Christ continued to teach them about the Father’s works
among the Gentiles. This work that is done will be done for His sake. The works
of God are great.
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the
moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of
man, that thou visitest him” (Psalms 8:3-4).
“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from
his birth.
“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin,
this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his
parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John
8:1-3).
It will be a great and marvelous work among them. “And after
our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among
the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is
likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms
and upon their shoulders” (1 Nephi 22:8).
“Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work
among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their
wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid”
(Isaiah 29:14).
“For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will
work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall
be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing
of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the
hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being
brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and
spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken” (1
Nephi 14:7).
There will be those who will refuse to believe, even though
a man will declare His word.
“Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken
of in the prophets;
“Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a
work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man
declare it unto you” (Acts 13:40-41).
The servant’s life will be in His hands. In the end, he will
be “marred” because of the unbeliever.
Who is this servant? Since Christ is proclaiming the coming
of the Book of Mormon, it is Joseph Smith to whom He refers.
This was written about him after his martyrdom.
“To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon,
we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the
Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about
five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob—painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons.
Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming: I am a dead man! Joseph
leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my
God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner, and both
received four balls.
“John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve, were
the only persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage
manner with four balls, but has since recovered; the latter, through the
providence of God, escaped, without even a hole in his robe.
“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done
more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other
man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought
forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and
has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of
the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth;
has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of
Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the
benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day
Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He
lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most
of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works
with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not
divided, and in death they were not separated!” (D&C 135:1-3).
He will eventually be healed to show His wisdom is greater
than the cunning of the devil. “I will not suffer that they shall destroy my
work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of
the devil” (D&C 10:43).
“In verse 10 we get specific about the person who will lead
this restoration: ‘But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand;
therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them …’
speaking undoubtedly of Joseph Smith. They shall not hurt him, although he will
be marred. What comes to mind? Well, they put him to death. They tarred and
feathered him and beat him, but it didn't stop the work from progressing. One
of the local papers at the time of the martyrdom described it with these words:
‘Thus ends Mormonism.’ Well, not quite. ‘… Although he shall be marred because
of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is
greater than the cunning of the devil. Therefore it shall come to pass that
whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father
shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power
that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as
Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant’
(3 Nephi 21:10—11).”[1]
There will be those who will reject His word brought forth
by this prophet. Lehi taught his family about this record going forth, quoting
Joseph from material found on the brass plates.
“For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord
my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.
“Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A
choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be
esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give
commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren,
which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the
knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers…
“But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins;
and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word … and not to the bringing
forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word,
which shall have already gone forth among them.
“Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the
fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the
fruit of thy loins … shall grow together, unto the confounding of false
doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the
fruit of thy loins …
“And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day
when my work shall commence among all my people …
“… Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek
to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise, which I have obtained of
the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of
the fulfilling of this promise;
“And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be
after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing,
which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall
bring my people unto salvation. (3 Nephi 3:6-7, 11-15).
Moroni likewise wrote…
“And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for
it shall be brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of God;
yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of
darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by
the power of God…
“And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that
the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth” (Mormon 8:16, 25).
This work will be brought forth to the Gentiles. “And he
said: It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the
tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee
for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of
the earth” (1 Nephi 21:6).
Should the Gentiles reject this work, they will be cutoff
from the covenant people. “And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the
day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice
of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles,
shall be cut off from among the people” (D&C 1:14).
“And upon them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord
shall be fulfilled that which was written by the prophet Moses, that they
should be cut off from among the people” (D&C 133:63).
“Verse 11 is a very important verse. Let me suggest why. We
won't take the time, but if we took the time, we could go back and read in the
18th chapter of Deuteronomy and later in the New Testament in Acts (where Peter
offered commentary upon that) the prophecy made by Moses that the Lord would
raise up a prophet who would be great like unto Moses. That was the prophecy
concerning Jesus, the coming of Christ. Peter added the detail in Acts that
those who don't give heed to the words of that prophet will be cut off from
among the people. Notice what the Savior just did. He took that same principle,
that same doctrine, or idea, and applied it to the works and words of the
Prophet Joseph Smith. Those who don't give heed to him and to his words—and by
extension, to those of his successors—will be cut off from among the people of
the covenant.”[2]
[1] The
Doctrine of the Risen Christ: Part 3, Robert L. Millet, Reprinted from
FARMS Book of Mormon Lecture Series, Maxwell Institute website.
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