“Three Lessons from Joseph Smith’s Teenage Years,” For the Strength of Youth, Sept. 2023.
Three Lessons from Joseph Smith’s Teenage Years
See what you can learn from the Prophet’s experiences 200 years ago.
Have you ever felt like it’s hard to relate to people in the past? They lived so long ago—can they really teach you anything about your life? Yes! Joseph Smith is a great example. By the time he was 18 years old, he had learned a few things about getting answers to prayer and his relationship with his Heavenly Father. Those lessons can help you today.
Lesson #1: Sometimes it takes time to get answers.
Answers to prayer don’t always come quickly. Waiting isn’t easy—especially when quick answers are available on the internet to almost every question.
If you feel like it’s taking a long time for God to answer you, you’re not alone. Joseph Smith was 12 years old when he started to think about “the all-important concerns for the welfare of [his] immortal soul.”1 He wrestled with questions about his personal worthiness and the wickedness of the world for the next two years. It took two years of pondering, studying the scriptures, and working through those questions before God and Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Sacred Grove.
It’s the same with us. When we have a question, it might take days, months, or even years before we get an answer. But that’s OK. The work we put in while waiting is essential. Remember what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “The seed has to be nourished and we must wait for it to mature.”2
Lesson #2: God knows us by name.
Before he was 18, Joseph had been visited by God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the angel Moroni. That’s pretty impressive! And these divine beings all knew Joseph’s name. They knew him personally!
God knows you personally too. You are His child and he knows your name. God taught this truth about His creations: “All things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them” (Moses 1:35).
Part of the reason Joseph had the confidence to do what he was asked to do was that he understood that he was a child of God, who knew him personally.
Lesson #3: As we are repentant, we open ourselves up to spiritual experiences.
One of Joseph’s main motivations to go to the Sacred Grove was to repent of his sins. That’s the same reason he prayed the night the angel Moroni appeared to him: “for forgiveness of all [his] sins and follies” (Joseph Smith—History 1:29). This teaches us two things:
First, if we’ve made mistakes, we shouldn’t think we aren’t worthy to pray. Joseph had committed “sins and follies,” yet he still knew he could pray and obtain forgiveness.
Second, as we are repentant, we can feel the Spirit more strongly. As Elder Jörg Klebingat of the Seventy has explained, “Spiritual confidence increases when you voluntarily and joyfully repent of sins.”3
President Russell M. Nelson has taught that repentance helps us become more like the Savior. As we repent, we open up the doors of heaven. “We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him.”4
So if you need to repent of something, do it! Not only will it bring you peace and help you become more like the Savior, but it will also help you feel the Spirit more strongly and obtain answers to prayers.
Joseph Smith may have lived a long time ago, but the lessons he learned as a teenager can still help you today. It’s just another reason to be grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith.