this difficult time, I received a promise from my Heavenly Father: “These tribulations shall be but a small moment. But WHEN you are healed, testify to the world of the God of mercy”. I recovered through the fasting and prayers of others by God’s grace and mercy. Tomorrow, It is my turn to give back and to join this fast for all those who are facing this tough battle around the world so they may be blessed like I have been. I love Christ’s comforting words:
    These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
    May God bless us all!

    I am so grateful for these two powerful testimonies and I’m so thankful they shared them.

    I hope as a world we don’t soon forget this.  As things do return to normal, I hope we don’t immediately turn back to our old ways.  I hope we can learn, grow, love, and rely on God more than ever.

    Isaiah 40:31 reads:

    “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

    A friend posted something that I think is important to remember. He pointed out that the footnote for wait says “to hope for or anticipate.”  Let’s remember things won’t change overnight.  But as we continue in faith, Christ will pour out his spirit on us and the world can change. Finally, how grateful I am for a prophet that can lead a worldwide initiative of faith.  This affirms my testimony that he is a Prophet of God and he leads God’s church.  All are welcome to follow.

    We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

  • Depression

    ** The following is a guest post written by my wife**

    It’s such a part of who I am and the course of my life, yet I’ve struggled to ever really discuss it with anybody aside from my therapists and maybe a few of my family members. Even then, I’m not sure I’ve ever really, openly discussed all the intricacies of my depression. It is difficult for me to completely explain the seemingly unexplainable. I’ve been plagued with a feeling of toxic perfectionism that doesn’t allow me to be vulnerable in letting others know that I may not lead a near-perfect life. Yet, as I’ve had loved ones seek to understand my condition, and others that suffer through depression around me seek someone to empathize with them, I’ve tried to bring myself to do it. Bit by bit, I’ve opened up. Sometimes in frustration, I just want to sum it up as “if you know, you know” and call it good. But that is not enough. Individuals, family members, institutions, others with depression need to know.

    So what does it really feel like? There’s no good, singular answer. I’ve labored over the answer to this question many times. For me, it is not a weight laying heavily on me. I don’t feel like the people in the commercials that have a dark rain cloud following over their head wherever they go. If I do feel glimpses of emotion, they are always lined with sadness and exhaustion. Most of the time though, it’s a feeling of nothing. Absolutely nothing. Emptiness. Darkness. Sometimes I cope by being super goofy so that I don’t have to feel nothingness for just a moment. It can be napping literally all day because, even with the guilt and self-loathing that comes with wasting an entire day, it’s better than facing that feeling of not feeling. And when I can get up, any attempt I make at getting anything done is overwhelmed by an extreme inability to focus on anything.

    My dad could always see when I was going through really bad depression. He said I never actually looked sad. In fact, I just looked dead behind the eyes. He said that out of sadness for me and with love. It came somewhat close to describing how I felt, or rather didn’t feel, in those times. Eventually, when you’re in the midst of a depressive episode, you begin to convince yourself that this is the new you. You will never be successful again. You will be a burden and failure for the rest of your life. I was very lucky to never feel like I wanted to end my life but, with feelings like that, it isn’t difficult for me to see how people get there.

    So why don’t you just get up? Go on a hike, play a game, talk to someone, you’ll feel better.

    While all of those suggestions can help, they often served as a constant reminder that I couldn’t even manage the most basic methods of self-care. It made me feel that people would never really understand. I continue to wonder why people really need to understand how it feels. I ask, can you still support me and sympathize with me even if you can’t understand? While that seems like a fair compromise, I still think I can try to help others get a glimpse of my perspective. We can meet in the middle.

    My message to loved ones wondering what they did wrong: You’ve done nothing to cause this. Even I’ve done nothing to cause this. Do not burden yourself with the feeling that you could have done something to stop me from having depression. What you can do is love. Sometimes that means lowering expectations for a while. Sometimes that means just learning to listen instead of feeling like you must come up with the solution. Sometimes that means you’re only able to say, “I love you and I want you here.”

    There is such a lack of support for mental health institutionally that I wouldn’t even attempt to address it in depth. But as each of us listen more and learn more we can be a solution. I remember in the worst of my depression I had to withdraw from an entire semester at Arizona State University. It was such a difficult process to navigate even if I had been fully healthy. You had to jump through numerous hoops, get that documentation, speak to this person, go here and there. I’m not sure I would have been able to do it without my parents there and some semblance of functionality. Even though I was privileged enough to get treated by a medical professional and continue to graduation, I’ll always have a “withdrawal” on my transcript. I felt pain and guilt about that for a long time. We need to understand better.

    While my depression has been well controlled for years now, it’s never truly gone. It can sneak in when I least expect it. I make sure to take my medication daily and be mindful of triggers and warning signs. I try to be vocal with my husband when I feel it creeping in. It causes me sometimes paralyzing fear. I’m sometimes afraid to do things I would like to do because I’m not sure when is the next time it will hit hard. I’m hesitant to take steps in my career, steps in building a family, and to make big commitments. I’ve had to learn how to continue with life without limiting myself. But I also must know when it’s time to take a step back and to accept that it’s okay that I don’t feel okay.

    A bout with depression is something that comes and goes. Sometimes it’s here for a few weeks, sometimes for years at a time. Maybe it will come back tomorrow or in 5 years. I don’t know. The only thing I know is that the pain we feel with depression is temporary. When I think of eternity, I know I’m capable of living past this painful moment. I’ve done it before and I will continue to do so. I can consider it a blessing that through my Savior, Jesus Christ, and my understanding of the Plan of Salvation, my depression has taught me how to truly persevere.

  • Faith

    It’s a topic I will spend my life studying and trying to understand.  This will likely not be the only time I write about faith.  It is something so dear to me, my faith.  I keep coming back to this topic even though I’ve struggled to put together a stimulating thought on the subject.

    Great quotes come to mind, even some just from this last General Conference: 

    “Faith is the antidote for fear.” 

    Ricardo P. Gimenez

    Faith must be based on truth and eternity. 

    “Faith is the power by which God created the universe.” 

    Hebrews 11:3

    I’ve spent a large part of the last couple years contemplating faith.  What makes it so easy to find for some and so hard for others?  What makes some so sure God is there and others so skeptical?  Is it our nature?  Is it something inside of us?  Is it a simple characteristic difference between persons like blonde, brown, or red hair?  Are we already born with little or a lot of faith?  That doesn’t seem quite right.

    It makes me think of a quote I read recently.  It was in Book 1 of Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus.  The early writings of a Christian Bishop to a Pagan:

    “Do you not know that faith is the leading principle in all matters? For what husbandman can reap, unless he first trust his seed to the earth? Or who can cross the sea, unless he first entrust himself to the boat and the pilot? And what sick person can be healed, unless first he trust himself to the care of the physician? And what art or knowledge can any one learn, unless he first apply and entrust himself to the teacher? If, then, the husbandman trusts the earth, and the sailor the boat, and the sick the physician, will you not place confidence in God, even when you hold so many pledges at His hand?”

    Theophilus of Antioch
    Mustard Seed

    I once had a discussion with my grandpa about the Book of Mormon.  We discussed the gold plates that Joseph Smith discovered.  Those plates were taken to heaven and were only ever seen by 11 witnesses plus Joseph Smith himself.  Here is a paraphrased version of the conversation with my grandpa:

    “Why do you think the plates weren’t left here for us to see?  Wouldn’t it help so many to physically see them?  Then everyone would believe.”

    His response, “In my experience, even if the plates were right in front of some people, they would still deny.  Why do you think they were taken away?”

    “Well, probably to protect some, for that reason you said.  Some would see them and still deny.  Also, they may have been too sacred to keep on earth.  They may have been mistreated or lost if they stayed here.”

    Then he said something I’ve always remembered. 
    He said,

    “I think there was a much more important reason.  One of the most important things we’re on this earth to develop is faith.  If you saw the plates, there would be no faith involved.  You would know.  And yet, there’s always some measure of faith involved.  As I said, even some looking and touching them may still deny and explain it away as a fanciful story.  But, here’s the important part – because you have never touched them, seen them in anyway, because you had to read the words and feel it in your soul and heart, your testimony is stronger.  Because you never saw them, it involves faith. But could you know with more of a surety they were true if I were holding them in front of you right now?”

    “No,” I replied.

    “Exactly.  Your testimony of them is not based on physical touch or sight.  You’ve felt the words deep in your soul.  That’s more than your eyes can ever give you.  That’s what we’re here to develop.  Faith.”

    Those words have always stuck with me and always will.  I will have so much more to say on this topic as I continue to write.  My message to everyone I love, whether part of my religion or not:  Have faith.  Acknowledge the hand of God in your every day.  To continue off what Theophilus said above, you get a job and then you have faith you will get paid.  You eat food and you have faith it will help your body keep moving.  You wake up and have faith your legs will carry you to where you want to go.  Understand that you live your life by faith and develop it even more.

    Mustard Seed Growing

    One last famous quote by Thomas Aquinas:

    “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”

    Faith – Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

  • How Do We Change The World?

    How do we change the world?

    I often get overwhelmed by how messed up the time we live in can be.  Where do we start in fixing things?  The environment, abuse, hunger, racism, hatred, war, and so on.  Where to begin?

    I once listened to a well-known podcast.  The topic came up:  How do we really make the world better?  They were talking about a person in a run-down county, in a run-down town that is addicted to drugs and whose family has lived in squalor for generations.  How do we pull that person out?  He has a family history of substance abuse and physical abuse.  He has grown up in a poisonous way.  How do we help him?  How do we help so many people out there who are stuck? 

    It hit me as I was listening to this, I know how we fix this.  I know how we solve hunger, and hate, and war.  I know how we drag that person out of his tough life.  I know how we make the world a better place.  It’s a plan that the world will never get behind but, unbeknownst to the world, the plan is already in motion.

    Look at the truly amazing organization of Christ’s Church, in the most simplistic way.

    Every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asked to give 10% of their increase (income) to the Church for the purpose of building up the Church by constructing church buildings, building temples, maintaining these buildings, producing printed materials, running websites and all other ways the Church spreads its message.

    How does that help the poor?  Each month every member of the Church is asked to fast one day.  We are asked to take the money we would have spent on food that day and donate it to the church.  This donation is called a “fast offering” and is used by the local church to help those in the area in need.  Examples include meals for a young single mother, rent for a young person tough on their luck, or money to purchase furniture for a family who lost everything in a fire.  It’s up to the discretion of the bishop in that area how fast offerings are used.  This is a simple program that would revolutionize the world if everyone followed it: fasting and helping the needy.

    These are principles God has given us to live by and one is to help the poor and needy.  Now, just imagine.  Imagine a world where EVERY PERSON gave 10% of what they make.  Now consider if every person fasted one time per month and donated that money to someone who could distribute it around the world to those who need a meal every day?  First, with 10% of the world income going to one place, there would be a great increase.  That money could be used to spread messages of peace and love.  Then, the excess could be used to help communities and people in need.  The fast offerings would go to help all those who need food, housing, and security.

    Communities need to change.  There needs to be a focus on giving, not taking.

    What about addiction?  The answer is The Word of Wisdom.  This is the policy handed down to the people by Christ Himself.  It is the seemingly unbelievable advice to (GASP) not poison yourself.  This means no alcohol, which has destroyed so many families.  This means no tobacco, which kills so many.  This means no drugs, which cause crime and desperation.  What if the world stopped drinking coffee?  (Woah, too far!)  But think about it for a moment… A world where people don’t need a beverage in the morning just to feel enough energy to get through the day.  If people didn’t use any of these substances, wouldn’t the world be a better place?  Surely, no one can argue that point.

    This comes down to something many people are not willing to accept.  People, in general, are too selfish to give up 10% of the money they worked hard to earn.  Many people in prosperous countries are unwilling to sacrifice two meals in a day, once a month.  People refuse to give up alcohol because it’s how they have fun!  They refuse to give up coffee because it’s how they get through the day.  The last and ultimate thing people seem unwilling to do:  Truly embrace Jesus Christ. 

    It’s amazing how the secular world espouses Christian values while devaluing where those values come from: Jesus Christ.

    Christ is love (1 John 4:8).  Christ is light (John 8:12).  Christ is truth (John 14:6).  Charity is the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7:47).

    With a focus on Christ, comes a focus on others.  He is the light of the world and without Him there is darkness.  Why are we surprised by the darkness in the world when we have collectively turned from His light?  The structure of Christ’s Church is meant to help us to help others.  It’s meant to provide ways to get people out of their negative circumstances.  It’s meant to help us collectively elevate to a higher plane.

    If we tithe, fast, meditate, pray, and serve more, we could be better.  This is all Christ asks of us. 

    “The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest cause in the world”

    Douglas D. Holmes

    “Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self destruction.  Only the gospel will unite men and women of all races and nationalities in peace.  Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family.”

    Ezra Taft Benson