(Farm Boy to Prophet)
Some things are so incredible, there are not words to describe or explain-
few words will do justice to experiences so rare and foreign to our domain.
The same may be true of a life that was lived beyond compare,
a farm boy who was called as God's prophet, a witness who would not succumb to fear.
It is any wonder that young Joseph might have been shy,
to tell his story to the unbelieving who may consider it a deceptive lie?
To be hated and persecuted for telling the truth, what he knew had taken place,
was the reality he lived and the situation he constantly faced.
Because of his circumstances in a family struggling to survive,
he had little formal education and little ability to read and write.
Communicating thoughts with paper and pen was not in his nature,
he was also not as gifted to speak as were many that were called to be preachers.
He had tendencies to error as all humans do,
he said he was not as perfect as the doctrines he taught and was committed to.
He was chastised by God when he went astray,
we know that he sometimes failed, perhaps that we may not digress the same way.
The heavens were open to him because he sought to do that which was right-
like the apostle Paul, he kept the faith and fought a good fight,
It is amazing to think how his life changed that bright spring day,
after he went into the nearby grove of trees to pray.
He could not, would not, ever deny what he heard and saw,
he knew beyond a shallow of doubt that he must do God’s will and follow his law.
He was chosen to be the receptacle of revelation to restore the church of Christ,
all the principles, ordinances and covenants centered on the teachings of Jesus and his atoning life.
We will never fully comprehend what this illiterate boy was called to achieve,
a marvelous work and a wonder he brought forth to a world in great spiritual need.
He said that he would not have believed what he experienced unless it had happened to him.
Who would believe what others thought was impossible unless it happened to them?
“No man knows my history” he said once, perhaps in a somber tone,
we simply cannot understand a man whose life was not his own.
Put yourself in his situation, and ask what would you have done,
how would you have responded to the trials that he experienced alone.
What is most remarkable is this very thing,
Joseph rose above, he conquered and endured to the end,
he did all that was required to serve his Savior and Heavenly King.
2020
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