Calling all Modern-Day Josephs

This morning I received an email in my inbox with the subject line: "Calling All Modern Day Josephs." I assumed this was about the prophet Joseph Smith, as we've been focusing on the 200th anniversary of his first vision in the sacred grove.

Instead, this was an inspiring email from another Christian contact, Pedro Adao, recounting the story of Joseph of Egypt, the dreamer and interpreter from the Old Testament. (As the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tells us, "It's all there in Chapter 39 of Genesis."

I particularly loved the insight Pedro shared about Joseph:

"We love the story of Joseph...
But Joseph only had the opportunity to rise to power and influence, because he accessed the wisdom of God to bring salvation to the people he served... 

IN THE MIDST OF A CRISIS.  

You see, IF THERE WASN'T A FAMINE, NONE OF US WOULD EVEN KNOW WHO JOSEPH WAS!"

That really rang true for me, at this time when there is so much that is going very, very wrong. Those who turn to God will be given wisdom, will be called to serve, will be able to help and even possibly save others.

One of the truly great messages of the story of Joseph of Egypt is that God hears prayers and talks to ordinary people. Joseph was among the youngest of a full dozen sons, and could easily have been overlooked. He was a victim of familial abuse, he was sold into slavery, he was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. But he also had a connection to God.

In fact, he had a particular gift from God: The gift of visions (prophetic dreams) and the interpretation of dreams. He was able to use these gifts to get himself out of prison, and eventually to become second only to Pharaoh in the leadership of Egypt, and was able to save his family and his nation from a devastating famine.

But every single one of us has a spiritual gift (at least one!), a gift that helps us connect to heaven and know when God is speaking to us, a gift that then allows us to help others. And every single one of us can use our gifts right now, in the midst of a crisis, to connect with God, and to help others. God might need us to use our gifts now more than ever before.

But we have to learn a few things. We have to know HOW God speaks to us personally. We have to know what it is God wants us to do, and we have to trust God that he can use us, despite our limitations, and that, including our gifts, he can use us to bring about good in the world, to bring about change.

With that in mind, I want to talk a little about that other Joseph, Joseph Smith. Like Joseph of Egypt, he was no one important. He was a 14-year-old farm boy. In his day, there's wasn't a famine of food, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. (Amos 8:3) His story, too, lets us know that God hears prayers and talks to ordinary people in extraordinary times. His account of his First Vision, when he prayed for wisdom in a grove of trees, is an excellent pattern for all of us for both seeking the wisdom of God, and understanding how God works in and through us.

I have spent the past several weeks studying the First Vision extensively, and created a 10-page Discovery Journal. to help us seek God's input and discover our individual work, gifts, and callings. I have taken the First Vision account apart line by line, and added questions you can ask yourself, and ask God, to begin to discover the work God has specifically for you.

Please leave me a comment below with your email address if you would like me to send you a PDF of this Discovery Journal, to record your own spiritual insights. There is no cost to you whatsoever. I'm sharing this with anyone who would like one.

I truly believe we can all be modern-day Josephs, in the sphere where God intends us to serve. I know we can connect with our higher power, and have a greater influence for good in the world. To start, you just have to ask.