Description

For a Wise Purpose

About 570 AD, Nephi who had been keeping a record of his people for some 30 years already, was given a command to make another record on plates. It was to be a spiritual history of his people; a small record of those things pleasing unto God, and he was not told why.

Almost 1000 years later, the prophet/historian Mormon, neared the completion of his abridgment of the plates of Nephi. As he concluded, the spirit moved Mormon to both include and conclude his record with those same small plates. He did so because they were choice in Christ. He was never told why!

June 1828, Martin Harris left Harmony, Pennsylvania with the manuscript of the translation of Mormon’s abridgment from the large plates of Nephi. Joseph Smith and Martin had been translating the Plates of Mormon from about March to June 1828. During that time Martin received repeated manifestations that the record was of God. Accordingly, Martin desired to show it to his family who mocked and derided his involvement with Joseph Smith. So powerful was the record upon Martin’s own soul, he felt sure that his Lucy would give him peace if he could just show it to her.

When Martin asked Joseph, the Lord instructed Joseph twice that Martin was not to take the translation of the sacred and ancient record. After the third request, Martin was given leave to take the manuscript if he bound himself by covenant to show it to only six family members. Martin made the pledge and left with the record.

Sometime in the ensuing days, someone – we don’t know who – called on Martin and asked to see the record. This person was not one of the covenant six. For safekeeping the manuscript had been locked in Lucy’s bureau. Since Lucy was not home, Martin forced open the bureau, damaging it in the process, and – even worse – showed the manuscript to his friend.
In subsequent days that manuscript was stolen – by whom we do not know. Their insidious purpose was to destroy the work of God.

The Lord commanded Joseph not to translate again, but instead to translate from a different record bound at the back of Mormon’s collection of plates, a record that did throw greater views upon the Lord’s Gospel, a record that contained many plain and precious truths, a record planned and preserved for millennia for a wise purpose – the small plates of Nephi.

When the Lord moves upon us to do something, some small good thing, who is to say the great good that will come of it? Just do it!