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The Doctrine and Covenants is one of many tools at our disposal to develop our vision. As we expand the ways the Lord is able to enlighten our eyes, we will experience more instances of epiphany, or sudden strokes of revelation and insight. But we can also have more instances of “hierophany.” As the influential historian of religion Mircea Eliade explains, these are moments when the divine manifests itself in the profane, which here just means the everyday.
I am aware that my wise and gentle friend Elder David B. Haight spoke about the Prophet Joseph a month ago. Please bear with me, therefore, as I seek to place the spotlight on the Seer in yet a different way on this Easter Sunday, during which our rejoicing is made more resplendent by the revelations and translations concerning Jesus that came to us through Joseph.
His thoughts soared far beyond the stars, but he worried about the wind. He had, in a sense, waited his whole life to preach this sermon. “He lived his life in crescendo,” a later admirer wrote, and this was to be a kind of climax. He had a dazzling vision to unfold, a soaring theology to set forth. He had friends to comfort and eternity to hold before their gaze. If only the wind would cooperate. If only his lungs could hold up. If only his voice would carry. If only he could find the words to match his message.
The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship concluded the Wonder of Scripture Lecture series on April 11, 2025, with a concluding lecture from Rosalynde Welch, Associate Director of the Institute. These lectures, organized by Maxwell Research Fellows Kimberly Matheson and Kristian Heal, have explored different books of scripture from various religions and inspired hundreds of students and faculty across campus. 24 speakers spanned two semesters, each bringing a unique perspective to scripture in and outside of the Latter-day Saint canon.
I thank each of you for your attendance here, for the lovely invocation and the splendid music we had, and for that introduction. I’m pleased to be with you today, my sisters. Your Tolkien theme, “deep roots are not reached by the frost,” might well have had added to it, “nor are they scorched by the sun.” Jesus described the realities of that scorching sun when he talked in these terms, “and some fell upon the stony places where they had not much Earth and forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of Earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched. And because they had no root, they withered away” (Matthew 13:5–6).
If revelation is abundant in the Restoration, then why are there times when we feel as though silence reigns? (38:12). At times we cry out, “O God where are thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (121:1–2). Even a half hour of “silence in heaven” in God’s timeline can feel like an eternity to us (88:95).
My brothers and sisters, I publicly express my deep gratitude to the Lord, to our remarkable and beloved President Kimball, and to his counselors for my call to the Twelve—among whom I shall be the least, long after being the last so ordained.
I express deep love and appreciation to my wife, who is splendid in every way; to my goodly and gracious parents and sisters; to my children, who are committed to the kingdom and who have been wise enough to have married committed eternal partners.
I express deep love and appreciation to my wife, who is splendid in every way; to my goodly and gracious parents and sisters; to my children, who are committed to the kingdom and who have been wise enough to have married committed eternal partners.
