'He left a fame, name that cannot be slain'
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REXBURG, Idaho — Elder Jack H. Goaslind, an emeritus General Authority, painted a verbal picture of historic Church events for the students and faculty of BYU-Idaho this summer using images and phrases such as "in late May, the Mississippi River runs swift" and "mid-day sunlight."
Referring to Carthage, Ill., he said, "It was here on June 27, 1844, 161 years ago that Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration, and Hyrum Smith, Patriarch of the Church, were martyred as they gave their individual lives for the sake of their testimony of Jesus Christ."
Both the Savior and the Prophet Joseph Smith gave their lives in a divine cause, he said during a campus devotional. He then quoted John Taylor saying, "He left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great."
Elder Goaslind taught that the life of Joseph Smith was patterned after the life of Jesus Christ. He continued the paralleling of the lives of Christ and Joseph by the "principle of love." He talked about a few stories of the Prophet Joseph Smith in which the principle of love was apparent, calling the largeness of his soul legendary.
Elder Goaslind told students they, too, could make the decision to show love in a certain spirit.
"You could, at this moment, think of someone, picture a face, think of a name and connect it with some act of service you could perform," he said. "If you try this, with real intent, you will be inspired. You will know what to do. Of course, then you must do it. You will become a loving person after the pattern of the Savior and Joseph Smith."
