Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 11 November 2009
Gift of Prophecy
"Who could deny that [Joseph Smith] was blessed with the gift of prophecy? 'Elder John A. Widtsoe, after making a study of the Doctrine and Covenants, concluded that it contains nearly eleven hundred statements about the future. If one extends beyond the Doctrine and Covenants to other scripture, to the personal promises the Prophet gave in blessings, to comments made in sermons, to his counsels in the midst of his own brethren and sometimes in private and sacred circumstances, and to predictions he wrote in letters, they would far exceed that eleven hundred' (Madsen, Joseph Smith the Prophet, 37).
"The Prophet Joseph Smith said, for example: 'Brethren, I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that 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 world' (quoted by Wilford Woodruff in The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff [1946], 38–39).
"Elder George A. Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recalled hearing the Prophet once say 'that we may build as many houses as we would, and we should never get one big enough to hold the Saints' (Deseret News Weekly, 27 June 1855, 123). How true that is as we see the growth of the Church today."
Topics: Revelation, Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 6 November 2009
God-Made Man
"Who could deny the fact that [Joseph Smith] received visions? He said of the Doctrine and Covenants, section 76, on the three degrees of glory: 'I could explain a hundred fold more than I ever have of the glories of the kingdom manifested to me in the vision, were I permitted, and were the people prepared to receive them' (History of the Church, 5:402).
"A hundred times more than the present length would be more than a full-length Doctrine and Covenants.
"Truman Madsen has written: 'The Prophet is a God-made man. It will never do to say, as his critics are beginning to say, "This man was a genius." So saying, they wish to reduce a most remarkable movement to its leader, its founder, and, as they believe, its origin. True, he was a genius, he was a brilliant man. It takes a brilliant man even to comprehend, let alone to write, as he comprehended and wrote, the glorious insights that came to him, even granting that they came from the Lord. He was a man of superb intelligence' (Joseph Smith the Prophet, 49).
"Yes, the Lord raised a spiritual giant to be receptive, to be trained, to be instructed, to be the first prophet of the Restoration."
Topics: Preparation, Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 2 November 2009
That's the Miracle of It
"When I was interviewed by Mike Wallace on the 60 Minutes program, he asked me if I actually believed [the story of the First Vision]. I replied, 'Yes, sir. That's the miracle of it.'
"That is the way I feel about it. Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred or it did not occur. If it did not, then this work is a fraud. If it did, then it is the most important and wonderful work under the heavens.
"Reflect upon it, my brethren and sisters. For centuries the heavens remained sealed. Good men and women, not a few—really great and wonderful people—tried to correct, strengthen, and improve their systems of worship and their body of doctrine. To them I pay honor and respect. How much better the world is because of their bold action. While I believe their work was inspired, it was not favored with the opening of the heavens, with the appearance of Deity.
"Then in 1820 came that glorious manifestation in answer to the prayer of a boy who had read in his family Bible the words of James: 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him' (James 1:5).
"Upon that unique and wonderful experience stands the validity of this Church."
Topics: First Vision, Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 28 October 2009
Very Weighty Responsibility
"When I study the scriptures and history, I find my interest being focused on the organization of events, the chemistry and human relationships of the individuals involved, and I marvel at the evidence of the Lord's hands in the events that occur.
"I have always been intrigued with the account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. I have tried to place myself many times in the position of the young Prophet Joseph Smith as this very weighty responsibility fell on his shoulders. At the time he received the plates for translation, he was still a new bridegroom, having been married just a few days over eight months. To complicate his life, his father-in-law had not been too happy about the marriage. In this situation the Prophet was entrusted with this very valuable record, which had not been given to a mortal for over 1,400 years. Just protecting the plates from the curious and from treasure seekers was a challenge in itself. Almost driven from his home near Palmyra, New York, he traveled to Harmony, Pennsylvania, his wife Emma's hometown, where he hoped he could begin the translation. Within three months of receiving the plates, he was finally settled in his own home, where he could work in some peace.
"Between December 1827 and February 1828, he spent considerable time becoming familiar with the language of the plates and learning how to translate."
Topics: Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon
Church History Gems - 14 October 2009
Real as the Sunrise
"The year was 1820, the season spring. The boy with questions walked into the grove of his father's farm. There, finding himself alone, he pleaded in prayer for that wisdom which James promised would be given liberally to those who ask of God in faith. (See James 1:5.) There, in circumstances which he has described in much detail, he beheld the Father and the Son, the great God of the universe and the risen Lord, both of whom spoke to him.
"This transcendent experience opened the marvelous work of restoration. It lifted the curtain on the long-promised dispensation of the fulness of times.
"For more than a century and a half, enemies, critics, and some would-be scholars have worn out their lives trying to disprove the validity of that vision. Of course they cannot understand it. The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. There had been nothing of comparable magnitude since the Son of God walked the earth in mortality. Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing. With it, we have everything.
"Much has been written, much will be written, in an effort to explain it away. The finite mind cannot comprehend it. But the testimony of the Holy Spirit, experienced by countless numbers of people all through the years since it happened, bears witness that it is true, that it happened as Joseph Smith said it happened, that it was as real as the sunrise over Palmyra, that it is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be 'fitly framed together.' "
Topics: Joseph Smith, First Vision
Church History Gems - 26 August 2009
Fine Horse
"A story is told of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who served as both a judge and the mayor of Nauvoo. He was confronted with the case of Anthony, a man of African descent and a former slave. Anthony was accused of a rather serious violation of the law. When Joseph confronted Anthony, he pleaded for mercy, indicating that he needed the money from his illicit activities to purchase the freedom of his child, who was still living in slavery. Joseph expressed his sympathy for Anthony's plight but insisted that the law must be observed and that a fine would have to be imposed.
"The next day, in a sincere effort to do good to his fellowman, Joseph gave Anthony a fine horse that he could use to buy the child's freedom."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 17 August 2009
Foundation upon Which Church Is Built
"Joseph Smith was not only a great man, but he was an inspired servant of the Lord, a prophet of God. His greatness consists in one thing—the truthfulness of his declaration that he saw the Father and the Son and that he responded to the reality of that divine revelation. . . .
"For the first time in eighteen hundred years, God had revealed himself as a personal being. Furthermore, the Father and the Son demonstrated the undeniable truth that they are separate and distinct personages. Indeed, the relationship of the Father and the Son was reaffirmed by the divine introduction to the boy prophet, 'This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him.' (JS—H 1:17.) Those who were baptized into the Church on the sixth of April, 1830, believed in the existence of a personal God; they believed that his reality and the reality of his Son, Jesus Christ, constitute the eternal foundation upon which this Church is built.
"Once we accept Christ as divine, it is easy to visualize his Father as being just as personal as he. Christ said, 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.' (John 14:9.) Faith in the existence of a divine and real and living personal God was the first element that contributed to the perpetuity of the Church of Jesus Christ in ancient times, and it is the everlasting foundation upon which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built today."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 24 July 2009
Fulness of Times
"This is the dispensation of the fulness of times in which God has set up His kingdom, which is to be an everlasting kingdom and have no end. Our generation, the generation of the fulness of times, has the benefit of all previous dispensations on which we can build our lives as we understand God's dealings with His children here on earth. We are living in the remarkable age of the dispensation of the fulness of times when the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fulness. . . .
"I testify to you in the name of the resurrected Redeemer that God has spoken from the heavens in this age of the world and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. Joseph Smith was a prophet of the most high and received the revelations of God for the benefit of mankind, and the keys of the dispensation of the fulness of times were delivered to him. God grant that we may gain our witness and testimony of the great work in which we are engaged as we prepare and plan for our future here in mortality is my humble prayer."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 8 July 2009
Most Exciting Miracle
"It was on 5 April 1829 that Oliver Cowdery arrived at the Smith home. Now you can see the hand of the Lord in preparing this work to go forward. Having been hired to teach school in the Manchester township in New York, Oliver was invited to board at the home of Joseph Smith Sr. Here he heard of the miraculous story of their son. He made his way to Harmony to meet the Prophet Joseph Smith, who recognized him as the assistant the Lord had promised for the translation. On Tuesday, 7 April, they commenced the work of translation in earnest.
"To me the most exciting miracle in the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon happened during the next 85 days. The complete book was translated from a then-unknown language into English. This is no common, simple book. Someone has figured out that it covers 1,000 years of colonization in which 54 chapters deal with war, 21 are historical, 55 are on visions and prophecies, 71 on doctrines and exhortations, 17 on missionary work, and 21 on the mission of the Savior, for a total of 239 chapters."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 22 June 2009
Foundation upon Which Church Is Built
"Joseph Smith was not only a great man, but he was an inspired servant of the Lord, a prophet of God. His greatness consists in one thing—the truthfulness of his declaration that he saw the Father and the Son and that he responded to the reality of that divine revelation. . . .
"For the first time in eighteen hundred years, God had revealed himself as a personal being. Furthermore, the Father and the Son demonstrated the undeniable truth that they are separate and distinct personages. Indeed, the relationship of the Father and the Son was reaffirmed by the divine introduction to the boy prophet, 'This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him.' (JS—H 1:17.) Those who were baptized into the Church on the sixth of April, 1830, believed in the existence of a personal God; they believed that his reality and the reality of his Son, Jesus Christ, constitute the eternal foundation upon which this Church is built.
"Once we accept Christ as divine, it is easy to visualize his Father as being just as personal as he. Christ said, 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.' (John 14:9.) Faith in the existence of a divine and real and living personal God was the first element that contributed to the perpetuity of the Church of Jesus Christ in ancient times, and it is the everlasting foundation upon which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built today."
Topics: God the Father, First Vision, Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 8 June 2009
He Was Full of Joy
"O, [Joseph Smith] was full of joy; he was full of gladness; he was full of love. . . . And while he could play with children and amuse himself at simple, innocent games among men, he also communed with the Father and the Son and spoke with angels, and they visited him, and conferred blessings and gifts and keys of power upon him."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Family Gems - 15 May 2009
Instruction in the Home
"The final desire of the Prophet Joseph Smith was to build a community of spiritual Saints. This begins in the home. The most important instruction our children will ever receive will be that which parents give to them in their own home, if parents diligently teach their children the way our Father in Heaven would like them to follow. One instruction our leaders have given us is to hold regular family home evenings where we can meet together weekly, learn gospel principles, and build family unity. Here we can counsel together, read the scriptures, pray together, and play together. Our greatest goal is to become an eternal family. We build a community of Saints one family at a time."
Topics: Joseph Smith, Spirituality
Church History Gems - 6 May 2009
Economic, Educational, and Spiritual
"Something about which I am most proud is how our forefathers, through their faith in God and their industry and perseverance, turned places that nobody wanted into beautiful cities. . . .
". . . Joseph and Hyrum . . . arrived in Quincy, Illinois, on the 22nd day of April of 1839. The Prophet immediately went to work to find a place to gather the Saints. He found a spot on the banks of the Mississippi River that looked like it had promise. He named the city Nauvoo, meaning 'beautiful,' but at that time it was anything but beautiful. It was a swampy peninsula that had not been drained. Out of the swamp-infested land rose a city that could truly be called beautiful.
"The first homes in Nauvoo were huts, tents, and a few abandoned buildings. Then the Saints started to build log cabins. As time and capital would allow, framed buildings were erected, and, still later, more substantial brick buildings were built.
"The Prophet had a design to build a community of Saints. He had three major objectives: first, economic; second, educational; and third, spiritual."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 1 April 2009
Preaching Appointment
"Although the Church began its first decade with only six members, 'unhallowed hands' made every effort to stop the spread of the gospel and destroy the Church in its infancy. Joseph Smith soon learned how mobs may combine. From Church history we read:
" 'Certain residents of Hiram, Ohio, vented their personal feelings with mob action directed against the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon. Stimulated by whiskey and hidden behind blackened faces, a gang of more than two dozen men dragged Joseph from his bed during the night of March 24, 1832. Choking him into submission, they stripped him naked, scratched his skin with their fingernails, tore his hair, then smeared his body with tar and feathers. A vial of nitric acid forced against his teeth splashed on his face; a front tooth was broken. Meanwhile other members of the mob dragged Rigdon by the heels from his home, bumping his head on the frozen ground, which left him delirious for days. The Prophet's friends spent the night removing the tar to help him keep a Sunday morning preaching appointment. He addressed a congregation that included Simonds Ryder, organizer of the mob' (James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992, p. 81)."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 30 March 2009
Prophet Had a Design
"When Joseph Smith was incarcerated in Liberty Jail, with no prospect of release, an extermination order had been issued against the Saints. This made it necessary for Brigham Young to organize the Saints to move them from Missouri. The migration from Missouri in February of 1839 caused many to complain that the Lord had forsaken His people. Some of the Church members questioned the wisdom of once again gathering the Saints together in one location.
"Crossing the Mississippi and pausing in some of the smaller communities along its banks proved to be a respite necessary for the membership to receive new direction from their leaders. The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote from Liberty Jail, encouraging the Saints not to scatter but to gather together, then build from centers of strength.
"In April of that year, Joseph and Hyrum and their fellow prisoners were allowed to escape from the jail in Missouri. They arrived in Quincy, Illinois, on the 22nd day of April of 1839. The Prophet immediately went to work to find a place to gather the Saints. He found a spot on the banks of the Mississippi River that looked like it had promise. He named the city Nauvoo, meaning 'beautiful,' but at that time it was anything but beautiful. It was a swampy peninsula that had not been drained. Out of the swamp-infested land rose a city that could truly be called beautiful.
"The first homes in Nauvoo were huts, tents, and a few abandoned buildings. Then the Saints started to build log cabins. As time and capital would allow, framed buildings were erected, and, still later, more substantial brick buildings were built.
"The Prophet had a design to build a community of Saints. He had three major objectives: first, economic; second, educational; and third, spiritual."
Topic:
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 27 March 2009
By Example
"I think one of the sweetest lessons taught by the Prophet [Joseph Smith], and yet one of the saddest, occurred close to the time of his death. He had seen in vision the Saints leaving Nauvoo and going to the Rocky Mountains. I imagine he felt as did Moses—anxious to lead his people away from their tormentors and into a promised land which the Lord his God had shown him. But it was not to be. Rather, he was required to leave his plan and vision of the Rocky Mountains and give himself up to face a court of supposed justice.
"These are his words: 'I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men' (D&C 135:4). That statement of the Prophet teaches us obedience to law and the importance of having a clear conscience toward God and toward our fellowmen. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught these principles—by example.
"There was to be one great final lesson before his mortal life ended. He was incarcerated in Carthage Jail with his brother Hyrum, with John Taylor, and with Willard Richards. The angry mob stormed the jail; they came up the stairway, blasphemous in their cursing, heavily armed, and began to fire at will. Hyrum was hit and died. John Taylor took several balls of fire within his bosom. The Prophet Joseph, with his pistol in hand, was attempting to defend his life and that of his brethren, and yet he could tell from the pounding on the door that this mob would storm that door and would kill John Taylor and Willard Richards in an attempt to kill him. And so his last great act here upon the earth was to leave the door and lead Willard Richards to safety, throw the gun on the floor, and go to the window, that they might see him, that the attention of this ruthless mob might be focused upon him rather than the others. Joseph Smith gave his life. Willard Richards was spared, and John Taylor recovered from his wounds. 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends' (John 15:13). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught us love—by example."
Topics: Love, Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 16 March 2009
We Honor the Prophet
“For his singular service as the prophet called to inaugurate this dispensation, Joseph Smith gave his life as a martyr at the young age of thirty-eight years. As we honor prophets of former days, so we honor the Prophet Joseph Smith. May I quote from an account written shortly after his martyrdom in 1844, penned by one of his contemporaries:
“ ‘In the short space of twenty years, he [the Prophet Joseph Smith] has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood’ (D&C 135:3).”
Topics: Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 9 March 2009
Epochal Event
“Our origins did not spring from protest of any kind; hence, we are not a Protestant denomination. Rather, we understand that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, established, as the Apostle Paul once declared, ‘upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone’ (Eph. 2:20).
“God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, literally appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in April 1820. While this may be relatively unknown in the annals of history, yet it constituted an epochal event in the history of humanity—a profound demonstration of the love of God for all of His children. Because this milestone is of such importance, I would like to quote excerpts from the Prophet’s written account:
“ ‘I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!’ (JS—H 1:17).”
Topics: Joseph Smith, Restoration, First Vision
Church History Gems - 4 March 2009
Joseph Smith’s Legacy of Revelation
“Are the heavens open? Does God reveal His will to prophets and apostles as in days of old? That they are and that He does is the unflinching declaration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to all the world. And in that declaration lies the significance of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, for nearly 200 years now.
“His life asked and answered the question ‘Do you believe God speaks to man?’ In all else that he accomplished in his brief 38 and a half years, Joseph left us above all else the resolute legacy of divine revelation—not a single, isolated revelation without evidence or consequence, and not ‘a mild sort of inspiration seeping into the minds of all good people’ everywhere, but specific, documented, ongoing directions from God. As a good friend and faithful LDS scholar has succinctly put it, ‘At a time when the origins of Christianity were under assault by the forces of Enlightenment rationality, Joseph Smith [unequivocally and singlehandedly] returned modern Christianity to its origins in revelation’ (see Richard L. Bushman’s essay “A Joseph Smith for the Twenty-First Century” in Believing History [2004]).”
Topics: Revelation, Joseph Smith
Church History Gems - 11 February 2009
It Will Fill the World
"I love the experience Wilford Woodruff tells of the Prophet's message to the elders who met in preparation for the 1834 Zion's Camp march:
" 'On Sunday night the Prophet called on all who held the Priesthood to gather into the little log school house they had there. It was a small house, perhaps 14 feet square. But it held the whole of the Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were then in the town of Kirtland, and who had gathered together to go off in Zion's Camp. That was the first time I ever saw Oliver Cowdery, or heard him speak; the first time I ever saw Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, and the two Pratts, and Orson Hyde and many others. There were no Apostles in the Church then except Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. When we got together the Prophet called upon the Elders of Israel with him to bear testimony of this work. Those that I have named spoke, and a good many that I have not named, bore their testimonies. When they got through the Prophet said, "Brethren I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You don't comprehend it." I was rather surprised. He said "it is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world" ' (in Conference Report, Apr. 1898, p. 57)."
Topics: Joseph Smith
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