Of Joseph Smith the Lord said, "I will make him great in mine eyes." President Monson puts it this way, "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies." What a glorious promise! A promise made to each of us. We, if we are willing, will be made big enough for the tasks the Lord places before us. Each of us will be given challenges of Goliath proportions but like every example the scriptures have to offer, trusting in the Lord, yields grace sufficient to make us adequate for any task we may be given. Not only does God provide adequate resources for us to accomplish His commandments, His design is to school and prepare us to become like He is - good and great.
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13 And out of weakness he shall be made strong…
This and other statements like it in the Book of Mormon give me hope. I know that the Lord wants me to succeed and in order to do so, I must be humble, teachable and comprehend that it is only through him that I will achieve. I’m waiting….
I think it is interesting that the Lord inspires Lehi to give the greatest detail about the coming Prophet,Joseph Smith, Jr., to his youngest son, Joseph, whose seed he says shall not be completely destroyed.
2 Nephi 3:3 "And now, Joseph, my last-born, whom I have brought out of the wilderness of mine afflictions, may the Lord bless thee forever, for thy seed shall not utterly be destroyed."
What a wonderful thing that must have been for both Lehi and Joseph, as well as the rest of the family, to understand.
I think it is a tender mercy for Joseph to be told of his connection to both a righteous forebear (Joseph of Egypt) as well as a righteous descendant -- Joseph Smith, Jr. -- both of whom play such an integral part in the restoration of the gospel in the Latter-days. It is also a tender mercy for Lehi to understand that as well. It would give him hope, and what parent with even one unrighteous child, doesn't cling to such hope.
Imagine how stirring it was to Joseph Smith to be reading this chapter and discover that it was him they were speaking of. It must have been hard for him to imagine that he was being considered and hoped for so very long before he was born.
Great insight, again. I hadn't considered what comfort and hope this chapter would have given to Joseph Smith!
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