Cultivating Compassion for Martin Harris’s Unique Dilemma

Doctrine and Covenants section 19, given through Joseph Smith as a revelation for Martin Harris in the summer of 1829, can be a difficult text to grapple with. Verses 23, “Learn of me,” and 38, “Pray always,” are among the most beautiful and most quoted fragments of the D&C, but other verses are harsh. Martin receives stern warnings to repent and obey, which reach a troubling pinnacle in verse 15:

“Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.“

Martin doesn’t appear to have had grievous sins of commission to repent of and hadn’t made any formal covenants yet. It is hard to imagine a Church leader today relating a revelation that threatens an anxious donor with God’s wrath or punishments. It is difficult for readers who have felt the Lord’s love and experienced peace through priesthood blessings during difficult times to relate to the tone of some of this revelation. 

The situation Martin faced that sparked this text was unique, high-pressure, and difficult. He was the only one among Joseph Smith’s early adherents who had enough wealth to finance the Book of Mormon’s publication. “Martin was asked to make a huge sacrifice, more than anyone else had yet been asked in the new dispensation.” He had verbally promised to pay for printing in 1828. In the summer of 1829, the translation finished, he and Joseph worked together on finding a printer. More than one printshop owner they spoke with tried to dissuade Martin out of his willingness to fund the project. Martin and Joseph settled on working with E. B. Grandin, who required that $3,000 (the equivalent of about $102,000 today, even much more when you consider this was the bulk of one wealthy man’s accumulated wealth at the time) for 5,000 copies be paid upfront. This would require Martin to mortgage virtually all of his farm. 

Due to consistent opposition from his family and the greater community, Martin Harris hesitated to follow through with his promise. He probably had not realized how much the publication would cost in reality. Sacrificing his farm was especially difficult since 1829 was an economically harsh year for farmers in the region. Both he and Joseph must have been highly stressed. A compassionate reading of this chapter may acknowledge the ways anger, strained relationships, stress can bias and block the inspired voice of a priesthood holder or revelator. It makes good sense that the Lord was desirous for Martin to sacrifice in the cause of the Book of Mormon, yet many of us today would like to hear a more nuanced and understanding voice speak to Martin’s unique, difficult situation. 

Possible discussion questions to be addressed in small groups or with the whole class if it is small:

• If a person in a comparable predicament were given a priesthood blessing to help and guide them in our day, what kind of message or guidance do you imagine could be most encouraging or insightful?
• If you could travel back in time and give Martin Harris support in the summer of 1829 during his difficult dilemma, what might you say to encourage him and/or show compassion for what he was going through?
• What might you share about the Book of Mormon’s impact on your own life to encourage him in the road ahead as he became the first major financial founder of the Book of Mormon and the Church?

Reframing Martin’s Sacrifice as a Turn Toward a Courageous, Spiritually Focused “Second half of life”

One possibility for taking inspiration from D&C 19 is to interpret Martin’s experience as an example of what many spiritual thinkers have described as the entrance into the “second half” of spiritual life. 

Jungian analyst James Hollis has written about how for many individuals, middle age is a time when longings to live a more spiritually meaningful life awaken. Even when life has gone according to plan, and a person arrives at a point when they anticipated enjoying great contentment, they might unexpectedly realize that it feels something vital is missing. Life is much emptier of meaning and growth than they expected. Unexpected urges to take a new path might be signaled through unexpected depression, dreams, or divine interventions (see James Hollis’s Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life and Between Worlds). 

In 1829, Martin Harris was 46 years old and had lived a successful life. As a young man, he served in the war of 1812. He was married for 21 years, had four children, and was a prosperous farmer. He was a respected neighbor and had lived up to conventional expectations. But his friendship with Joseph Smith and experience with Book of Mormon disrupted this smooth sailing. Suddenly, a door opened for Martin’s life to become something quite different and impactful. As we find in D&C 19, he was asked to give up virtually everything and devote his time to becoming a spiritual leader in the cause of Jesus and his gospel. 

• Have you ever faced a crossroads like Martin Harris did, when an opportunity opened for you to make a great sacrifice or major decision for the sake of spiritual desires and/or spiritual growth?
• How have you been blessed, or how has your life become more impactful as you have sacrificed in order to serve spiritual causes and needs?
• Have you ever experienced unexpected desires or inspiration to grow spiritually or help others? If yes, what obstacles did you face?

In Martin’s case, as in many other “second half of life” spiritual transitions, his desires conflicted with others’ expectation for him and even common sense. 

• Are there ways in which you, as a disciple of Christ or person of faith, have been required to go against the grain of social norms and expectations? What challenges came with this? What growth had this enabled for you?

Something in Martin was open to the possibility of living life with more transcendent motivations. He did not have to respond to the call to live a new kind of life, but he did. In response to D&C 19, he chose to give up nearly everything for God’s purposes. His wife, who didn’t approve of his choice, separated from him. Martin went on to become an important spiritual voice and witness. He made a lasting impact and left a legacy and history for us to learn from. 

• How does choosing spiritual paths and priorities add meaning to life or fundamentally change how we experience of life?
• What kind of legacy or impact do you want your life to have?

Reframing vocabulary in D&C 19

In All Things New by Terryl and Fiona Givens, we learn we may reap spiritual benefits from redefining traditional religious vocabulary such that it can better speak to contemporary experiences. The redefinitions for terms in D&C 19 below are inspired by Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, in which he describes middle age as a time of tension between a life that is more stagnant, or self-focused and disconnected, and a life that is generative, focused on connections, creativity, and making useful contributions.

Sin = stagnation This encompasses decisions to not sacrifice, help others, or contribute spiritually. Stagnation is living only for yourself and meeting conventional expectations without trying to change the world for good or fostering deep connections.

Repentance = generativity To repent is to follow our noblest spiritual desires. To take the path of authentic spiritual generativity and generosity, prioritizing spiritual growth and our souls’ deepest desires over the other less pure forces in our lives.

Human pain and suffering caused by sin = the spiritual consequences of choosing stagnation Spiritual suffering can stem from failing to choose to grow and contribute. This suffering is the misery caused by prioritizing comfort, our egos, and more material and superficial things that can’t nurture our spirits or help us grow.

These definitions can’t replace what’s in the text in a fill-in-the blank way, and they certainly don’t solve all the spiritual and theological challenges in the chapter, but it could allow the revelation to be interpreted partly as a matter-of-fact explanation of the consequences of the paths we take. If we attend to our responsibilities to grow, connect, and contribute spiritually, we will find peace and fulfillment. If we prioritize superficial things and a self-serving life, we will suffer from a lack of spiritual sustenance, light, and connection. The latter could be a miserable choice indeed, without any active divine punishment at play (see Adam Miller’s Original Grace for innovative and compassionate thoughts about divine punishment).

• What might be some other ideas for redefining sin and repentance (or perhaps other words in the chapter) that speak to you?
• What are some ways our lives might move out of stagnation and into greater spiritual generativity?

Prayer is a Powerful Tool for Fostering Spiritual and Emotional Well-being

Read verse 38:

“Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing—yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof.“

• How might we interpret the exhortation to “pray always?” What does this mean for you in everyday life?
• What have you experienced during periods of your life when you have tried to pray more frequently or more earnestly?
• Have you ever struggled to find approaches to prayer that have worked for you?

On a recent episode of Faith Matters’ podcast, happiness expert Arthur Brooks taught that prayer can help us fight depression and anxiety and foster joy. He said “the most effective metacognitive technique is…offering up prayers of petition.” Prayer is healing to the mind partly because it moves fear, anxieties, and desires from the body into the conscious problem-solving part of the brain, where they can be recognized and expressed. Prayer is more beneficial than journaling (which is also very good for our mental health when we use it to process our fears and make plans for how to address problems) because in addition to listing our troubles, we also seek  help from someone much greater than ourselves. Prayers are an active assertion of trust that help and relief will come.

Brooks explains, “The ideal formula for prayer, according to Christian tradition…is glory to you, thank you, sorry, help me more. It is those four things. When you [pray]…you’re bringing your concerns to God…you’re articulating them, and they’re no longer ghosts in the machine, you’re bringing them to your prefrontal cortex… and then offer[ing them] up to heaven. And this is really, really, powerful. People say, “I feel so much better after I pray.” Well, duh! Neuroscience, man!” Brooks brings a scientific lens to prayer in no way to deconstruct or diminish the spiritual side of prayer. He has faith in the power of prayer himself and seems to enjoy how his scientific and faith perspectives can line up in harmony with each other.

• Based on Brooks description, are there ways you might like to try to better optimize the benefits of prayer in your life?
• What could it mean to “pray always” and receive the blessings promised in verse 38 in light of the immense wellness benefits of prayer?