I am grateful for the honor and the privilege
to participate with you in this devotional
as we commence this wonderful week of education.
I am particularly grateful for the theme of
this conference: The Prophet Joseph Smith:
“Whom I Did Call upon . . . to Bring Forth
My Work."
My hope and prayers would be that from my
message, above all else, you will understand
that I have a great love for the Prophet and
an unwavering testimony of his divine calling
and mission.
A recent article from the Washington Post
stated:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
is the fastest-growing denomination in the
United States and ranks No. 4 among the country’s
churches, according to membership figures
compiled by the National Council of Churches.
Imagine the Church’s humble beginnings of
only six members just some 175 years ago—and
now it is reportedly the fourth-largest Christian
church in the United States, and growing.
While the accuracy of the study from the National
Council of Churches may be questioned, there
remains an interest as to why our Church has
such strong growth in both membership and
activity while other churches reportedly are
declining in both.
When presented this question by those not
of our faith, I have often answered this question
thusly: Our Church grows rapidly because of
our strong emphasis on the family.
We believe in the eternal nature of the family—that
we can live together after death, eternally,
as a family.
Or I might explain that one of the reasons
our Church grows so rapidly is that we can
tell you the purpose of your life on this
earth.
We can tell you why you are here; why you
experience pain, sadness, tragedy, and suffering;
and how you can find peace out of your trials
and tribulations.
And we can tell you what you might expect
after death.
I might answer the question by explaining
that we have kept the doctrines of Jesus Christ
pure.
They are the same as when Jesus taught them
when He was upon the earth.
We have not altered the doctrines to fit the
popular mores of the world.
I might explain our strong youth programs
or give other obvious and popular answers.
But these are not the complete answers.
They only lead into the real answer.
The reason this Church grows so rapidly is
this: A young boy of only 14 years of age
went into a grove of trees to petition his
God in a simple matter of prayer.
And in his innocence, and to his great surprise,
the unimaginable happened.
The heavens opened, God and Christ appeared,
angels descended, and the true gospel of Jesus
Christ, with its authority, doctrine, and
ordinances, was restored to the earth in its
simplicity and its purity.
And because of a 14-year-old boy, we can tell
you about eternal families, the purpose of
life, and other doctrines as revealed by God.
And any honest, seeking person can have a
personal revelation from God about the truthfulness
of this event.
And that is why this Church grows so rapidly.
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary explains
that to foreordain means “appoint in advance."
In the book of Abraham, the Lord explained
that His Son, Jesus Christ, was appointed
before the world began.
To the prophet Jeremiah the Lord explained,
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew
thee; and before thou camest forth out of
the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained
thee a prophet unto the nations."
Lehi explained to his son Joseph that the
Joseph who was sold into Egypt prophesied
of yet another Joseph who would bring salvation
to his people:
"But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit
of thy loins.
. . . And his name shall be called after me; and
it shall be after the name of his father.
And he shall be like unto me; for the thing,
which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand,
by the power of the Lord shall bring my people
unto salvation."
And so it was on December 23, 1805, after
1,800 years of confusion and spiritual darkness,
Lehi’s prophecy began to unfold with the
birth of Joseph Smith, the son of Joseph Smith, Sr.
Like so many of the great ones appointed before
the foundation of the world, Joseph Smith
began the fulfillment of his divine appointment.
Wilford Woodruff testified:
Brigham Young stated:
With this background I would like you to think
of two prophecies received in the infancy
of the Restoration.
First, in the prophecy given by the angel
Moroni on September 21, 1823, Joseph was advised
by Moroni that his name “should be had for
good and evil among all nations."
The second prophecy comes from the Doctrine
and Covenants as recorded in October 1831.
This prophecy states: “From thence shall
the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the
earth, as the stone which is cut out of the
mountain without hands shall roll forth, until
it has filled the whole earth."
Imagine such incredible prophecies coming
from an uneducated, obscure boy from an obscure
village where he was known only to family,
close friends, and the Lord.
What boldness and impertinence to declare
the unthinkable before the whole world!
As Joseph Smith walked out of the Sacred Grove
declaring a marvelous revelation, his name
was reviled.
He has indeed been called a charlatan, uneducated,
an egomaniac, and every other scornful name
that can be expressed.
And yet to those who knew him best through
personal acquaintance or personal study or
personal revelation, he is revered as one
of the Lord’s most beloved and choice servants.
Oliver Cowdery stated: “To sit under the
sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration
of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of
this bosom!”
While Joseph and his companions were confined
to jail in Richmond, Missouri, and subjected
to the most vile language and treatment, Joseph
rebuked his tormentors.
Joseph’s reproof caused Elder Parley P.
Pratt to recount: “Dignity and majesty have
I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at
midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village
of Missouri."
Brigham Young testified: “Joseph Smith lived
and died a prophet.
. . . He lived a good man, and died a good
man, and he was as good a man as ever lived."
Later, on October 6, 1855, Brigham Young declared,
“I feel like shouting hallelujah, all the
time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph
Smith."
Even respected, learned contemporaries saw
the potential of the movement restored by
the Prophet.
Two years before the Martyrdom of Joseph,
the New York Herald printed:
Joseph Smith is undoubtedly one of the greatest
characters of the age.
He indicates as much talent, originality and
moral courage as Mahomet . . . or any of the
great spirits that have hitherto produced
the revolutions of past ages.
. . . Joseph Smith is creating a spiritual
system, combined also with morals and industry,
that may change the destiny of the race.
In 1844, Josiah Quincy, the distinguished
American judge and congressman, declared:
It is by no means improbable that some future
textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn,
will contain a question something like this:
What historical American of the nineteenth
century has exerted the most powerful influence
upon the destinies of his countrymen?
And it is by no means impossible that the
answer to that interrogatory may be thus written:
Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet.
And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems
to most men now living, may be an obvious
commonplace to their descendants.
Even as early as 1851, only seven years after
the Prophet’s Martyrdom, his name reached
Europe.
The London Morning Chronicle reported:
It can not be denied that he [Joseph Smith]
was one of the most extraordinary persons
of his time, a man of rude genius, who accomplished
a much greater work than he knew; and whose
name, whatever he may have been whilst living,
will take its place among the notabilities
of the world.
And the list goes on.
Truly the bold prophecy of an uneducated,
unknown boy has and continues to be fulfilled.
There were no religious scholars to teach
Joseph the true doctrines and principles of
the gospel.
The most prestigious seminaries, the most
renowned scholars had nothing to teach him.
Thankfully Joseph did not need to rely upon
the learning and traditions of man.
We read in the Book of Mormon:
him.
In answering Zeezrom as to how he knew the
things of God, Amulek responded:
Mormon explained in his final words to his
son Moroni that:
And so we see that the administration of angels
was not a new privilege to those in the service
of the Lord.
As in times of old, the heavens were opened
to Joseph and angels descended.
The veil was pierced, heaven and earth were
brought together, and angels ministered.
Thus, line upon line, precept upon precept,
Joseph was taught by the ministering of angels.
Joseph’s teaching from on high began in
the secluded classroom of a grove of trees
on that historic day in 1820 when the Father
declared: “This is My Beloved Son.
Hear Him!”
As Joseph subsequently testified, “I had
actually seen a light, and in the midst of
that light I saw two Personages, and they
did in reality speak to me."
With this vision of the Father and the Son,
Joseph already knew more about the personality
and attributes of God than any man on earth.
Joseph understood the personal nature of the
Godhead and Their separateness—and that
he was literally created in Their image and
likeness.
Joseph at 14 was already a religious scholar—unmatched
by any.
And with that vision the Restoration was started
and the persecutions began.
The stone rolled forward and Joseph’s name
began to be known for good and evil.
Joseph endured well this all-too-common life
of a prophet.
We read in the fifth chapter of Acts that
the early Apostles were taken before a council
of Jewish high priests and tried for their
lives for preaching Jesus Christ.
After the Apostles had been beaten, judged
for their lives, and threatened with death
if they ever again preached Jesus Christ,
we read:
And they [the Apostles] departed from the
presence of the council, rejoicing that they
were counted worthy to suffer shame for his
name.
And daily in the temple, and in every house,
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus
Christ.
And so it was with Joseph.
As he recounted his marvelous vision, in his
wonderment he stated:
How very strange it was that an obscure boy,
of a little over fourteen years of age, and
one, too, who was doomed to the necessity
of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily
labor, should be thought a character of sufficient
importance to attract the attention of the
great ones of the most popular sects of the
day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit
of the most bitter persecution and reviling.
. . . I had actually seen a light, and in
the midst of that light I saw two Personages,
and they did in reality speak to me; and though
I was hated and persecuted for saying that
I had seen a vision, yet it was true.
. . . For I had seen a vision; I knew it,
and I knew that God knew it, and I could not
deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I
knew that by so doing I would offend God,
and come under condemnation.
And so, like the Apostles of old, Joseph Smith
rejoiced in suffering shame for Jesus Christ,
“and daily in the temple, and in every house,
[he] ceased not to teach and preach Jesus
Christ.”
While the intensity and frequency of the persecutions
picked up, it did not slow the work.
The ministering of angels was proliferating,
and the circle of participants was expanding.
In summary, the Father and Son appeared to
Joseph.
The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph in his
bedroom in 1823.
And then he appeared again, and then again.
And then he appeared to Joseph the next day
at the fence in the orchard.
The angel Moroni appeared at the site of the
plates on the Hill Cumorah.
Then one year later he appeared again, and
then again, and then again.
John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood
on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery, restoring the Melchizedek
Priesthood.
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw the Father
and the Son in Hiram, Ohio.
A heavenly messenger appeared to Joseph Smith
to instruct him regarding the use of the bread
and water for the sacrament.
Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to Joseph
and Oliver Cowdery and committed the keys
of “the gathering of Israel.”
Moroni appeared to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer,
and Martin Harris, testifying to the authenticity
of the Book of Mormon.
The plates, as evidence of the administration
of an angelic work, were shown to eight additional
witnesses: Christian Whitmer; Jacob Whitmer;
Peter Whitmer, Jr.; John Whitmer; Hiram Page;
Joseph Smith, Sr.; Hyrum Smith; and Samuel
H. Smith.
In addition, David Whitmer’s mother was
privileged to see the plates, and Emma had
the opportunity to handle the plates on many
occasions.
The administration of angels was not an isolated
or infrequent event given to a very narrow
group of participants.
This was not a one-man show.
It was a congregation of respectable participants,
both heavenly and earthly.
Indeed, the floodgates of heaven were opened.
Joseph not only lived like a prophet, but
he revealed as prophets reveal.
As a result of these many visitations from
heavenly messengers, Joseph revealed, among
other things:
Joseph’s teachings were new, inspiring,
and, in the truest sense, revelatory.
Among the many original teachings were the
following:
“The glory of God is intelligence” and
whatever intelligence a man “attain[s] unto
in this life . . . will rise with [him] in
the resurrection."
The priesthood is the power and authority
of God.
It is the power by which the kingdom is organized
and governed and a power that all worthy men
may hold.
But Joseph, the revelator, warned against
the abuse of such power in section 121 of
the Doctrine and Covenants:
We have learned by sad experience that it
is the nature and disposition of almost all
men, as soon as they get a little authority,
as they suppose, they will immediately begin
to exercise unrighteous dominion.
Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained
by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion,
by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness,
and love unfeigned.
Joseph taught the continuity and eternal nature of life,
that all men are children of righteous God.
We are literally the spiritual sons and daughters
of God.
And this gives new meaning to the sacred words,
“Our Father, which art in heaven.”
He taught tolerance for all men of every
race, religion, and station in life: “And
he denieth none that come unto him, black
and white, bond and free, male and female;
and he remembereth the heathen; and all are
alike unto God."
In the midst of his terrible persecutions,
Joseph declared:
If it has been demonstrated that I have been
willing to die for a “Mormon,” I am bold
to declare before Heaven that I am just as
ready to die in defending the rights of a
Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of
any other denomination.
We are taught the majesty of the Atonement—that
the Atonement was infinite and eternal in
nature.
Joseph taught that in the Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus not only bore our sins but He assumed
our personal suffering, pains, infirmities,
trials, and tragedies.
And through His great sacrifice we can have
hope, and that hope can bring peace to all
who will come unto Christ.
But history would indicate that the greater
the manifestation from heaven and the more
glorious the teachings, the more active and
determined Satan will be.
Thus while angels were befriending the Prophet,
the floodgates of hell continued to widen
and the devil’s angels continued their attempts
at destruction.
Perhaps the most difficult times were when
a beloved associate turned against Joseph.
Yet some closest to him returned and remained
valiant in their testimonies.
Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery were rebaptized.
David Whitmer expressed a desire to return
but was never able to rejoin the Saints.
And some who once spoke evil of the Prophet
later trumpeted his name for good throughout
the world.
William W. Phelps, a close friend of the Prophet
who later turned against him, was the cause
of much persecution.
But, like the prodigal son, he asked for forgiveness
and was welcomed back with a letter from the
Prophet:
Believing your confession to be real, and
your repentance genuine, I shall be happy
once again to give you the right hand of fellowship,
and rejoice over the returning prodigal.
. . . Come on, dear brother, since the war is past.
For friends at first, are friends again at
last.”
Among the many hymns in our hymnbook that
were written by William W. Phelps is the stirring
song with these words:
Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation,
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.
What a profound prophecy sung throughout the
world!
Joseph was a father and a husband, and he
loved his wife and children dearly.
Emma was indeed his faithful companion in
the Restoration.
She was unwavering in her devotion to the
Prophet and her commitment to the work.
She was there assisting in the translation
of the Book of Mormon.
She was there as her beloved husband was torn
from her bosom and family time and again.
She was there to cleanse his wounds, remove
the tar, and comfort his soul.
And she was there to lay his body in a hidden,
unmarked grave.
And Joseph loved her like we love our spouses,
and he loved his children like we love our
children.
And for that reason, perhaps no greater suffering
took place than that of being torn away time
and again from his loving family to be falsely
imprisoned.
Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous
extermination order on October 27, 1838:
Shortly thereafter, Joseph, Hyrum, Amasa Lyman,
Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, Lyman Wight,
and George W. Robinson found themselves chained
together in an old log house in Richmond,
Missouri, under heavy guard.
The charges were treason, murder, arson, burglary,
larceny, and stealing.
The human emotion emerging from these heart-wrenching
separations from his family are perhaps best
illustrated by his personal letters.
On November 12, 1838, he wrote his beloved
Emma:
My Dear Emma,
We are prisoners in chains, and under strong
guards, for Christ’s sake and for no other
cause.
. . . I received your letter, which I read
over and over again; it was a sweet morsel
to me.
Oh, God grant that I may have the privilege
of seeing once more my lovely family in the
enjoyment of the sweets of liberty and social
life.
To press them to my bosom and kiss their lovely
cheeks would fill my heart with unspeakable
gratitude.
On December 1, approximately three weeks later,
the prisoners were taken to the hostile dungeon
known as Liberty Jail to suffer a cold, damp
winter.
On March 21, 1839, Joseph wrote:
Affectionate Wife,
My dear Emma, I very well know your toils
and sympathize with you.
If God will spare my life once more to have
the privilege of taking care of you, I will
ease your care and endeavor to comfort your
heart.
Again, on April 4, 1839:
Dear and Affectionate Wife,
Thursday night I set down just as the sun
is going down, as we peek through the grates
of this lonesome prison to write to you that
I may make known to you my situation.
It is, I believe, now about five months and
six days since I have been under the grimace
of a guard night and day, and within the walls,
grates, and screeking iron doors of a lonesome,
dark, dirty prison.
With emotions known only to God do I write
this letter.
The contemplations of the mind under these
circumstances defies the pen, or tongue, or
angels, to describe, or paint to the human
being who never experienced what we experience.
. . . My dear Emma, I think of you and the
children continually.
. . . And as to yourself, if you want to know
how much I want to see you, examine your feelings,
. . . I would gladly walk from here to you
barefoot, and bareheaded, and half naked to
see you and think it great pleasure and never
count it toil.
And here is Joseph’s letter to God on March
20, 1839:
And then comes God’s answering letter to
Joseph:
It was approximately three years later, amidst
continued persecution, that the Prophet declared
in the famous Wentworth letter:
No unhallowed hand can stop the work from
progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may
combine, armies may assemble, calumny may
defame, but the truth of God will go forth
boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has
penetrated every continent, visited every
clime, swept every country, and sounded in
every ear, till the purposes of God shall
be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall
say the work is done.
Then, approximately two years later, on June
23, 1844, Joseph Smith turned himself in to
the militia under the control and promised
protection of Governor Ford.
Joseph’s statement to his friends was: “If
my life is of no value to my friends it is
of none to myself."
As he rode out of Nauvoo, the Prophet added,
“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter."
Here is Joseph’s last letter to Emma, started
one day before his Martyrdom and dated June
27, 1844:
Dear Emma:
I am very much resigned to my lot, knowing
I am justified and have done the best that
could be done.
Give my love to the children and all my friends,
Mr. Brower, and all who inquire after me.
And as for treason, I know that I have not
committed any, and they cannot prove one appearance
of anything of the kind.
So you need not have any fears that any harm
can happen to us on that score.
May God bless you all, amen.
Joseph Smith lived the life of a prophet.
He suffered the life of a prophet.
He died the death of a prophet.
Out of persecution, suffering, and the shedding
of innocent blood, the stone carved out of
a mountain without hands rolls forward.
The words of John Taylor continue to ring
with increasing power and clarity: “The
Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine
and Covenants of the church, cost the best
blood of the nineteenth century to bring them
forth for the salvation of a ruined world."
Through trial and affliction Joseph brought
together all the elements of the gospel, fitted
together like a beautiful puzzle.
The true nature of God has been restored.
The priesthood is upon the earth.
Baptisms can be performed with authority.
Temple covenants bind families together forever.
The Atonement and the Resurrection are meaningful
events affecting the lives of millions.
And living prophets today bring divine light
to a troubled world.
Without the Prophet Joseph Smith, with all
his trials, sufferings, and even death:
The priesthood of God could not be found upon
the earth.
Temple ordinances and covenants would not
be found; hope would be replaced with loneliness,
confusion, and despair.
The ordinances of baptism, confirmation, and
endowment would have no efficacy.
The concept of God would remain the great
mystery of an impersonal force that cannot
be explained or understood.
The knowledge and understanding of the plan
of salvation and the Atonement of Christ would
be replaced with ignorance and superstition.
The prophets would indeed be dead, and revelation
would be a thing of the past.
Without the Prophet Joseph Smith, spiritual
darkness would continue to reign and hope
would continue to wane.
The Lord promised, “If thou endure it well,
God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph
over all thy foes."
In his 1998 Christmas devotional, President
Gordon B. Hinckley declared:
Joseph declared the Book of Mormon to be the
keystone of our religion.
Truly it has brought us the fullness of the
everlasting gospel with clarity and meaning.
I declare Joseph the Prophet to be the keystone
of my testimony of the restored gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Because of my testimony of Joseph Smith, I
know that God and Christ are personal Beings
in whose image I am created.
Because of my testimony of Joseph Smith, I
know that I am indeed a child of God with
a spark of divinity that surpasses even my
most lofty hopes and expectations.
Because of my testimony of Joseph Smith, I
know that out of trials and tribulations can
emerge a triumphant and victorious self.
Because of my testimony of Joseph Smith, I
know that the divine authority of God reigns
upon the earth.
Because of my testimony of Joseph Smith, I
know that I am privileged to receive ordinances
and covenants that, if lived, will bring everlasting
glory to me and my family with our Father
in Heaven.
Because of my testimony of Joseph Smith, I
know who I am and what I can become.
And, most important, because of my testimony
of Joseph Smith, I have a more complete understanding
of the magnitude of Christ’s Atonement and
a more sacred relationship with my Lord.
I love the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I love him for what he taught.
I love him for what he restored.
I love him for what he endured.
I love him for how he lived.
And so, in conclusion, we return to where
we started: two prophecies.
Because of what he taught, because of what
he restored, because of what he endured, and
because of what he lived, Joseph’s name
should be known for “good and evil . . . among
all nations."
And second, “From thence shall the gospel
roll forth unto the ends of the earth."
The persecution, the ridicule, and the attacks
remain even today.
You just have to witness the demonstrations
during general conferences or the picketing
at any temple open house.
However, to the thinking and honest, the question
of Joseph Smith has moved from ridiculing
him and trying to disprove him to wonderment
and awe.
Some 150 years ago Joseph traveled to Washington,
D.C., to ask for redress from President Martin
Van Buren for the suffering of the Saints.
Joseph was advised that while his cause was
just, the president could do nothing for him.
Now just this last May, a symposium held by
noted historians in the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C., paid tribute to the life
and works of Joseph Smith.
In June a similar symposium was held in New
South Wales, Australia, honoring the Prophet
Joseph Smith.
There was no criticizing, defaming of his
name, or attacking the Prophet.
Rather, these learned scholars stand in awe
and wonderment at his influence and accomplishments.
Oh, the good his name invokes throughout the
world today!
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them."
Closer to our own day Yale professor Harold Bloom
declared:
I also do not find it possible to doubt
that Joseph Smith was an authentic prophet.
Where in all of American history can we find
his match?
Nothing else in all of American history strikes me as . . . equal to . . . Joseph Smith
. . . and the men and women who were [his] followers and friends.
. . . Joseph Smith did not excel as a writer
or as a theologian, let alone as psychologist
and philosopher.
But he was an authentic religious genius.
As to the gospel rolling forth to the ends
of the earth, in 1834 a priesthood meeting
was held in Kirtland, Ohio.
All of the priesthood in Kirtland met in a
small log building approximately 14 feet by
14 feet.
In this meeting Joseph prophesied:
[music]
A name for “good and evil,” and “from
thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the
ends of the earth."
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
