Indulge me if you will. Name this person:

His father and grandfather were holy and respected men.
He was a shepherd.
He spoke the truth and offended many.
He experienced an inspired dream regarding the wayward children of Israel.
He experienced inspired dreams concerning the gathering of Israel.
As a teen, he was enslaved and taken to a foreign country.
He was enslaved in a land where the God of Israel was unknown.
He endured insults in patience and suffered chains for the sake of truth.
As a prisoner, he prayed frequently and earned the trust of his captors.
He was imprisoned unjustly.
While enslaved and in prison, he came to know the Lord.
As a prisoner, the Lord protected him but did not free him.
At the point of death, pagans implored him to call upon the Lord. He does, and they are miraculously delivered, but he remained a prisoner.
He looked upon his slavery as a preparatory time to bless the lives and land of his captors.
At the time of the Lord’s intervention, Satan tested him to the point of being overcome. God appeared and delivered him as the glory of the Sun.
In speaking to his brothers, his speech progressed from harsh to healing words.
He was brought low, and the Lord enabled him to ascend to heights of great authority, which he used to heal and help.
He was a mediator between the Lord and his people.
He offered people bread, and because of his intervention, wrote, “from this day on, they had plenty of food.”
When in power, he possessed the ability to leave the land of his captivity but refused so he could continue the work of the Lord in the land of his former captors.
He recognized the hand of the Lord in blessing others through his ministry.
When reunited with his parents, he experienced a revelation of the Lord for which he praised God.
He viewed the work of God through him as a work of restoration.

Those familiar with the Bible would say the individual described above is Joseph, a son of Israel, who was sold into Egypt. You would be correct, but those descriptions above are drawn from St. Patrick’s Confessio.[1] Further still, Genesis 50 (notably the Joseph Smith Translation) and Lehi’s counsel to his son Joseph in 2 Nephi 3 draw deliberate comparisons between the lives and missions of Joseph of Egypt and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Indeed, with so many stunning similarities and sweeping themes, God is clearly on the move in restoring his people from their lost and scattered state. So it is in our time for we are “consigned that these are [our] days” (Helaman 7:9).

Each year, on March 17, all the traditional St. Patrick’s Day accouterments of leprechauns, green clothing, shamrocks, and parades come rolling out. Beer sales spike as if it was a second Superbowl. American elementary schools experience an upsurge in bruises from students pinching all who made the cataclysmic mistake of not wearing green. In our house, the children would awaken to find a trail of green shamrocks left by leprechauns leading them to a magical chest of goodies and sweets. By the end of the day, many have bruised noses from carpet burns made during our green jellybean races done with our noses. So, while beer sales surge in the U.S. and Ireland, Neosporin and ointment sales spike in our house.

The life of Saint Patrick of Ireland is shrouded in mystery. Much of what Western culture ascribes to him is more fiction than fact. For example, the tradition of St. Patrick ridding Ireland of snakes comes from the 12^th century, hundreds of years removed. The alleged shamrock illustration of the trinity only dates to 1727, over a thousand years later from the traditional date of Patrick’s death! And what’s with all the green shirts, ties, and hats which make their appearance on March 17? It is a political statement stemming from the Irish rebellion of 1641 asserting Irish independence. Truly, as Mark Twain allegedly said, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” But to keep in the spirit of the theme, the Irish have this saying, “Sin mo scéal díobh, agus má tá bréag ann, fá é, mar ní mise a chum ná a cheap” which is to say, “That’s my story and if there’s a lie there, so be it, for it wasn’t me that composed it.”

We have only two primary sources for the life of Saint Patrick. The first, his Confessio, is something of a spiritual autobiography in the tradition of praise for the wondrous works of God made manifest in and through his life. The second is his Letter to Coroticus, which is a fiery denunciation of British mistreatment of the Irish Christians. Even with these two primary sources, specific details of St. Patrick are difficult to deduce. But there is enough in the Confessio that, to one familiar with the story of Joseph of Egypt, causes us to wonder at the parallels. Their lives are dense with destiny, and so it is to those walking the covenant path.

So What?

When we lose ourselves in the service of God, we find ourselves (see Luke 9:24; Mosiah 2:17). When we exercise faith in the Lord’s plan and timing, we begin to see the handwriting of the Lord in the patterns and on the parchment of our lives. We recognize that the Lord speaks “by the prophets, and . . . multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets” (Hosea 12:10). We also recognize that while there are those possessing priesthood keys to direct the work of the Lord, covenant-keeping disciples are also called and commissioned to be kings and queens, priests and priestesses in the image of the Prince of Peace and King Immanuel.[2] We are to be the “similitudes,” as Hosea wrote, whereby the Lord communicates his mind and will to scattered Israel. These prophetic types and shadows are surely seen in the lives of scriptural saints, but when we give our lives in covenantal service to the Lord—like Joseph of Egypt, Saint Patrick, and Joseph Smith—we become types and shadows of the Lord. We become the image of God we were created to be.

Creation implies intention. In the words of Dante, “function precedes essence.” God, our Eternal Father, organized, formed, and created us “to grow up” in him and “receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:15). He organized and formed us to be the temple of the Holy Ghost (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth. These personages … are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the Witness or Testator.”[3] Our Father and grand Creator instituted a plan whereby we can progress through the atonement of Jesus Christ and sanctification of the Spirit. He created us in his image to be his image to the world.[4]

Shortly before his death, the Prophet raised the stakes significantly on the world when he proclaimed, “There are but a very few beings in the world who understand rightly the character of God. . . If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves. . . . When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, He begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. . . . Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests [and queens and priestesses] to God, … by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation.”[5] Joseph’s prophetic words seem to be more relevant now than ever before.

Today, we live in a world unusually obsessed with “self.” It has reached cult-like proportions. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf observed, “Past generations had their struggle with variations of egotism and narcissism, but I think today we are giving them serious competition. Is it any coincidence that the Oxford Dictionary recently proclaimed “selfie” as the word of the year?”[6] Accordingly, what C. S. Lewis called “the poison of subjectivism”[7] is now the object of worship. Presently, the current zeitgeist is to “identify” realities about oneself in squishy and subjective terms. The resultant cacophony is legislation against others who do not share their fantasies. No wonder “post-truth” was the Oxford Word of the Year for 2016.[8]

The lives of Joseph of Egypt, Saint Patrick of Ireland, and the Prophet Joseph Smith echo the life of the One who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). They experienced the betrayal of friends, suffering of loneliness, and bore His cross (see Luke 14:7). They endured bitterness and anger but discovered the “peace” that one apostle testified can be ours when we “strive to lay aside these feelings and turn to the Lord so He can free us from this state of mind and help us to find peace.”[9] Such is the way of the Lord. Such is the way of his disciples.

Messiah’s promise is to “give unto [us] beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3). It can seem daunting and even bleak. It certainly isn’t for the weak of heart. “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting,” Chesterton wrote, “it has been found difficult and left untried.^[10] President Nelson’s oft-repeated counsel rings with redemptive resonance: “the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”[11]

Saint Patrick reflected upon his life and concluded, “Oh that you would imitate greater things, and do more powerful things! This will be my glory, since a wise son is the glory of his father!”[12] Joseph of Egypt’s foresight caused him to testify to his brothers, “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. . . . So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 45:5, 8). Truly, these two found the Lord’s way difficult, but they certainly did not leave it untried.

Perhaps it is fitting most of all to conclude with the words of Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration, bears the name of Joseph which means, increaser, gatherer, or, one who restores for God. Joseph wrote while in hiding, “Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:22). May we be the consummate type, shadow, and image of God in these days where the Lord is gathering Israel preparatory to his glorious return. Like Joseph of Egypt, Saint Patrick, and Joseph Smith, may we hear and sing the resplendent and rhapsodic song of redeeming love.

[1] Excellent English translations are available in print and online. For an accessible and exceptional translation, see https://www.confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#.

[2] See Numbers 11:25-30; Doctrine and Covenants 128:22; Revelation 19:10.

[3] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2011], 36–44.

[4] See Genesis 1:26-27; Moses 2:26-27; Abraham 4:26-27.

[5] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2011], 39–40, 210, 221.

[6] “Are You Sleeping through the Restoration?” General Conference, April 2014.

[7] “The Poison of Subjectivism,” in Christian Reflections, ed. Walter Hooper, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 73.

[8] https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2016/, accessed January 14, 2022.

[9] Elder Ulisses Soares, “Take Up Our Cross,” General Conference, October 2019.

[10] G. K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World, Part I, Chapter 5, “The Unfinished Temple”; https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1717/1717-h/1717-h.htm, accessed May 27, 2021.

[11] “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” General Conference, October 2016. This statement was recently repeated multiple times in General Conference by a wide array of speakers.

[12] Confessio, paragraph 47.