"I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; and also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets—the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—but that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world."
When Paul, prize student of eminent Pharisaic doctor Gamaliel, Roman citizen, scholar of Greek philosophy, and Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ penned the embedded quote on the "weak things" of the world to the Corinthians who were struggling with the treatment of their belief in Christ and His resurrection, he was including himself as one of the weak. As prominent as his education and status may otherwise have been, the prevailing Greek philosophy devaluing the body, and the prevailing Jewish philosophy denying that the Messiah would fulfill the Law of Moses meant that the Gospel Paul taught had an uphill battle for reception. And yet, the humble, the weak things of the world, all had access to the truth, to covenant belonging, and to the Savior's strength.
Moroni also, the last Book of Mormon prophet, was a high commander in his nation's armies, and son of its most prominent general. And yet, as the task of relaying the message of the entire destruction of two separate civilizations fell to him to inscribe in a condensed and specialized script that must have felt alien to him by comparison with his speaking skill, he too looked to the Lord for strength, recognizing that his conditions made him weak.
Taking weakness to the Lord is the common theme here: yoking with Him taps into light and power in accessible by any other means.
And this is the pattern Joseph Smith applied. With his education arrested at about the 2nd grade, his family impoverished and itinerant, and yet his desires to do the right thing pure, he experimented upon the words of James 1:5 to "ask of God" for the wisdom he lacked of which of his local and competing churches he should join. And the answer he received broke the great dam of apostasy the world had been stewing in for centuries, and began the process of restoring prophets, authorities, and revelations to the earth.
What strikes me in this passage is partly the tone of the lead-up to it. The previous 16 verses are almost entirely in a "fire and brimstone" register, warning the inhabitants of the earth of dire consequences for sin and for failure to hearken to the Lord's voice as given through His chosen vessels.
And then it's how the tone morphs into encouragement, to impetus to seek power with Him. I think the turning point is the phrase "that every man might speak in the name of God."
There is a division because of the differing attitudes and choices of our brothers and sisters in the world--those who think believers are weak, and those who have the "weakness" to accept the callings of the Lord. But the club is utterly inclusive. Everyone can receive the authority to speak in the name of God, have a personal connection with Him, be a conduit for His message of Good News to all people. He wants us all as His instruments, and encourages all to become His mouthpieces.
Prophets are special, but not because they have special access. We can all receive His authority and avoid what calamities He judges fit for the world that rejects truth.
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