Sacrament Meeting Talk in Leander Ward Dec. 2005

I'm tackling my piles of papers these days and found this talk I gave in our ward just before we moved. I thought I'd put it on the blog to preserve it and have a blast from the past.

December 18, 2005

Joseph Smith and the Proclamation on the Family

Introduction

Many of you know that we are moving to India at the end of this month. We are excited, sad, and terrified all at once. When I was in college I spent a semester in a rural village in Mexico teaching literacy to adults. Though I enjoyed it and probably did do some good, I often felt that I could do good more at home with my family who were struggling with various things at the time. So when this opportunity came to our family, I was grateful that now I have my own family and we are all going together. We may be disappointed by the amount of good we can do in India, but the influence we can have within our own family will remain unchanged.

My topic today is Joseph Smith, but I want to focus what I say about him around the Proclamation since President Jackson in Stake Conference urged us to “return to the Proclamation.” As I read through these journal entries compiled by Susan Easton Black, I was touched many times to see Joseph as a real person who got sick, who played with his family, who loved his wife. Though he pre-dated the Proclamation, he certainly lived each of its principles. Let me share some of these snapshots of his exemplary life with you while I bear testimony of the Proclamation.

I know that, as the Proclamation states, marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God.

November 24, 1835: Marriage is an institution of heaven, instituted in the Garden of Eden.

April 4, 1839: Dear and Affectionate Wife, I would gladly walk from here to you barefoot, and bare headed, and half naked, to see you.

January 20, 1840: My Dear Emma, my heart is intertwined around you and those little ones.

August 13, 1842: I was much rejoiced to meet my dear wife once again.

August 14, 1842: Spent the forenoon chiefly in conversation with Emma . . . both felt in good spirits and very cheerful.

Today is our anniversary! I am so grateful for a loving husband and for the commitment and joy that temple covenants bring. He is my best friend and so good to me.

I know that the family is central to the Creator’s plan. I know that the divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.

Parley P. Pratt, Apostle, 1835–1857: It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife; of brother and sister, son and daughter. It was from him that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love. . . . I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling. Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. (1938), 259–60.

April 16, 1843: In the morning of the first resurrection let me strike hands with my father.

March 20, 1842: The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the enemy of the man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world.

I know that we will see our loved ones who have gone before us to the Spirit World. I can’t wait to meet my dear loved ones there, and to join with many of my sisters in this ward and elsewhere in raising the children we only knew for a short time. I can’t wait to “meet Brother Joseph again.”

I know that parents have a sacred duty to . . . teach [their children] to love and serve one another

Joseph Smith: “It is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love—show forth our kindness unto all mankind, and the Lord will reward us with everlasting increase; cast our bread upon the waters and we shall receive it after many days, increased to a hundredfold.”

September 1, 1835: Fathers should be kind to their children, husbands to their wives . . . children obedient to their parents.

September 14, 1843: My house has been a home and resting place for thousands.

June 25, 1844: Dear Emma, Myself and Hyrum have been again arrested for treason.

June 26, 1844: Could my brother, Hyrum but be liberated, it would not matter so much about me.

I learned a good lesson from my son Isaac recently. I said in passing one day, “Isaac, I need you!” Later in the day, he asked with a solemn face, “Mom, why do you need me?” I could tell he was flattered and excited at the thought that I might need him, and I started to think of all the reasons that I really do need and rely on him. We all need to be needed—allowing yourself to need someone strengthens the love between you.

I know that the family is ordained of God. I know that mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.

March 27, 1834: Remained at home and had great joy with my family.

I am so glad for the teachings of the Church that urge women to stay at home with their families. I have found the sweetest joys there as I watch my children grow and see the world through their eyes.

I know that successful marriages and families are established on the principle of faith.

August 31, 1842: Rode to the Grove with Emma, and attended the Female Relief Society’s meeting.

October 13, 1832: My Dear Wife, You must comfort yourself knowing that God is your friend in heaven and that you have one true and living friend on earth in your husband.

There is sweetness in sharing your faith with your children and your husband. I know that God is indeed my friend in heaven and my best friends on earth are in my family.

I know that successful marriages and families are established on the principle of prayer.

February 10, 1836: I asked my Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ to heal my brother Hyrum, and bless my father’s family.

April 25, 1842: I was engaged in reading, meditation . . . mostly with my family.

January 16, 1834: O Lord! Keep us and my family safe, until I return to them.

January 28, 1836: I felt to praise God with a loud hosanna, for His goodness to me and my father’s family.

To me, being a mother is scary because so much can go wrong. I find solace in the fact that I can pray to Heavenly Father for the safety and well-being of my children, and rely on the Spirit to guide me as I care for them, and know that if something goes wrong, the Lord is mindful of us and will help it work together for our good.

I know that husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. I know that successful marriages and families are established on the principle of compassion.

September 16, 1838: I was at home all day with my family.

September 8, 1843: My wife being sick, I was at home all day.

August 19, 1836: My beloved Wife: You may know that you and the children are much on my mind.

August 1, 1838: I tarried at home with my family . . . to refresh myself after many late fatigues and arduous duties.

July 13, 1843: I was in conversation with Emma most of the day.

March 24, 1832: I told Emma, she had better retire to rest . . . I would watch with the sicker child.

February 26, 1843: My mother was sick with inflammation of the lungs, and I nursed her with my own hands.

I am so grateful for a husband who, like Joseph, cares for me and my children with his own hands—changing diapers, staying home to help, fixing and building things, laying hands upon our heads. He is sensitive and thoughtful, faithful and strong.

I know that successful marriages and families are established on the principle of respect.

August 22, 1842: I have thought of my father who is dead . . . he was a great and a good man.

August 23, 1842: I loved my father and his memory; and the memory of his noble deeds.

My father-in-law often thanks Heavenly Father in his prayers for those who have gone before us. I hope we can be as Joseph Smith and retain in our memory our ancestors and our indebtedness to them.

I know that successful marriages and families are established on the principle of work.

June 4, 1842: My Dear Companion, we all enjoy the fruits of our labour if we hold out faithful to the end which I pray may be the happy lot of us all.

May 13, 1842: Spent most of the day in my garden with my family.

March 9, 1842: Continued translating and revising, and reading letters in the evening, Sister Emma being present in the office.

Some of my sweetest memories with our family and our ward family center around working together. There is great joy in working and serving together. I am so grateful to have worked and served with you.

I know that successful marriages and families are established on the principle of wholesome recreational activities.

September 4, 1834: Circus performance, which I attended with my family.

February 8, 1843: At four in the afternoon, I went out with my little Frederick, to exercise myself by sliding on the ice.

July 21, 1843: Rode to the farm with my daughter Julia.

June 3, 1843: This morning, I, with my family . . . started for Quincy, on a pleasure voyage.

March 18, 1843: Played ball with the boys.

My father, too, was always good at finding time for wholesome recreational activities with his family. I always knew Daddy worked hard at work, and then came home to play with us. We’d wrestle around with him, play outside, take fun and cheap family vacations (which usually included camping and hiking!), and share silly made-up stories.

I know that by divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.

March 25, 1839: There are many teachers, but, perhaps, not many fathers.

September 9, 1842: I offered a blessing upon the heads of my sleeping children.

July 6, 1842: Transacted business in the city, and rode to LaHarpe with Emma.

May 28, 1842: Walked to the store with Emma, transacted some business in the city.

March 3, 1834: O Lord, bless my little children with health and long life, to do good in their generation.

March 5, 1843: I stayed home all day to take care of my mother, who was still sick.

It’s tricky to balance work and home, and it appears from Joseph’s writing that he did a pretty good job of it, despite his busy schedule. He seemed to always be willing to take time out from work to help family members in need, and included his family in his work when he could.

My Testimony

I am grateful for Joseph Smith. I am excited to meet him in the next life and shake his hand, thanking him for all he did for us. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who was bold enough to restore the Gospel on the earth and spread it throughout the earth. I am so grateful for that.

President Hinckley said, “Joseph Smith set in motion a program for carrying the gospel to the nations of the earth. I marvel at the boldness with which he moved. Even in the infant days of the Church, in times of dark adversity, men were called to leave homes and families, to cross the sea, to proclaim the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Prophet’s mind, his vision encompassed the entire earth.”

I am grateful that our family has the opportunity to cross many seas and do our best to build the kingdom in India. I wish we didn’t have to leave our home and ward family to do it! But I am grateful that I can go with my little eternal family and that as we rely on each other and serve together, we will find joy that can only come together as a family. Please come visit us, and we’ll come back to visit you.

I know God lives and loves us and had a plan for us. I know our Savior Jesus Christ lives and was resurrected and suffered so that we may live forever and return to His presence. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he saw God the Father and His Son and translated the Book of Mormon, the word of God. I know this is the only true church on the face of the earth because of its awesome priesthood authority from Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the peace and joy that my testimony brings me and my family.