Serious Reflection

Lucy Mack Smith described her teenage son Joseph as more of a thinker than a reader: “Joseph was less inclined to the study of books than any child we had,” she wrote, “but much more given to reflection and deep study” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, Book 4, page 1).

Joseph Smith’s own history confirms his mother’s observations. Consider the following passages:

• “During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit” (Joseph Smith—History 1:8).
• “I reflected on [James 1:5] again and again” (Joseph Smith—History 1:12).
• “It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since…” (Joseph Smith—History 1:23).
• “I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my meditation…” (Joseph Smith—History 1:44).
• “By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind…” (Joseph Smith—History 1:46).
• “I was again left to ponder on the strangeness of what I had just experienced” (Joseph Smith—1:47).

I suppose that most of us would have a lot to think about after seeing an angel, but I wonder if Joseph’s tendency to think deeply about serious things actually invited revelation. Consider the following examples from the Book of Mormon:

• Nephi, son of Lehi: “After I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord” (1 Nephi 11:1).
• Enos: “The words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart” (Enos 1:3).
• Nephi, son of Helaman: “Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him. And it came to pass as he was thus pondering, … a voice came unto him” (Helaman 10:2-3).

After Jesus taught the people at the temple in Bountiful, He gave them the following counsel:

Go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.

3 Nephi 17:3

And Moroni urged us, after reading the Book of Mormon, to “remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts” (Moroni 10:3).

All of this leads me to the following impression: Revelation is often the beginning of a process, not the end. If we shrug off impressions we receive from the Spirit of the Lord, or truths we learn from the scriptures, or words of modern prophets, we may miss out on insights and growth that come only through serious reflection.

Elder Richard G. Scott said:

I believe that we often do not learn the truths the Lord would freely share because we do not in humility earnestly seek light. We also can leave the most precious personal direction of the Spirit unheard because we do not strive to understand, value, use, remember, and expand the first promptings that come to us when we are in need or when impressions come in response to earnest, intense prayer.

“Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 17 August 1993

Today, I will reflect upon truths I have learned and revelation I have received. I will remember that I invite further revelation by seriously reflecting upon the knowledge I have already been given.