Download Lessons from the Journals of Joseph Smith

1835-36 Journal: 20 Dec. 1835 to 16 Jan. 1836
 “A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge for if
he does not get knowledge he will be brought into
Captivity by some evil power in the other world as evil
spirits will have more knowledge & Consequently
more power than many men who are on the earth.
Hence it needs Revelation to assist us & give us
knowledge of the things of God.”
 (Joseph Smith, 10 April 1842).
 Reason: What does this quote teach you about Joseph
Smith the prophet?
Significant Event
Date and Joseph’s Age
State
Received Vision of Celestial
Kingdom and of Salvation for the
Dead, Including Little Children
(D&C 137)
Jan.
1836
(age 30)
Ohio
Dedicated Kirtland Temple (D&C
109)
Mar.
1836
(age 30)
Ohio
Jesus Christ Accepted Kirtland
Temple; Moses, Elias, and Elijah
Restored Priesthood Keys (D&C
110)
Apr.
1836
(age 30)
Ohio
Traveled to New York City and
Salem, MA (D&C 111)
Jul.- Sept.
1836
(age 30)
Ohio to New York and
Massachusetts
Drafted Kirtland Safety Society
Articles
Nov.
1836
(age 30)
Ohio
Missouri Legislature Approved Bill
to Create Caldwell County, MO, for
Mormon Settlement
Dec.
1836
(age 31)
Missouri
Reason: What lessons do you learn from this account?
1 January 1836 • Friday
 Br. William came to my house and Br. Hyrum Smith, also, Uncle John Smith,
we went into a room in company with father and Elder Martin Harris, father
Smith then opened our interview by prayer after which, he expressed his
feelings on the ocasion in a verry feeling and pathetic manner even with all the
sympathy of a father whose feeling were wounded deeply on the account of the
difficulty that was existing in the family, and while he addressed us the spirit of
God rested down upon us in mighty power, and our hearts were melted Br.
William made an humble confession and asked my forgiveness for the abuse he
had offered me and wherein I had been out of the way I asked his forgivness,
and the spirit of confission and forgiveness, was mutual among us all, and we
covenanted with each other in the Sight of God and the holy angels and the
brethren, to strive from henceforward to build each other up in righteousness,
in all things and not listen to evil reports concerning eachother, but like
brethren, indeed go to eachother, with our grievances in the spirit of meekness,
and be reconciled and thereby promote our own happiness and the happiness
of the family and in short the happiness and well being of all.— my wife and
Mother, & my Scribe was then called in and we repeated the covenant to them
that we had entered into, and while gratitude swelled our bosoms, tears flowed
from our eys.— I was then requested to close our interview which I did with
prayer, and it was truly a jubilee and time of rejoiceing
 [Samuel T.] Whitman wrote: “The ice storm [that winter] wasn’t
generally destructive. True, a few wires came down, and there was a
sudden jump in accidents along the highway. … Normally, the big
walnut tree could easily have borne the weight that formed on its
spreading limbs. It was the iron wedge in its heart that caused the
damage.
 “The story of the iron wedge began years ago when the white-haired
farmer [who now inhabited the property on which it stood] was a lad
on his father’s homestead. The sawmill had then only recently been
moved from the valley, and the settlers were still finding tools and odd
pieces of equipment scattered about. …
 “On this particular day, it was a faller’s wedge—wide, flat, and heavy, a
foot or more long, and splayed from mighty poundings [—which the
lad found] … in the south pasture. [A faller’s wedge, used to help fell a
tree, is inserted in a cut made by a saw and then struck with a sledge
hammer to widen the cut.] … Because he was already late for dinner,
the lad laid the wedge … between the limbs of the young walnut tree
his father had planted near the front gate. He would take the wedge to
the shed right after dinner, or sometime when he was going that way.
 “He truly meant to, but he never did. [The wedge] was there between
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the limbs, a little tight, when he attained his manhood. It was there,
now firmly gripped, when he married and took over his father’s farm. It
was half grown over on the day the threshing crew ate dinner under the
tree. … Grown in and healed over, the wedge was still in the tree the
winter the ice storm came.
“In the chill silence of that wintry night … one of the three major limbs
split away from the trunk and crashed to the ground. This so
unbalanced the remainder of the top that it, too, split apart and went
down. When the storm was over, not a twig of the once-proud tree
remained.
“Early the next morning, the farmer went out to mourn his loss. …
“Then, his eyes caught sight of something in the splintered ruin. ‘The
wedge,’ he muttered reproachfully. ‘The wedge I found in the south
pasture.’ A glance told him why the tree had fallen. Growing, edge-up
in the trunk, the wedge had prevented the limb fibers from knitting
together as they should.” 1
My dear brothers and sisters, there are hidden wedges in the lives of
many whom we know—yes, perhaps in our own families.
Reason: What lessons do you learn from this
account?
3 January 1836 • Sunday
 Sunday morning 3d went to meeting at the usual
hour President Sidney Rigdon, delivered a fine
lecture upon the subject of revelation, in the
afternoon I confirmed about 10 or 12 persons who
had been baptised, among whom was Marvel C.
Davis who was baptized at the intermission to day.
 The entire world is celebrating this month the five hundredth
anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher
Columbus. Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, his biographer, says,
“This night of October 11–12 [1492] was one big with destiny for
the human race, the most momentous ever experienced aboard
any ship in any sea.” (Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of
Christopher Columbus, Boston: Little, Brown and Company,
1942, p. 223.)
 In my private commemoration of this event, I have read and
reread one important and prophetic verse from the Book of
Mormon, and also a very long biography of Christopher
Columbus.
 That verse from Nephi’s vision states: “And I looked and beheld a
man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my
brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that
it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth
upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who
were in the promised land.” (1 Ne. 13:12.)
 We interpret that to refer to Columbus. It is interesting to note
that the Spirit of God wrought upon him. After reading that long
biography, a Pulitzer winner of forty years ago, titled Admiral of
the Ocean Sea—I have no doubt that Christopher Columbus was
a man of faith, as well as a man of indomitable determination.
 I recognize that in this anniversary year a host of critics have
spoken out against him. I do not dispute that there were others
who came to this Western Hemisphere before him. But it was he
who in faith lighted a lamp to look for a new way to China and
who in the process discovered America. His was an awesome
undertaking—to sail west across the unknown seas farther than
any before him of his generation. He it was who, in spite of the
terror of the unknown and the complaints and near mutiny of
his crew, sailed on with frequent prayers to the Almighty for
guidance. In his reports to the sovereigns of Spain, Columbus
repeatedly asserted that his voyage was for the glory of God and
the spread of the Christian faith. Properly do we honor him for
his unyielding strength in the face of uncertainty and danger.
Reason: What lessons do you learn from this account?
12 January 1836 • Tuesda
 A man was introduced to me by the name of Russell
Weaver from Cambria, Niagara Co. N. Y this man is a
preacher, in the church that is called Christian or
Unitarian, he remarked that he had but few minuits to
spend with me, we entered into conversation, and had
some little controversy upon the subject of prejudice,
but soon come to an understanding, he spoke of the
gospel and said he believed it, adding that it was good
tidings of great joy— I replyed that it was one thing, to
proclaim good tidings and another to tell what those
tidings are, he waived the conversation and withdrew.
 The achievement of some important goals in our lives is subject to
more than the timing of the Lord. Some personal achievements are also
subject to the agency of others. This is particularly evident in two
matters of special importance to young people of college age—
missionary baptisms and marriage.
 In the summer of 2001, Sister Oaks and I were in Manaus, Brazil. I
spoke to about 100 missionaries in that great city on the Amazon. As I
stood to speak, I was prompted to put aside some notes I usually use on
such occasions and substitute some thoughts on the importance of
timing—some of the scriptures and principles I have been discussing
here.
 I reminded the missionaries that some of our most important plans
cannot be brought to pass without the agency and actions of others. A
missionary cannot baptize five persons this month without the agency
and action of five other persons. A missionary can plan and work and
do all within his or her power, but the desired result will depend upon
the additional agency and action of others.
 Consequently, a missionary’s goals ought to be based upon the
missionary’s personal agency and action, not upon the agency or action
of others.