In D&C
135:4 the Prophet Joseph Smith is quoted as having said “I am going like a
lamb to the slaughter”. The critic claims that this is a knock on a scripture
in Isaiah that refers to Christ: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth: he is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb…”(Isa 53:7).
The critics claim that this phrase is an insult for Joseph
to use to describe himself. They claim that since Joseph used a gun to defend
himself against a mob, that he could in no way be likened as “a lamb to the
slaughter”!
First, let’s address the weapon used when Joseph was killed.
In Christ’s final hours he met with his apostles and tried to prepare them for
his arrest and eventual death. In the
last meeting he would have with them before he was taken, Christ instructs “And
he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked
ye any thing? And they said Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that
hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one…And
they said, Lord, behold here are two swords, And he said unto them, It is
enough.”(Luke
22:35-36,38)
Here the Lord instructs his apostles not only to take a
sword, but if none can be found they should “sell (their) garment, and buy one.”
Looks like the critics have a problem here.
Like Joseph and his companions were armed before his death, Christ and
his companions were also armed! Of course, I am sure that the apostles of
Christ never used those weapons like Joseph and his companions did…..right!?!
Actually, if you read further in the same chapter of Luke 22 in
verses 48-50 it says, “But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the
son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite
with the sword? And one of them
smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.”
So it seems from the scriptures that Jesus who was going as
a Lamb to the slaughter also armed his companions, much like Joseph. Now it is
true that in the next verse Jesus picks up the ear and heals the servant of the
high priest, but this doesn’t negate the fact that the Lord instructed them to
get armed.
As for the critic who says it was wrong for Joseph to liken
himself to Christ with the phase “as a lamb to the slaughter”, I would redirect
them to the scriptures. In Ps 44:22 it
says “Yea, for thy sake are we
killed all the day long; we are counted as
sheep for the slaughter.” This chapter tells us of the persecution of the
saints and the psalmist makes it clear that “we are counted as sheep for the slaughter” for his sake.
The apostle Paul quotes this same scripture when he talks
about the persecution of the saints in Rom 8:35-36
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter.”
According to these scriptures above the Prophet Joseph Smith
was not wrong in his usage of the phrase “going as a lamb to the slaughter.” For
his religious beliefs he was martyred by a mob! Joseph’s martyrdom wasn’t
lessened by the fact that he was armed anymore than Christ’s was lessened when
he instructed his servants to arm themselves! The fact is that the critic will
take any cheap shots against Joseph Smith in hopes of keeping people from believing
the truth….even if the scriptures prove otherwise!
