Hank Smith: 00:00 Hello, my friends. Welcome to FollowHIM Favorites. My name is Hank Smith. I’m the host of a podcast called Follow Him and I’m here with my incredible co-host John Bytheway. Hi John.

John Bytheway: 00:11 Hi Hank.

Hank Smith: 00:12 And our awesome, incredible guest this week, Dr. Michael Wilcox. Welcome Dr. Wilcox.

Dr. S. Michael Wilcox: 00:20 Thank you. Nice to be here.

Hank Smith: 00:21 Yes, we have a full podcast called Follow Him and you can hear that full podcast, wherever you get your podcast but this is just a little clip for those who say, you know what, I need a cliff notes version this week. We choose a FollowHIM Favorite. So John, the lesson is on section 135 of The Doctrine and Covenants. Tell us your FollowHIM Favorite.

John Bytheway: 00:43 Well, thanks Hank. This section is only seven verses long. They’re long verses but this is, John Taylor wrote this. It’s announcing the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith. The first sentence in verse one, “To seal the testimony of this book and the book of Mormon. We announced the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the prophet and Hyrum Smith, the patriarch.” And I’m just intrigued with this idea of the seal. My sisters, when I was young and they were teenagers, they had these little candle wax things they used to melt at the end of a letter and put a few drops on and then they had their initials. So Sally or Jerry, my sisters, would put that impression and they would seal this letter. And I had wondered, what does it mean to seal this? And now I think this is a profound way to say I’ve sealed my testimony of The Book of Mormon and of this book The Doctrine and Covenants.

John Bytheway: 01:44 President Nelson, in October of 2017, general conference gave a wonderful talk called The Book of Mormon, what would your life be like without it? I think looking at this, I’m also thinking the prophet that brought us The Book of Mormon, that translated it through the gift and power of God, what would your life be like without this influence of Joseph, Hyrum and this Book of Mormon? It’s a wonderful thing to ponder and think about as you go through this section but here their testimony is sealed, not with wax but with blood.

Hank Smith: 02:22 I love it. Dr. Wilcox taught us in our full podcast, the best way to honor Joseph and Hyrum would be to read and internalize these words, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants. My FollowHIM Favorite is in the end of verse three, it talks about Joseph and Hyrum and it says in life, they were not divided and in death, they were not separated. I know many people listening have little brothers and little sisters or older brothers and older sisters who maybe feel like they just are annoying. Right? And I think Joseph and Hyrum and even others of their family, Alvin and the other siblings, they teach us a lot about our family relationships.

Hank Smith: 03:07 And so, we’re always going to hurt each other’s feelings and someone’s going to steal the remote or not do the dishes but we can do our best to be this type of sibling. Right? A supportive sibling who doesn’t divide. In life, they were not divided and we can do better in our families at not creating division. When it comes to family, prayer and family scripture study and getting work done, let’s be a uniter instead of a divider. All right. Dr. Wilcox, tell us your FollowHIM Favorite.

Dr. S. Michael Wilcox: 03:50 Well, I don’t know that I have a favorite in-

Hank Smith: 03:52 That’s hard.

Dr. S. Michael Wilcox: 03:53 But, I think in verse four, at least things that really strike me in my own life, when he’s going to the martyrdom, he’s going to one of the greatest trials of his life and yet he says, “I am calm as a summer’s morning.” We live in a world where we’re not always calm as a summer’s morning and there will be some times a lot of opposition in our lives, a lot of difficulties that we face. So, how do I remain calm as a summer’s morning throughout my life? Not just as he goes to Carthage. How do I live so that I can say every day of my life, I am as calm as a summer’s morning. Then he answers that. I have a conscious void of offense towards God and towards all men.

Dr. S. Michael Wilcox: 04:53 I think if we strive, if all of us can do the best we can, Joseph wasn’t perfect at it but if we strive to have a conscious, empty void means empty. Empty of offense towards God and all men, we can always be as calm as a summers morning. When we come to die, which is what’s going to happen in Carthage, then that next phrase, I shall die innocent. Then we remain in a state of innocence. We’re born in the world innocent. If we strive to live with a conscious void of offense to God and towards men, we’ll be calm as a summer’s morning and we’ll be innocent always and we’ll still make mistakes but there’s the forgiveness. Always forgiveness.

Hank Smith: 05:56 That is absolutely wonderful.

Dr. S. Michael Wilcox: 05:58 I love that phrase.

Hank Smith: 05:59 Thank you. If my daughter listens to FollowHIM Favorites on her way to her senior year of high school, that is something that she needs to hear. So thank you to both of you. We hope that all of you listening will join us on our full podcast. It’s called Follow Him but if you can’t that’s okay. Come back and join us next week for FollowHIM Favorites.