Situational Awareness: Joseph Smith’s Need to Know his Standing with God
In Part One of this article I shared how situational awareness became an ingrained part of my everyday life via my career in law enforcement. In Part Two, we’ll explore how Joseph Smith used both situational awareness and spiritual sensitivity while reestablishing Christ’s Church on earth…
Part Two
As the Prophet and founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith demonstrated a remarkable combination of deep spiritual sensitivity and practical situational awareness. From an early age, he exhibited a keen awareness of both his internal spiritual standing before God and the external realities of an often-hostile world. His life was marked by intense persecution, rapid organizational growth, and the navigation of complex political and social dynamics. Throughout these challenges, Joseph not only received visions and revelations but also showed strategic thinking, resilience, and discernment—qualities essential to the survival and growth of the early church.
Joseph’s early years were filled with hardship, including financial struggles and religious turmoil. These experiences sharpened his ability to quickly assess situations and adapt to shifting circumstances. His exposure to conflicting Christian sects during his youth deepened his discernment—both in evaluating people’s intentions and in understanding the broader societal forces at work.
At the age of 14, Joseph began grappling with profound questions about the eternal welfare of his soul. His concern was not mere curiosity; it was a deep spiritual unease. Amid widespread religious confusion and hypocrisy, he turned to the scriptures, seeking the true word of God. There, he felt the heavy burden of personal sin and a yearning to know his standing before the Lord.
This spiritual hunger led to one of the most pivotal moments in religious history. At fourteen, Joseph withdrew to a grove of trees near his home to pray and ask God which church he should join. Beneath that question lay an even deeper plea: What is my standing before Thee? Am I forgiven? The answer came in a miraculous vision. A pillar of light brighter than the sun descended, and in that light stood two divine Personages. One of them—the Lord Jesus Christ—spoke directly to Joseph: Joseph, my son, thy sins are forgiven thee.
This vision was not only a revelation of divine doctrine but also a revelation of Joseph’s own identity. Knowing God allowed Joseph to better understand himself. His spiritual awareness was not passive; it was rooted in humility, sincere inquiry, and earnest prayer.
However, Joseph soon learned that divine experiences carried social and political consequences. When he shared his vision with a local preacher, he was met not with curiosity but with scorn. Persecution followed swiftly. Joseph would later reflect on how strange it was that an obscure, uneducated boy could provoke such hostility. Yet he came to understand: truth holds power, and power often invites fear. His ability to perceive both divine guidance and human behavior became essential. Joseph realized that spiritual truth often needed to be defended with earthly wisdom.
Throughout his life, Joseph’s leadership required both spiritual depth and practical skill. His keen situational awareness became evident in pivotal moments when survival itself was at stake. One early example of this came during the translation of the Book of Mormon. With sacred records in his possession, Joseph and his family faced threats from mobs intent on stealing or destroying them. Anticipating an attack one evening, Joseph instructed that the plates be hidden beneath the hearthstone of their home. Moments after the hearth was relaid, armed men arrived. Joseph, recalling tactics learned from his grandfather, had his small family behave as if a legion of defenders was present. The ruse worked—the mob fled.
On another occasion, facing a similar threat, Joseph concealed the plates in a cooper’s loft under a pile of flax. A girl claiming to have second sight led a mob to the cooper’s shop, but after tearing up the floor in vain, they left empty-handed. Joseph’s spiritual mission was preserved through his temporal vigilance and his situational awareness.
In 1834, when violence erupted against the Saints in Missouri, Joseph organized a thousand-mile rescue expedition known as Zion’s Camp. Over 200 men, women, and children marched—armed not only with weapons but also with faith. To evade detection near Indianapolis, Joseph instructed the company to split into smaller groups, traveling separately to avoid suspicion. His spiritual foresight was clear when he told his followers, You know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap… this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the Rocky Mountains.
Joseph also trained his followers to answer inquisitive strangers with caution and ambiguity. When asked where they were from, they replied, From the East. When asked their destination, they said, To the West. When pressed on their purpose, they simply said, To find the best land. By maintaining discretion, Joseph protected both their mission and their safety.
Joseph’s situational awareness reached new heights in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he built a thriving city and organized the Nauvoo Legion for defense. Recognizing the need for political alliances, he engaged with national leaders and even launched a presidential campaign in 1844 advocating for religious liberty.
His practical leadership extended into church governance as well. Through revelation, Joseph established a structured system of councils, quorums, and priesthood offices, balancing spiritual guidance with administrative efficiency—a structure that sustained the church after his martyrdom.
Joseph’s ability to discern individual motives was legendary. He could often sense whether a person was trustworthy or deceptive, enabling him to cultivate strong leaders like Brigham Young and to detect threats from dissenters within the church.
The events of Joseph Smith’s life illustrate that true discipleship requires both spiritual depth and worldly wisdom. He was a man who spoke with God, but who also recognized danger, gauged intentions, and acted with foresight. His desire to know his standing before God drove him to revelation, while his acute understanding of worldly circumstances helped preserve the sacred work entrusted to him.
In confronting mobs, shielding sacred records, or leading migrations across hostile frontiers, Joseph showed that a prophet must be more than a visionary—he must also be a guardian, a strategist, and a vigilant servant, protecting both the soul and the work entrusted to his care.
Through his example, we are taught a profound lesson—seek heaven with your whole heart, but never close your eyes to the realities of the world around you. Like Joseph, we can learn that spiritual sensitivity, coupled with practical awareness, is essential to fulfilling our divine purpose.
In Part Three, we’ll explore how situational awareness and spiritual sensitivity continues to be a relevant component in our own Church participation today.