Hyrum’s Influence

by Autumn Dickson

When I was younger, I wanted to be a famous singer. This desire followed me into college where I temporarily dropped out of school to pursue a music career. I wanted it so badly. I remember wanting it so much that it would hurt to listen to music on the radio.

I ended up getting really sick, and I left Provo behind. I lived with my parents for about a week before moving in with my sister and her family for six months. Most of my connections were back in Utah, but I kept clinging to that desire. I was doing everything I could to keep my dream going from far away.

I remember sitting on my sister’s bed and talking to her about it. She was trying to talk me out of remaining in the music industry because she knew the dangers that existed there. It wasn’t until later that my eyes finally opened to everything I was being exposed to during that period of my life, and so I didn’t see anything wrong with my pursuing a music career. I didn’t feel like there was anything innately wrong with my desires, and I didn’t plan on letting go of my testimony either. I felt that I could be an example to a lot more people with a microphone in my hand.

My sister responded with a very valid point that Jesus had gone about his gospel very differently. He preached to crowds, but He didn’t seek huge crowds and stadiums. He often ministered one by one.

This principle has expanded in a great many directions for me, but let’s take a quick look at Hyrum before diving further into this principle.

Hyrum

Hyrum sought out Joseph so that he could learn the will of the Lord concerning himself. There were a few things that the Lord counseled him on, but here is one such thing the Lord told him.

Doctrine and Covenants 11:8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.

Hyrum did desire to do good, and Hyrum did do good.

Now a grand majority of us know who Hyrum Smith was. We know he was the brother to the prophet and that he was a martyr right alongside his brother in Carthage Jail. However, how much do we really know about Hyrum? What “important” callings did he hold? Where did he serve missions and how many people did he baptize? Who was he married to and how many children did he have? How many stories do we have of times when Hyrum supported his brother in the very heavy mantle of dispensation head? In what ways did Hyrum directly contribute to the restoration of the gospel?

I’m sure there are plenty of people who could answer these questions and give us very clear pictures of how Hyrum contributed to the restoration of the gospel in our dispensation. However, I would argue that there are also plenty of people who don’t know much about his specific contribution, myself included. When you extend that beyond members of the church, I would venture to guess that a huge majority of people on the earth know nothing about Hyrum Smith. Many people have likely heard of Joseph Smith, but no one knows about Hyrum despite the role that he played in restoring Christ’s church on the earth.

We logically know that we can do “much good” without getting any recognition, and yet, has that knowledge sunk into our hearts? Do we believe that we can have a profound influence in God’s kingdom in these latter days? What does a profound influence look like in your mind? At what point would you look in the mirror and think, “There it is. I have made a difference”? Do you only picture general authorities, temple presidents, mission presidents, and social media influencers?

There are two truths I want to share. One, you are capable of doing much good, just like Hyrum. And two, it is highly likely that your indelible mark will be obscure, but no less important for it.

You are capable

When someone tries to tell you that you can change the world, perhaps you laugh and think, “I could never speak to huge crowds, and I’ll never hold a ‘big’ calling.”

If we want to step up and step into the roles that God has prepared for us, we need to redefine the characteristics of having a profound influence and we need that new definition to sink into our hearts to the extent that it changes how we act on a daily basis. When we understand what “profound influence” looks like, we feel differently about ourselves and it changes the actions we prioritize.

When we shed erroneous ideas that our influence has to look a certain way in order to be “world-changing,” we open the door for Heavenly Father to utilize us in His powerful way. When we have faith in Him to the extent that we believe He can magnify our abilities, we step out of our own way. We allow Him to be powerful through us.

Heavenly Father’s plan was meant to be built on the shoulders of millions; He set it up that way on purpose. The biggest successes in Heavenly Father’s plan are souls that want to go home to Him, and the biggest influence in that specific kind of success happens on a very individual basis.

I’m not looking to make this political, but I believe it illustrates a very physical aspect of my point. I recently learned about how one of the American presidents tried to make college more affordable by utilizing government funds to help students go to school so that they could become successful. The colleges simply responded by raising their rates. I remember thinking and thinking and thinking. When it comes to big systems, I feel like there is always some unintended reaction that nullifies the good that could have come from the original action. I was sincerely trying to figure out a way to empower those who needed a leg up without bringing these unintended consequences. It occurred to me that the Lord never meant for everyone to simply be taken care of by some huge system. He wanted us involved on personal levels, not only giving financial assistance where needed but also providing the immensely necessary support to empower themselves.

This is not a commentary on what we should do on a government level because there are plenty of nuances to consider. It is a commentary on the fact that I believe Heavenly Father meant for all of us to be involved in the lifting on a personal level. He wanted each and every individual to make a difference. This was the most powerful way to actually make a difference, and it would change us.

He wants you to be involved. He wants you to believe that you can make a difference no matter what you look like, how good you are at speaking, and how talented you are at proclaiming your testimony. He wants you to believe that you can utilize you as you are, to utilize the unique gifts that He gave to you to make an enduring mark on the world.

It comes quietly…

Because He wants everyone to be involved on an individual basis, it makes sense that most of the marks that we leave will not likely be recorded in history books. This has a couple implications. If you find yourself questioning your ability to really change anything for good, then you can take comfort in the fact that your quiet, daily discipleship is likely already making the difference the Lord wants you to make. If you find yourself wanting to make a “big” difference, then you probably need to redefine “big.”

Think about it. Even if you have been foreordained to hold some of the “louder” roles, a lot of the actions that led these famous characters to those historic roles came quietly.

Paul wrote letters in a prison. Abinadi died without knowing how his words would hold any effect or that his story would be recorded and passed on through generations, and I would be willing to bet that some of Hyrum’s most influential contributions to the restored gospel came in the form of his quiet and simple belief in his brother’s calling. The weight that Joseph carried was heavy, and Hyrum’s support helped to carry it. It enabled Joseph to carry it. It enabled the gospel to be restored.

And let’s not forget that the single most important event in the history of the earth happened with one Man in a garden. His friends fell asleep, and He was alone.

Even if you can trace your testimony back to one incredible insight given by a speaker in General Conference, a study of neuroscience teaches us that our brain is built slowly through repeated experiences. Even if it took one conscious comment in Conference, your brain was being prepared far before that. The gospel spreads person to person, and it is retained as we interact and have positive individual experiences with good friends, family, and especially the Savior.

More than likely, the incredibly important influence you will have on the world will come in the form of a link in a chain. It may not sound like the most romantic way to change the world, but it is no less significant. My great, great grandmother taught her children the gospel. I don’t know all of my great, great grandmothers’ names, but I know that because they chose to teach the gospel to their children, I have the gospel in my life. Because they chose to teach their children and not break that link, it made its way to me. The testimony and lessons from my great, great grandmother’s life have found their legacy within my own life. Her influence (though I do not know it directly) has done more to help my conversion to the gospel than any “famous” gospel influences. Because she loved and taught her children, my grandmother did the same. Then my mother. And now me.

What you give gets passed on, even if your name isn’t passed along with it.

I testify that Heavenly Father wanted each of us to take a role in His work. He wanted us to experience the happiness that He experiences as He works with us. He wanted us to feel the joy of working individual by individual, and He wanted us to observe the effectiveness of His plan for everyone to be involved with helping everyone. None of us need to feel more or less important. The only one keeping you from completing a work that is incalculable in nature is you. I testify that He can help you accomplish your great work in surprisingly small and quiet ways. Perhaps we are not aware of the influence that Hyrum had in this vital gospel dispensation, but the Lord is and that is the measure that matters.

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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