The Work and the Glory by Gerald N. Lund

didn’t join?” Nathan asked.
    There was a slow shake of the head. He broke off a stem of a weed and began to chew on it thoughtfully. “At first I was quite excited by it all. But then somethin’ really started troubling me.”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, at first all the ministers kept saying it didn’t matter which church you followed, as long as you were really sincere and got ‘converted,’ as they called it. But even young as I was, I noticed it was mostly just talk. As soon as people started choosing one church or another, all the good feelings kinda disappeared. Ministers would argue with ministers over who had the truth. ‘Converts’ to one church would tell ‘converts’ to another church that they had made a terrible mistake and had put their eternal salvation at risk. One thing was clear to me in all this: ‘Love your neighbor’ and Christian charity quickly went out the window.
    “This went on for more than a year. Before long I was so confused, I didn’t know what to do. All around me was confusion. What was I to do? What if I made the wrong choice? To my young mind this was a decision of eternal consequence, and I didn’t want to do something that wasn’t right.”
    Nathan was engrossed now in Joseph’s account. “So what did you do?”
    “I started to read the Bible. My mother taught us the scriptures were God’s word. So I decided maybe I could find the answer there.”
    He stopped, his eyes gazing out across the field where they sat. Nathan watched him closely, tempted to press, but knowing it was better to let Joseph take it at his own pace.
    “One day I happened to be reading in the Epistle of Saint James. I came to the first chapter and the fifth verse.” He swung around and looked directly at Nathan, his eyes suddenly piercing in their intensity.
    “Tell him what it says, Joseph,” Hyrum urged.
    Joseph nodded, his voice now soft, almost reverent. “It says: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.’ ”
    “Hmmm,” Nathan murmured. “That’s a wonderful promise.”
    Joseph nodded. “Never had any passage of scripture come with such power to my mind. It entered with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again. Finally, I decided that if there was ever anyone who lacked wisdom, it was me. I decided right then and there I would do exactly as James said. I would ask God which church I should join.” He exhaled slowly, leaning back, lost in his thoughts.
    “And?” Nathan pressed.
    “By now it was early in the spring of 1820. I knew of a quiet place in the woods near our home. I had decided this would be the place where I would go and pray. It was a beautiful clear morning. I went into the woods, and making sure I was alone, I immediately knelt down to pray.”
    A sudden shadow passed across Joseph’s face. He shook his head slightly as if trying to brush it aside. He was staring down at the ground as unconsciously he began to tear off the blades of grass and drop them into a little pile. When he spoke, his voice was low. “To my amazement, I found I couldn’t utter a word. It was as though my tongue was swollen in my head.”
    Nathan blinked. This was not what he had expected to hear.
    “Suddenly I thought I heard footsteps behind me, someone walking towards me in the dry leaves. I was startled. I whipped around.” Now at last he looked up, directly into Nathan’s eyes. “No one was there.”
    Nathan felt a sudden chill run up and down his spine.
    “I turned back, thinking it was my imagination. Remember, I was only a fourteen-year-old boy at this time.” He bowed his head, as though reliving those moments. His lips were compressed into a tight line, and he shook his head. “But again, I couldn’t utter a word. And then I heard someone behind me again, only louder this time. I jumped to my feet and whirled around, determined to catch whoever it