Nephi and Joseph and Us

Oddly enough, we sometimes seem more likely to liken ourselves to Nephi or Peter or one of the ancient apostles than to Joseph Smith.

Last week we read from Joseph Smith History where he has a flighty teenager for awhile, prayed, and had three no four visions from the angel Moroni.

How do you liken that to you?

For me it was this passage that struck me when reading so it was this passage I decided to liken to myself:

on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.

We had just been discussing a quote from George Q. Cannon about living beneath our privileges–any number of prophets have expanded on the same theme–so it was the naive but justified faith of Joseph Smith that we decided to liken to ourselves.  We prayed last night for big things and small things and bigger things than we normally dare hope for.  Call us foolish, but we literally prayed for the golden age for our church, our family, our country, and ourselves.