Joseph: He Arose

The name of Mary’s husband is fitting, because—like the ancient patriarch, Joseph—he received messages from God in dreams. Matthew records four such events:

1. While he pondered how to minimize Mary’s embarrassment as an unwed mother, “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20).
2. After the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, Joseph saw an angel in a dream, who said, “Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13).
3. After Herod’s death, “an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel” (Matthew 2:19-20).
4. When they arrive back in Israel, Joseph is uncomfortable returning to Jerusalem, and “being warned of God in a dream,” he returns to Nazareth (Matthew 2:22).

Joseph’s response to each of these dreams is immediate obedience. There is no indication of hesitation or delay. He simply “arose” (Matthew 2:14, 21) and “did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him” (Matthew 1:24). In fact, when he was instructed to leave Bethlehem, “he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt” (Matthew 2:14).

In the Book of Mormon, Lehi follows the same pattern. The Lord commands him in a dream to “take his family and depart into the wilderness.” In response, “he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 2:2, 4). The Lord subsequently instructs him in a dream to send his sons back to Jerusalem to acquire a set of sacred writings recorded on brass plates (1 Nephi 3:2). Again, he immediately obeys.

Like Joseph, Lehi led his family through uncertainty by receiving and responding immediately to divine guidance.

Today, I will follow Joseph’s and Lehi’s examples by listening for the voice of God and acting promptly on the revelation I receive from Him.