Chapter 16

Divine Tutorials

"All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (D&C 122:7).

Divine Tutorials

The concept of line upon line and precept upon precept as a governing principle of revelation can be applied on a very basic level, that is, we may receive truth and light one small portion at a time. But we also need to remember that the Lord has a far grander and greater purpose for us than just giving us truth and light. Until we keep that grander purpose in mind, we will not fully understand incremental revelation in its fullest manifestation.

We know exactly what that grand purpose is because God Himself has told us what He intends to do for us. "This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). There it is in His own words. Our end goal is eternal life, or life as God, our Eternal Father, knows it. Nothing less will do if we are willing to let Him take us in hand and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, move us along the journey that takes us to exaltation. By doing so we begin to better understand how all the elements of revelation—the still small voice, the Spirit speaking to our minds and hearts, enlightenment, a warning voice, divine intervention, confirmation, incremental learn-ing, and so on and so on—all come together to accomplish the Lord's plan for His children.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell coined a phrase that captures this broader, holistic view of the purpose of incremental revelation.

In no dimension of the divine personality of Jesus Christ do we see His love any more fully expressed than in the divine tutorials given especially to His friends—those who believe in and who strive to follow Him, leaders and followers alike, rich and poor alike, men and women alike, for He is "no respecter of persons." He would not deny these enriching but stretching divine tutorials to any who follow Him, especially those who have already done much to prove their friendship for Him and are thus ready for further lessons.¹

Tutoring is distinguished from other kinds of teaching in that it usually is done one on one (or at least in small groups) and generally it continues over an extended period of time. That very nicely describes how the Lord works with us. The changes required to prepare us for godhood may require extensive work and long-term educating.

Almost everywhere we look in the scriptures or in the history of the Church we find examples of these divine tutorials. Some clearly involve painful adversity. Most did not seek the tutoring experience. And yet, in almost every case we see an incremental development that unfolds slowly, testing faith, allowing growth, developing spiritual endurance.

There are a few examples of dramatic, "overnight" change in one's spiritual growth and learning—Enos, Alma the Younger, King Lamoni, Paul the Apostle—but these remarkable experiences are the exceptions. Most come in quieter, gentler ways, so subtle that we barely notice. Remember the Lamanites who had been born again, but "they knew it not" (3 Nephi 9:20).

In some cases, sadly the person does not submit patiently to this aspect of the Lord's way. They find the painful, slow plodding of learning unbearable and harden their hearts against it. They cry out, "Enough!" Ever honoring and respecting our agency, the Lord pulls back, the tutoring stops, and a different kind of lesson is learned.

Joseph of Egypt

Joseph learned through a series of dreams early in his youth that he was to be a leader and ruler over his family.² In his innocence (he was just beginning the tutoring process—although he may have been prompted in his sharing), he shared that revelation with his brothers, likely thinking they would be impressed and pleased and see some significance in the dreams, as he did. Instead, they were angry with him. Anger turned to hatred and eventually they sold him into Egypt as a slave. So much for becoming a leader over his family!

However, even in the face of a disastrous setback, he did not reject the Lord, and events quickly showed that the Lord had not abandoned him. Joseph was made of finer stuff. There was no moping around, no muttering against God's "injustice" as things seemed to go from bad to worse. He went right on being Joseph, through one setback after another, until finally the tutoring process was completed. Pharaoh had a dream. Joseph interpreted it and eventually ended up as vice-regent to Pharaoh, which also set up Joseph's deliverance of his family and the ultimate fulfillment of those original dreams.

Saul of Tarsus

From the day Paul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he committed his life to service in the kingdom. His ministry, which lasted thirty years or more, is one continuous story of faith, sacrifice, dedication, and submission. Yet, in a letter to the Corinthians, he spoke of divine tutorials of his own. In answer to apostates who were accusing him of not being a real Apostle, he gave a quick catalog of his ministry. If we stop to contemplate the reality depicted behind these simple lines, it is an incredible accounting of a man of faith who submitted his life to the Lord. He states that as part of his long ministry he was (2 Corinthians 11:23–25):

• In stripes [the lacerations made from being lashed with a whip] above measure
• In prisons more frequent
• In deaths [probably threat of death] oft
• Scourged five different times by the Jews
* • Thrice beaten with rods (what today we would call caning)
• Once stoned
• Three times involved in shipwrecks
• Washed overboard and spent a night and a day in the deep

He concludes the list with:

In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness (2 Corinthians 11:26–27).

But that was not all, and here even Paul recognized the tutoring hand of the Lord in what had happened to him. Paul referred to what was likely some kind of physical impairment, which he called a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). Then he said, "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me" (2 Corinthians 12:8). He was a man of faith. He had given his life to the ministry. He had paid a tremendous price in faithfulness. What miracles would not be performed in his behalf?

But for purposes that He did not disclose even to Paul, the Lord did not heed the plea for deliverance. Paul went on: "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

In spite of his faith, in spite of the years of sacrifice and service, Paul still had things to learn. And because of the greatness of his heart, he did learn them. The end result of his divine tutoring fairly shouts out at us as we read Paul's concluding lines: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities . . . for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

Joseph Smith

One could write books on the divine tutoring experiences of Joseph's life. From the opening moments of the First Vision to the final gunshots in Carthage Jail, the Lord revealed Himself to Joseph line upon line and precept upon precept, and, we might add, led him along "step-by-step." It was not just what the Lord taught him, it was what the Lord helped him to become.

On two different occasions, the Prophet described the effects this lifetime of tutoring had on him:

As for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. . . .

Deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it (D&C 127:2).

I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against religious bigotry, priest-craft, lawyer-craft, doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women—all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty. ³

However, one particular aspect of Joseph's tutorial has multiple lessons for us today. When the militia and the mobs closed in on the Saints in Far West, Missouri, a tremendous tragedy was underway. Seventeen had already died at Haun's Mill. Before the winter was over, some twelve to fifteen thousand Saints would be making their way through the bitter cold as exiles from the state. In places they would leave red stains in the snow from cracked and bleeding feet. They left without recompense for their property or justice for the crimes committed against them. Many more would die before their journey was through.

This period of our history raises many questions, and not just relating to Joseph. Why didn't the Lord intervene more directly to protect the Saints? Why didn't the Lord warn Joseph Smith that Colonel Hinkle was going to betray him and turn him over to the militia? It wasn't because Joseph was unworthy, or not in tune with the Spirit. But he had been warned of danger so many other times, why not this time? Instead he ended up in the horror and suffering of Richmond and then Liberty Jails.

Imprisonment of prophets was hardly a new thing, but Joseph languished in bonds in the most deplorable of conditions for over five months. Peter and John were delivered from prison by an angel on the same night they were arrested (see Acts 5:19). Paul and Silas were jailed, but they too were freed that same night, this time by a great earthquake (see Acts 16:26). Alma and Amulek were delivered when the earth shook so mightily that the walls of the prison collapsed, killing everyone but the two brethren (see Alma 14:27–28). Nephi and Lehi were encircled about by fire while they were in prison and they too were miraculously freed (see Helaman 5:23).

Surely Joseph was familiar with every one of those stories. So where were his angels? Why didn't an earthquake strike Liberty, Missouri? Where was the encircling fire that Nephi and Lehi saw?

We can't answer those questions except to say that the Lord determines all aspects of personal revelation, including the intensity and duration of tutorial experiences. A careful reading of sections 121, 122, and 123—all part of a letter written from Liberty Jail—will bring many insights as to why the Lord felt it was necessary to take Joseph there and leave him there for so long.

Brigham and Heber

But here is another lesson to learn from that experience. While Joseph was in jail all that time, the challenge of leading an exodus of thousands of Saints to safety in the dead of winter fell to the two senior Apostles, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. These were the very two men on whom would fall the task just eight years later of leading the Saints across more than a thousand miles of wilderness to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. How's that for "in-service training"?

Often while we are undergoing our own learning experience, the Lord may be accomplishing His purposes with other people and in other settings. This is why it is foolish to think that we can fathom with our finite perspective the infinite and eternal purposes of God.

Clearly, even a calling to the holy apostleship doesn't give an individual some divine "You-Are-Hereby-Excused-from-Adversity" card.

This testing and tutoring process can be a real trial of our faith because it is not the same with all people. Some faithful Saints face very difficult trials such as lifelong pain or one family tragedy after another. Some plead with the Lord and miracles happen. Yet at the same time, those equally faithful are not delivered. Their pleadings and striving do not result in a miracle.

We can ask ourselves questions about why such intervention happens in one case and not another. Why are some spared and some taken? Why do some suffer so much and others hardly at all? Why does life seem so unfair at times? Many times we cannot answer those questions. God determines all aspects of revelation. We don't get to choose whether we are delivered from our trials any more than we get to choose whether we have trials or not or what form they take if they are given to us. What we do get to choose is how we will respond. We can decide if we will come through those experiences with greater faith and greater patience or if we will walk away doubting the Lord's power and love. Here are a few examples of the latter reaction.

Some Who Faltered

We have thus far cited examples of those who passed the test of learning, who endured the times of proving with patience and faith. Sadly, there are also numerous examples of those who couldn't bear the testing, couldn't endure the persecution, who found the forging experience too painful. They could not bear the pain of the Lord's tutoring process and left the Church.⁴

• Symonds Ryder, a prominent Campbellite preacher, was "converted" by a supposed prophecy about China that was later fulfilled. Then Joseph happened to spell his name as "Rider" instead of "Ryder" in his call to become a missionary. With his pride pricked and his ego hurting, he concluded that Joseph couldn't possibly be a prophet and left the Church. Later he was one of those at Hiram, Ohio, who tarred and feathered the prophet.
• Ezra Booth, a former Methodist minister, joined the Church when he saw Joseph heal a woman's lame arm. But when he was called on a mission, he became upset because he had to walk the entire journey. He left the Church and began to publish anti-Mormon tracts that did considerable damage to the work.
• Another unnamed man was so upset when he saw Joseph come down from the translating room and begin to play with some children that he left the Church, saying that Joseph didn't act like a true prophet.⁵
• One of the more tragic examples of those who could not accept the tutoring, line-by-line methods of the Lord was Thomas B. Marsh, President of the Quorum of the Twelve. When his wife and another woman had an argument over some butter cream and the First Presidency ruled that his wife was in error, Thomas let his resentment and anger harden his heart. Eventually, he provided false testimony to the Missourians about Joseph and the Saints that contributed to the tragedy that followed.
⁶

How many individual tutorials were being given during those early years of the Church we can only guess. The span and scope of the Lord's vision is both infinite and intimate. Even as He brought about His eternal purposes for the Church, the Lord was testing and teaching Joseph and Brigham, Hyrum and Sidney, Emma and Mary Fielding Smith and many unnamed others whose stories we do not even know.

And what of modern examples? We read some of the stories of these early Saints who lost heart and fell away, and we think, "How could they have been so foolish? How could they have given up so easily?" But the tutoring process is still a reality, and there are those who falter now as well, and sometimes for reasons just as foolish.

In Summary

These are important lessons we learn from the "line upon line, precept upon precept" principle of revelation. We are like children spiritually. First we barely toddle, and we frequently fall and bump our heads. Gradually we learn to walk and then run.

We must remember that the race we are running is for godhood. Should we be so surprised then that the Lord doesn't grant every wish, answer every prayer, reach out and pick us up every time we fall? We have to develop our spiritual muscles, build up our spiritual wind, strengthen our spiritual endurance if we are going to win this race and claim the prize. You don't run marathons by taking a taxicab across the route several times. You don't gain patience by getting instant gratification or relief every time you call on the Lord.

Keeping the ultimate perspective in mind helps in these tutoring times. It helps us to remember what God is about. Elder Neal A. Maxwell was fond of citing words from C. S. Lewis that aptly illustrate the tutoring nature of God:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. ⁷

Notes

Note: All emphasis in scriptures in this work has been added by the author.

* This is truly remarkable. The punishment for a Jew accused of heresy of other grievous transgressions was to be lashed with a leather scourge. Forty lashes were allowed, but with their usual meticulous attention to detail, the Pharisees determined to lessen that by one so as to not risk going over the allowed limit. During the scourging, the person received thirteen stripes across the breast, thirteen across the left shoulder, and thirteen across the right shoulder (see Frederic W. Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, 1:661-64). Since Paul was a roman citizen and could not be scoured with out a trial before a Roman court, one can’t help but wonder why he would submit himself to thing brutal punishment five different times. Farrar suggests that by doing so, Paul maintained full fellowship in the synagogues, which were typically his first base for preaching the gospel when he entered a new city.

^ 1. Neal A. Maxwell, Even As I Am, 42; emphasis added.

^ 2. The story of Joseph is found in Genesis 37, 39–50.

^ 3. Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 304.

^ 4. Each of these examples is briefly discussed in Church History in the Fulness of Times, 113–14.

^ 5. Church History in the Fulness of Times, 99.

^ 6. Church History in the Fulness of Times, 199; Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young, 65; Arnold K. Garr and Clark V. Johnson, eds., Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint History: Missouri, 17.

^ 7. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, in Neal A. Maxwell, If Thou Endure It Well, 48.