Joseph Trusted

by Autumn Dickson

This week, we are studying the bicentennial proclamation called, “The Restoration.” It has been approximately 200 years since the beginning of what we call the Restoration in which the Lord once again actively taught His gospel to a prophet on the earth. With the clarified doctrine came the priesthood authority to bind us to the Savior in a way that He could save us.

Proclamations are interesting things. They are official statements given by our leaders. They reaffirm and clearly teach exactly what we believe. Oftentimes, proclamations are given for specific audiences whether for the church as a whole or even to the world outside church membership. It can be extremely informative to those who know nothing about what we believe.

As for the rest of us, it can seem like a summary of things that we have been taught repeatedly throughout the course of our lives. I can find summarized accounts regarding the Restoration in a million places. Why did we need to send out yet another message with the same information?

Then again, why do we have stories in the scriptures that teach the same principles over and over? Why do we have monthly testimony meetings in which we hear the same basic idea that the Savior supports us? Why do we continue to go over the same material in general for years and years?

There are a lot of answers to this, but one pretty thorough answer is that we need to apply the gospel to our lives. Because our lives are constantly changing, the need to process and apply the gospel in different ways is necessary.

This may be called a proclamation rather than scripture, but in so many ways, they are incredibly similar. They are inspired words written by holy men. So in many ways, we can apply our same scripture study tactics when we read these words.

What do we learn from the Restoration Proclamation this week? How do we apply it in our own lives? Surely there are many different ways to liken these words to our lives as there are many different lives being led right now; let’s just talk about one.

The Restoration Proclamation testifies of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in which he went out into the woods to pray. He was confused about what he needed to do, and so he decided to turn to the Lord about it. In the words of our proclamation, “He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul and trusted that God would direct him.”

The salvation of his soul

At first glance, it may feel as though we don’t often turn to the Lord with the specific concerns that Joseph did. Perhaps we are seeking to follow the Lord and protect the state of our souls, but how often do we directly approach Him about the salvation of our souls?

And yet, how often do we approach Him with variations of that same question? If we really think about it, aren’t most of our questions regarding the state of our soul in one way or another? Whether we’re seeking answers to questions or pleading for help because we’re worried about something going on in our lives, it can often be drawn back to the fact that we’re looking to be safe and happy in our futures.

In this manner, we all can relate to Joseph. We all want to know that we’re on a path that’s going to lead us towards an eternal future that is going to be content and okay and happy. Even those living without religion in the world are seeking that same end; they just want to know that their future is going to be okay (no matter how long or short they may believe it to be).

It’s the next part of that sentence that not everyone relates to, and it’s that part of the sentence that can actually change our lives.

Trusted that God would direct Him

Joseph believed in a God who wanted to answer his prayer. He trusted that God would lead him in the right direction.

Joseph did not have a lot of knowledge by the world’s standards. His education was short-lived, and even the short-lived formal schooling was spotty at best. There were a lot of things that Joseph didn’t know, even religiously. I think of one experience Joseph had while translating The Book of Mormon. Emma described Joseph as becoming pale and asking her if Jerusalem had a wall around it. When Emma replied that it did (because it was described in the bible), Joseph was relieved because he was worried he had been deceived.

Joseph definitely learned the gospel throughout his mortal life and by the end of it, I would guess that he knew a lot about a lot, specifically in regards to spiritual matters. However, he didn’t start out that way. He started out very unlearned, but he knew the most important things. Potentially one of the most essential pieces of knowledge that Joseph had was that he knew God would answer His prayer and lead him along.

A knowledge of truth, any truth, is commendable and good. However, some truths are far more valuable than others. I grew up learning the gospel in my home and at church. I could recite any number of doctrines that we believed, not to mention different things I had learned at school. However, it took me a while to trust and feel and know that God wanted to lead me along in my life. Since I have become confident in that fact, my life has changed and become hopeful.

Do you know that God wants to lead you along? When you kneel down to pray, when you are faced with uncertainty, when you don’t necessarily hear any direct answers from Him, do you have a confident knowledge that He is there guiding the details? Do you feel safe in His ability to save you, in any aspect of the word “save?”

Confidence in every aspect of the word

Faith in a specific principle changes how you live your life.

When you have faith that you’re going to be alive tomorrow, you do your laundry and eat food and set things up to be prepared for the next day. When you have faith or knowledge (or if you find yourself at any point on the scale between those two) that Christ is actively involved, loves you, and has the power to deliver His promises, you look at everything differently.

Moments of limbo aren’t necessarily fun, but they don’t induce panic. When He is quiet, you aren’t scared that He’s mad at you; you trust that He will respond in a way that you can hear Him if He needs to respond. When you repent, you rejoice in the fact that your place with Him is secure because of His immense power. When you have a major certification test that will largely determine your career or when you are jumping into the unknown with your entire family, there may still be some hesitation and anxiety, but it doesn’t produce despair. Things may not turn out how you like, and it’s okay to feel disappointed about that. However, when you ultimately know that the Lord will guide you in the salvation of your soul, it ultimately trumps all the other emotions. You look forward to the future, when the Lord is going to fulfill all His promises, and it affects how you look at today.

This is true of any question we’re bringing to the Lord. It is true from the smallest details to the catastrophic times in our lives. The Lord will guide you in your salvation, and salvation includes the very mortal aspects of life that you’re experiencing now. He will guide you, but until you trust that He’s guiding you, you’re going to continue to struggle in ways that are unnecessary. So work on building that trust and knowledge.

Enabling power

When you know the Lord is going to guide you in the salvation of your soul, it changes how you feel about your day and your future. Beyond that, trusting in the Lord’s ability to guide your salvation makes you powerful.

I am convinced that it was Joseph’s trust in God that prepared him to open up the restoration and change the world. It was that specific knowledge that enabled him to survive his chaotic, traumatizing life, and it was also that specific knowledge that enabled him to move mountains. He knew that God, the Omnipotent and loving Being, was on his side. How could he fail?

When we experience God, both in our temporal lives and in the worshiping tools we’ve been given, we collect moments of trust. When we come to trust Him as Joseph trusted Him, not only will we feel more hope, but we will be the powerful tools He wants us to become.

I am a powerful mother who changes the lives of her children because I believe (and therefore, allow) God to guide me in how I choose to respond to the agency of my children. I am a powerful wife because I believe (and therefore, allow) God to guide me regarding how to be happy in my marriage. I am a powerful person because I believe (and therefore, allow) God to guide me in any aspect He chooses to do so. And when He feels quiet, I allow my confidence in His ability to reach me bring the peace I need to move forward of my own accord.

I testify of a Heavenly Father and Savior who are actively involved. I have seen it again and again and again and again, and thus far, it hasn’t gotten old. I have much more confidence in Him than I used to, but I still often find myself surprised by how prepared He is to pull me in the right direction. I testify that He is powerful enough to deliver, and I testify that He wants to deliver. If you do not feel at peace, then the only missing ingredient is your trust in Him. You don’t need to beat yourself up about that; it takes time to build trust. Don’t beat yourself up; rather, take the opportunity to get to know Him and allow Him to prove Himself to you.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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