It's only been 14 months since the church was organized and things are happening at a rapid pace. William W. Phelps arrives from the east with his family and tells the prophet they are ready to do the Lord's will. The first thing the Lord counsels him to do is to be baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, to teach the gospel and provide the same blessings to others. He is also counseled to travel with Joseph Smith to Missouri and begin a printing business and supply school books for the children. A year later, the printing business is established and along with the books, he publishes a monthly church magazine. This is then destroyed by the mob. William and Joseph become very good friends, but later, after William becomes a president of the priesthood, he is rejected by a vote of the various congregations. He becomes bitter and signs an affidavit that results in the prophet and others being arrested and put in Liberty Jail. Following this, he is excommunicated. While the saints are in Nauvoo, he writes to Joseph Smith and asks for his and the church's forgiveness saying he would be happy to be in the lowliest position if he could be among the saints again. His letter, and Joseph's reply, have become famous because they reveal the nature of both men, especially William's humility and Joseph's ability to forgive. In Joseph's reply, he mentions the bitter experience they went through because of Phelp's actions, but he says that all of that is behind them and welcomes him back, closing with the letter with the quote, "Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, For friends at first, are friends again at last." There is an account where Joseph sees a person waling up the path to his home through his window. It is someone who had been out of the church. He leaped out of his chair and ran to him and threw his arms around him and both men wept. We don't know if this was Phelps, but it shows Joseph's ability to love and forgive. William came west with the saints and became a prominent citizen and leader. He helped write the constitution for the state of Deseret. He also wrote some of the most famous hymns of the church including "Praise to the Man Who Communed with Jehovah."
I love the story of William W. Phelps. Mostly because it shows the power of forgiveness. Too many people let a single event in their life, a transgression of some kind, weigh upon them to the point that they do not feel worthy to be in the church or among its members. And so even though they believe in the church, they become estranged from it. They end up robbing themselves of happiness and the freedom from carrying a burden that does not need to be there. I think what they do not understand is, the point of the whole gospel is forgiveness. Everyone is in a repentance process, trying to change, trying to be better. In and out of the church, most people want to do better and be better people. What the atonement does is lift the burden of the mistake and set the person free. This is such a great blessing that is not taken advantage of by enough people. Instead of being free, they keep something hidden in a dark corner all through their life letting it haunt them or weigh them down. I remember a friend, who was a bishop at one time, telling me of a woman who came to him in her sixties and confessed something she had done as a young girl. She had needlessly carried the burden all of those years. Here was a person who had led a good life, was a good person. Her burden was lifted but there was no reason for her to carry that weight on her soul all those years and let it sap much of the joy in life she could have experienced. All of us can take advantage of this. Sometimes we need to talk to a bishop, most often, we just need to talk to the Lord and then trust in his ability to remove the burden. He will forgive us and lift it, and then we only need to forgive ourselves and let it go. William W. Phelps could have stayed in Missouri. But what a difference it made in his life and the lives of others he blessed when took the steps to have his burden lifted.
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