“I Will Provide Means”

In March 1829, Joseph Smith was still reeling from the loss of the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. As he sought a revelation on behalf of Martin Harris, who had borrowed and lost those pages, he received direction for Martin and also direction for himself. At the end of the revelation, the Lord provided the following words of counsel and reassurance:

Stop, and stand still until I command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee

Doctrine and Covenants 5:34

Joseph undoubtedly felt some urgency to complete the project he had been assigned, and that urgency must have been amplified by the loss of the first portion of the manuscript. Now, the Lord is telling him to calm down and trust Him. When God gives an assignment, He also provides the resources needed to fulfill it.

What were the “means” described in this revelation? Shortly after this revelation was received, on April 5, Oliver Cowdery arrived at Joseph’s home. Oliver was a schoolteacher who had boarded with Joseph’s family in Palmyra, NY, and he had come because he was intrigued by the stories he had heard about Joseph. Two days after his arrival, Joseph began translating again, with Oliver as his scribe. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:66-67.)

It was probably two months later that Joseph translated the book of 1 Nephi. He must have recognized the principle he had been taught as he translated Nephi’s affirmation that “the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7). He may have been startled later to find Nephi teaching the principle again, this time using words nearly identical to the revelation Joseph had received:

If it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them.

1 Nephi 17:3

Today, I will remember that assignments from the Lord always come with sufficient resources. When my responsibilities seem challenging, I will trust the Lord to provide means, so that I can accomplish what He has asked me to do.