Humility, Diligence, and Faith

I mentioned last summer that I was rereading The Work and the Glory. On Sunday, I begged, pleaded, coaxed, cajoled, and finally convinced Baby Brother to watch the first movie with me. I think he liked it more than he thought he would. Interestingly, I don't care much for the movie version portrayal of the Prophet Joseph, but I feel like Nathan Steed is the most well-cast book-to-movie character ever. He's pretty much perfect.

To give a little background, the series follows a fictional family by the name of Steed. In the first book, the oldest brother, Joshua, becomes estranged from his family, while Nathan, their mother, and their siblings all join the newly organized church. Their father follows in book two. In book three, Joshua becomes un-estranged from his family, but he's still not a big fan of Mormons. In book six, the Prophet Joseph dies, and in book seven, everyone heads West under the direction of Brigham Young. Joshua decides to go with to help his family, but he leaves his own wife and children back in Illinois.

I wanted to quote a few pages from book eight, where Nathan goes to consult President Young about some interpersonal problems with Joshua. When I was rereading the series, this section really jumped out at me.

"...but it wasn't really agency I was thinking about. I was thinking more along the lines of faith."

Nathan caught himself. "Faith?"

"Yes, faith. Did you happen to be in the meeting last December where I read to the people a letter from Elder Orson Pratt? It was his farewell letter to the Saints in the East, including those that would be taking sail on the Brooklyn."

"I guess not."

"Well, Brother Orson was exhorting them to come west and join us—or take the ship around the horn of South America. And he said something like this: 'Do not be fainthearted or slothful, but be diligent and courageous. Be prayerful and faithful and you can accomplish almost anything that you undertake. What great and good work can we not do if we have faith and ambition?'"

Brigham's eyes were pensive now as he tried to recall the exact words. "'We can do almost anything, for our Father is heaven will strengthen us if we are strong. He will work according to our faith. If we say we cannot go west, God will not help us. But if we say, in the name of the Lord, that we will go, and set ourselves to do it, then we will go and he will help us.'"

Nathan was nodding vigorously. "Exactly. If Joshua had even a touch of faith, there wouldn't be any problem. And that is really troubling to me. He's seen so much....So why can't Joshua believe? He's a good man, President. You know that, but he's just so darn stubborn."

There was an enigmatic smile on the senior Apostle's face. "Actually, Nathan, when I referred to faith, I wasn't thinking about Joshua's faith—or lack of it."

Nathan blinked in surprise. "Oh?" And then he saw Brigham's expression. Nathan's eyes suddenly widened. "You're talking about my faith?"

"Or lack of it," Brigham answered gently.

"But..." He sat back, completely astonished.

"Nathan, you said you came to me for counsel."

"Yes, I did. I—"

"Do you remember what Joseph always used to say? When he was asked how he governed his people, he said 'I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.'"

"Yes, I remember that."

The wry smile that made Brigham seem suddenly more like a young boy broke out again. "Actually, I've thought that what Joseph might have said was, 'We teach them correct principles, and we teach them correct principles, and we teach them correct principles, and then they govern themselves.'"

Nathan laughed aloud at that. How true that was!

"Be that as it may. Rather than counseling you, Nathan, let me teach you a principle or two, and then you can decide for yourself what is best....There was a revelation given back in eighteen thirty-four, I believe. You remember back then, Nathan? We were still building the temple in Kirtland. We had hundreds of people coming with nothing but what they carried. They expected the Church to help them. We had no money. No resources. And there we were, building this massive building to our God....Well, near the end of this revelation the Lord said a remarkable thing. Joseph and the Church were deeply in debt at that time, so the Lord started out by saying, 'It is my will that you should pay your debts. When you think about it, that alone is a little strange. This is God, remember, and it was his house that we were building. He could have simply said, 'Don't worry about paying back those worldly men who have given you money. All things are mine anyway, so forget about paying it back.' But he did not. He said that it was his will that Joseph pay off his debts. Then what follows is very profound. I've thought about it over and over....The Lord says, 'It is my will that you humble yourselves, and obtain this blessing'—and by that I assume he means the blessing of getting out of debt—'and obtain this blessing by...'" Brigham stopped and looked directly at Nathan for a moment. "Think about that for a minute. Joseph and the Church are in debt and the Lord says that he can obtain the blessing of being freed from that debt by something. What would expect to come next?"

Nathan's brow wrinkled. "I'm not sure."

"Well, if you came to me and told me you were in debt, how would you expect that I would counsel you?"

"Well, the usual ways, I suppose. Work harder. Be more frugal."

"That's exactly right. There are only two ways out of debt, or so you would think. One is to increase your income. The other is to reduce your outgo."

"Yes, that's about it."

"But that's the point, Nathan. Those are not the only solutions. Listen. This is what the Lord says. He doesn't tell Joseph to work harder or to be more careful with money. He says, 'It is my will that you humble yourselves, and obtain this blessing by'"—Brigham held up his hand and began to tick the items off on his fingers—"'by your humility and diligence and the prayer of faith.' Note that. Three things. Humility. Diligence. Prayer of faith."

"I understand."

"No, you don't understand, Nathan. And neither did I. The great lesson is in what comes next. 'And inasmuch as you are diligent and humble, and exercise the prayer of faith, I will soften the hearts of those to whom you are in debt, until I shall send means unto you for your deliverance.'"

He stopped, watching Nathan closely to see how the words were registering.

Nathan did not notice his gaze. The words hit him in a way they had never done when he had read those words before. "So there is another way."

"Yes!" Brigham was exuberant now. "And we have to be very careful that we don't assume that our ways are the only ways to solve a problem. What the Lord is suggesting is a whole different dimension, Nathan. In many ways you're like me, Nathan. Independent. Ambitious. Determined not to be a burden on others. So when you face a problem, what do you do?"

"I look for a solution."

"Right. You try everything you know how to do to work it through. And that is good. I believe the Lord expects that of us. I think that's what he means by diligence."

"But—"

"But that's not all. He listed three things, remember. Diligence. Humility. The prayer of faith. So in addition to our diligence, if we turn to the Lord in humility and ask for his help in faith, then we have brought him into the process. We are getting his help in solving the challenge....this is how he concludes the passage. 'And if ye are humble and faithful and call upon my name, I will give you the victory.'"

Nathan was nodding ever so slowly.... "And you think that's my problem?"

"Yes." It was said with great love and tenderness. "You have been diligent, Nathan. But you've forgotten to bring the Lord into this." He held up his hand quickly. "Oh, I know you've been praying, but you've only been praying to know if your solution is acceptable to the Lord. Don't seek to counsel God, Nathan. He knows what to do. He knows how to work his work."

"But—" And then he bit it off. There were no buts. That was exactly what he had been doing. He had worked out a solution and now wanted the Lord to ratify it. Or to have Brigham ratify it for the Lord. He felt deep shame wash over him. "I think I understand."

...."It's a lesson I'm learning anew every day, Nathan. It's so easy to get caught up in the work—His work, mind you!—and yet forget that it is He who best knows how to work that work." He was peering deep into Nathan's eyes now. "And that's true of Joshua too, Nathan. God is pleased that you are so deeply concerned about helping him. But it is the Lord who knows best how to help him. So what you need to do is have more faith in the Lord."

His face softened as he saw the pain on the younger man's face. "You need to know, Nathan, lest you be too hard on yourself, there are not many men I know who are faithful enough to be told that what they lack is faith." He laughed without humor. "Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? But you think about it. If you weren't a man filled with faith, I would never have dared tell you that what you need is more faith."

I love that. It was something I needed to hear (see?) when I read it over the summer, and it's something I needed to hear (see!) when it came to my mind on Sunday night. If it's something you need, then I hope it will help you, too.