Pieces of the Puzzle?

 Pieces of the Puzzle?

When I was younger I loved putting together the pieces of the puzzle of Gospel doctrine. This week's Come Follow Me reading assignment includes Doctrine & Covenants 113, which contains one of the "pieces" that I have used in different ways at different times in my life.

Specifically, Doctrine & Covenants 113:1-6, which interprets some enigmatic verses from Isaiah 11.

5. What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
6. Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendent of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.

Nephi quotes this same chapter of Isaiah in 2 Nephi 21, and Moroni quoted it when he appeared to Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith-History 40). So it seems pretty important.

So who is this "root of Jesse"? The Come Follow Me lesson states that this is "a prophecy that describes the Prophet Joseph Smith quite well." 

The Come Follow Me lesson goes on to ask "How might this... have been encouraging to Saints during the turmoil they were experiencing in Kirkland?" I imagine it felt reassuring to see themselves as a part in a much bigger story, that God was actively involved in fulfilling ancient prophecy through a modern prophet who had been described over 2,500 years before. I've certainly had times in my life when some divine reassurance was exactly what I needed to keep going.

And if I stop there I'm good. This is useful and helpful and practical. But there's more to be discovered, if I keep digging. Doctrine & Covenants 113:4 says that this "root" is also the "rod" which Isaiah 11:1 says will "come forth... out of the stem of Jesse." This rod "is partly a descendent of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power." 

I read verses 4 and 6 of Section 113 as saying that Joseph Smith is literally a descendent of both Jesse and Ephraim. Jesse, of course, was David's father, and a descendant of Judah, which would make Joseph Smith both an Ephraimite and a Jew. Kind of a physical embodiment of Ezekiel's two sticks. It also suggests that Joseph Smith is a descendent of David, which would make him a Davidic heir to the throne of Judah and Israel. And given that Isaiah describes the rod as "com[ing] forth out of the stem of Jesse" and Section 113:2 identifies the stem as Christ, it appears that Joseph Smith is a literal descendent of Jesus Christ. 

Is this true? I don't know. I will say that my younger self found things like this utterly fascinating, with all of their implications, like Jesus' unrecorded marriage and child(ren), as well as Joseph Smith's descendants today and their potential future role as Davidic heirs in the future kingdom of God. My more mature self, however, asks a different question: Is it relevant? How does it help me in my day to day life and relationship with the Lord? Personally, at this point I find it distracting. It doesn't nourish my soul. This is not to say it's not true, and nor is it to say that others can't find real value in it. I'm simply saying that it doesn't work for me.

Once I found these "pieces" fit a certain way in the Gospel puzzle, as I understood it. Over time I found that for me the pieces didn't fit, at least not in the ways that I had assumed. I have since removed them from puzzle and set them aside. I'm not sure where they fit, but for now, I'm focusing on other parts of the puzzle that I find connect me more directly with the Lord and clarify the Gospel, such as through the lens of encouragement and reassurance. That is always helpful.