“I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following:
“Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.
“I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face.”
These are from Joseph’s own words, as recorded in D&C 130:14-16.
Joseph keeps praying and asking the Lord when the Second Coming will happen.
The Lord finally says, listen, if you live until you are 85, you’ll see Jesus Christ. Please don’t ask again because that’s all I’m giving you.
And my absolute favorite part is how Joseph responds!
He knows the Lord.
He knows how the Lord teaches and reveals.
And so Joseph knew better than to think that the Lord just told him the Second Coming would happen when he was 85 years old.
I mean, it COULD mean that.
Or it could be referring to another appearance of Jesus Christ, since the “Second Coming” wasn’t specified.
Or it could mean that he is going to die before he reaches 85, so he’ll see the face of Jesus in the next life.
The Lord doesn’t give us the answers in specifics and literal details.
I can see that while reading Christ’s teachings in the New Testament.
I can see that while reading the covenants He makes with Abraham and Noah in the Old Testament.
Joseph saw it as the Lord gave him instruction about when he would see Jesus’ face.
I’ve seen it in my life in much smaller ways when I get a strong prompting to “apply for that job because it will change your life.”
Only to not get the job… and then be led in a completely different and completely better direction.
When I’ve felt, “yes, this is the time to serve a mission, so start preparing”.
Only to have my life go in a different direction, one where I am blessed by my preparation to serve a mission every day.
The Lord isn’t always literal and obvious…
And I love that.
It’s like this giant, exciting, God-led mystery that’s about to unfold and I get to see how all the clues fit together as I act in faith and move forward.
God is not giving us the exact answers on everything.
He’s not even giving them to His prophets.
Which means, all those details aren’t all that important to get right, anyways.
We can head into the unknown and take direction the best that we can.
And we can have faith that we will always be able to look back and see how everything fit together perfectly.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
6 Responses
I like to think this shows the Lord’s sense of humor . He knew Joseph’s days were numbered… and Jospeh knew the scriptures,,, “no man knoweth…” and he knew he didn’t know any more than before…
Thanks for sharing! I also like to think the Lord has a sense of humor!
Thanks so much for sharing your snippets with us! I always love reading them. You are so inspired and amazing! FYI, “anyway” is the correct word. “Anyways” is slang. I don’t mean to be rude; I just thought you’d want to know. Thanks again for all you do!
Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Cali,
I know that your posts and your calling to share your thoughts and words with us are inspired by God.
Please know that everything that has helped me to grow more spiritually I share it with others as well. Your influence goes beyond your imagination.
This snippet has taught me so much clarity about the way the Lord reveals things to us. The most important thing here is that we get to know our Father in Heaven and our Savior as we strive to understand and apply this beautiful knowledge.
Thank you and Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Oh my goodness, thank you so much! <3 You are so sweet! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!