Month: September 2020

A long time ago, when I served on the High Council, I was assigned to Home Teach Kent Smith and his family. I loved that family! 

Kent and Sally’s oldest son was named Joseph Brett Smith.  And boy was he ever a cut-up; actually borderline rebellious.  This was back when boys hadn’t yet begun to dye their hair or wear make-up. But Brett did.  See, that’s what we all called him; Brett.  I think this was so we wouldn’t make mundane use of such a sacred name as Joseph.  As you can imagine, Kent was about to pull his own hair out (what he had left) over the antics of this hoped for heir.

One day Brett showed up to church sporting a four inch Mohawk, dyed purple with highlights of pink. The kids thought it was really cool, and their parents feared and trembled that this might be an example for their own. Actually, although the other kids thought Brett looked neat in this hair-do with somewhat matching attire, it never really caught on.  So, Brett continued to stand out all alone like a zit on the end of a nose.  But Brett was OK with his new look and the increased attention to himself, and it didn’t go away any time soon.

One Sunday, at early morning High Council meeting, just as we were getting into the heavy stuff of whether to have beef or pork at the coming HP banquet, there came a knock on the door of the HC room. The arrangements of the room were such that the door was down a short hallway out of sight from the main room, so when first Counselor Jack Diamond went to see who was there, at the request of President Mills, he was out of sight to the group sitting around the table.  But not out of hearing.  After we heard him open the door, there was about fifteen seconds of total silence. Then we heard this exchange:

“Can I help you?”

“Hi – I’m Joseph Smith, and I’ve been sent with a message from Bishop Stokes.”

After another 10 second pause;

“Sure you are!  And I’m the pope.”

“Gowan kid, don’t you know there’s a meeting going on in here?”

With this the door shut a little harder than usual.

President Diamond came walking back in with the weirdest look on his face.

“You should have seen what I just saw!”

Then it dawned on me – and only me – as to what just happened.  By this time a knock came again on the door.  President Diamond jumped to his feet and said, “I’ll take care of this.”

There stood Joseph again holding out his hand with a note,  “Really!  My name is Joseph Smith, and I have this message I’m suppose to give you from Bishop Stokes.”

This time President Diamond said, his words dripping with sarcasm, “Won’t you please come in and give your message to President Mills.”

In walks, and there stands Joseph Brett Smith in all his glory of a four inch Mohawk, dyed purple with pink highlights.

He was, however, dressed in a very fine looking suit.  I’m sure Kent would have been proud.

Keith

PS  This Gospel of Jesus Christ can cause us to have wonderful associations.

Last Tuesday was our immediate family’s Sacrament meeting. We hold this separate from our fellowship meeting, because we are spread far apart, and Brittany can’t make it to our fellowship because of her employment. Brittany is full of concerns and full of questions. The one she asked last Tuesday was: “Grandpa, do you think we have lost the chance to establish Zion or do you still think it will come; and how many does it take?” Her concern comes from the podcast “One Heart First.”

Immediately two things came to my mind which I presented to our little gathering as something to consider. The first was the concern Abraham showed about the Lord’s determination to destroy the Cities of the Plains, and the first question Abraham put to the Lord about it, which was, “Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?” And the second was the ending of the talk Denver gave to our fellowship on January 14, 2018, “That We Might Be One.”

This is the way we considered each:

“Perhaps there may be fifty righteous within the city. Will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous within the city? Will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that may be therein? Oh, may that be far from you to do in this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should be as the wicked. Oh God, may that be far from you. For shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said unto Abraham, if you find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all this place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord who is able to destroy the city and lay all the people in dust and ashes. Will the Lord spare them if perhaps there lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for their wickedness, if I find there forty five righteous? And he said, I will not destroy, but spare them. And he spoke unto Him again and said, If perhaps there should be forty found there? And He said, I will not destroy it for forty’s sake. And he said again unto the Lord, Oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will speak. If perhaps there shall thirty be found there. And He said, I will not destroy them if you shall find thirty there. And he said, Behold, now I have taken it upon me to speak unto the Lord. Will you destroy them if perhaps there shall be twenty found there? And He said, I will not destroy them for twenty’s sake. And Abraham said unto the Lord, Oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will yet speak but this once. If perhaps ten shall be found there? And the Lord said, I will not destroy them for ten’s sake. And the Lord ceased speaking with Abraham.” (OC Genesis 7: 40.)

We were amazed at the condescension, patience, and willingness of the Lord to work with man. We also found out the Lord has His limits. In this case Lot, Lot’s wife, and two daughters were willing to do as the Lord said. That makes four! The Lord brought them out and Sodom was destroyed.

At our fellowship meeting where Denver gave the talk entitled That We Might Be One, he said, “We have an opportunity. We have a bona fide, actual offer from God to allow us to be that generation in which the promises get fulfilled. But we have the freedom of choice that allows us to elect to be severed, to be contentious, to be agents of disruption, and to discourage and break the hearts of those who would willingly accept the challenge to repent and follow God.

Now it’s possible, in fact it’s probable, that at some point what the Lord will do is gather out a remnant of the remnant, gather out a few, and how many are essential in order for the promises to be fulfilled? I’m certain there is a minimum and I’m fairly confident that the minimum can be counted on your two hands, but there is no maximum. We’re not going to just have eight people on the ark; there can be more, there can be many more. The upper number is practically limitless. There is a minimum but heavens, why would anyone want that?” ( That We Might Be One. Denver Snuffer. 20129.01.14. P8 of 9. Emphasis throughout, mine.)

We took a vote. There were four of us together (same as in Lot’s group) and we voted affirmative. We want to be the kind of people whom the Lord can use in Zion.